United States Regulatory Requirements
Background Information
All cargo shipments moving overland within North America are governed by weight restriction laws established by both federal and local government agencies. The consequences of exceeding the legal limit are fines, liability claims, equipment damage and/or extra costs such as transloading.
Safe Container Act
Beginning April 9, 1997 all containers moving by truck over US highways exceeding 29,000 lbs. of gross cargo weight must be certified. Certification must be passed to the carrier prior to tender of the load for intermodal transport. The certificate must include the following items:
Failure to comply with federal law can result in the delay of the shipment. The law now gives the trucker, if fined for an overweight violation due to incorrect or missing information from the issuing party of the container, the right to lien the load to collect the amount of the fine. The liable party is the party that provides false or erroneous certification information, violates state highway weight law or fails to pass on certification information.
Maximum Payload (USA & Canada):
To prevent the stressing of Federal Highway Bridges, the Federal Bridge Formula uses the spacing of axles on vehicles to help identify the maximum allowable gross vehicle weight. Various factors such as type of cargo, distribution of cargo within the container and different types of equipment (e.g. steel vs. aluminum containers, flush vs. slider chassis, tractor weight/type, gensets for reefer) will affect the determination of an absolute maximum cargo payload.
Due to the variety of variables that factor into the bridge formula calculation, we offer the following recommended guideline for the average maximum container payload weights.
NOTE: Strict adherence to reefer weights. Limit of tare weight shown on container may never be exceeded.
In the USA:
In Canada:
Weight Limitations by State/Province:
Special equipment is available in some North American locations for overweight containers to be handled legally.
| State/Province | G.V.W. * | G.V.W. w/ Permit | Single Axle | Tandem Axle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alabama |
80,000 |
100,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Alaska |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Alberta |
86,000 |
n/a |
56,000 |
86,000 |
|
Arizona |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Arkansas |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
British Columbia |
86,000 |
n/a |
56,000 |
86,000 |
|
California |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Colorado |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Connecticut |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Delaware |
80,000 |
90,000 |
22,000 |
34,000 |
|
Florida |
80,000 |
95,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Georgia |
80,000 |
100,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Idaho |
80,000 |
105,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Illinois |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Indiana |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Iowa |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Kansas |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Kentucky |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Louisiana |
80,000 |
95,000 |
n/a |
40,000 |
|
Maine |
80,000 |
99,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Manitoba |
82,700 |
n/a |
20,000 |
35,000 |
|
Maryland |
80,000 |
90,000 |
22,000 |
40,000 |
|
Massachusetts |
80,000 |
99,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Michigan |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Minnesota |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Mississippi |
80,000 |
95,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Missouri |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Montana |
80,000 |
105,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Nebraska |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Nevada |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
New Brunswick |
97,000 |
n/a |
19,900 |
39,700 |
|
Newfoundland |
97,000 |
n/a |
19,900 |
39,700 |
|
New Hampshire |
80,000 |
99,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
New Jersey |
80,000 |
90,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
New Mexico |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
New York |
80,000 |
88,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
North Carolina |
80,000 |
94,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
North Dakota |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Nova Scotia |
97,000 |
n/a |
19,900 |
39,700 |
|
Ohio |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Oklahoma |
80,000 |
95,000 |
20,000 |
40,000 |
|
Ontario |
97,000 |
n/a |
19,900 |
39,700 |
|
Oregon |
80,000 |
105,000 |
22,400 |
36,000 |
|
Pennsylvania |
80,000 |
90,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Prince Edward Island |
97,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
40,000 |
|
Quebec |
90,961 |
n/a |
39,682 |
46,296 |
|
Rhode Island |
80,000 |
99,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Saskatoon |
86,000 |
n/a |
56,000 |
86,000 |
|
South Carolina |
80,000 |
90,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
South Dakota |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Tennessee |
80,000 |
90,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Texas |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Utah |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Vermont |
80,000 |
99,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Virginia |
80,000 |
90,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Washington |
80,000 |
105,500 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
West Virginia |
80,000 |
88,000 |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Wisconsin |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
|
Wyoming |
80,000 |
n/a |
20,000 |
34,000 |
| * Gross Vehicle Weight in lbs. | ||||
| *** within 450 miles radius of the ports you can run heavier but outside the 50 mile radius, GVW is 80,000. | ||||
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