Company: PAMT
Filing Date: 2025-03-12
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001437749-25-007273
Chunk: 129

Company: PAMT CORP
Filing Date: 2025-03-12
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 129
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 level below the threshold. While the Company has not exceeded allowable thresholds to date, if future roadside inspections or crashes were to result in the Company being placed in intervention status, we may incur additional operating costs to improve our safety program in deficient categories, experience increased roadside inspections, or have onsite visits by the FMCSA. If the intervention category is not remedied, it could affect our ability to attract and retain drivers and customers as they seek competitive carriers with scores below intervention thresholds. In addition, the CSA program could increase competition and related compensation and recruitment costs for drivers and independent contractors by reducing the pool of qualified drivers if existing drivers exit the profession, become disqualified due to low scores or as carriers focus recruiting efforts on drivers with the best relative safety scores.

The EPA and the NHTSA jointly developed new standards for various vehicles, including heavy duty trucks, that were adopted in August 2011 and cover model years 2014 through 2018. The standard adopted for heavy duty trucks was intended to achieve a reduction in CO2 and fuel consumption ranging from 7% to 20% by model year 2017. In August 2016, the EPA and NHTSA finalized the second phase of these standards which will further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption for heavy duty trucks through model year 2027. In December 2022, the EPA finalized an additional phase of standards which is intended to reduce nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions to 0.035 grams per horsepower-hour during normal operation, 0.05 grams at low load and 10.0 grams at idle for vehicles with model years 2027 and above. In March 2024, the EPA finalized the third phase of standards, which aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy duty vehicles with model years 2028 to 2032, including tractor-trailers. Compliance with these federal and state requirements has increased the cost of our equipment and may further increase the cost of replacement equipment in the future. 

The Regulation section in Item 1 of Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K discusses several proposed and final regulations that could materially impact our business and operations.

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A determination that independent contractors are employees could expose us to various liabilities and additional costs. 

Federal and state legislation as well as tax and other regulatory authorities often seek to assert that independent contractors in the transportation service industry are employees rather than independent contractors. Recently issued rulemaking by the U.S. Department of Labor, effective