Insights · Livestock transport · 3 min read
Every load, signed for: shrink, stress and the rules on both sides of the Atlantic
Shrink per hour, distance and BRD risk, the US 28-hour law, EU Regulation 1/2005 and the stalled reform, and the data a load should produce.
By Mule · Published 17 October 2026 · Updated 17 October 2026
Livestock transport is where the most value changes hands with the least paperwork that survives. A load of cattle is counted at the yard, loaded, driven for hours and counted again, and the record of all of it often lives in a text thread and a paper bill of lading. Time on the truck costs weight and welfare, and the rules on both sides of the Atlantic are tightening.
Time on truck is money
Cattle can lose about 1% of body weight an hour in the first hours of a haul, and calves can shrink 5 to 8% on a five-hour trip (SDSU Extension rule of thumb). At record prices, the shrink on a single load is a real number, and so is the dispute when buyer and seller weigh it differently.
Distance matters for health too. In a study of 14,601 cohorts across 21 feedlots, longer distance from sale barn to feedlot was linked to higher BRD risk and mortality. No national count of cattle moved by truck each year exists, but nearly all of the 29.8 million head slaughtered in the US in 2025 travelled by truck at least once.
The rules, in the US
- The 28-hour law (49 U.S.C. 80502) limits confinement in transit to 28 hours before animals get 5 hours of rest, feed and water; 36 hours on written request.
- Livestock haulers remain exempt from electronic logging devices "until further notice", but hours-of-service limits still apply outside the 150 air-mile exemptions. The HELP Act, which would change those limits, is pending.
- Interstate movement of dairy cattle requires official EID ear tags since 5 November 2024, and health papers travel with the load.
The rules, in the EU
Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 governs animal transport in the EU. Unweaned calves may travel 9 hours, rest 1 hour, then travel 9 more. Calves under 10 days old may not travel more than 100 km.
The European Commission proposed a revision in December 2023. It would shorten journeys for unweaned calves (sources differ between 8 and 9 hours), set a minimum age of 5 weeks and weight of 50 kg for longer journeys, and allow 19 hours only with approved milk feeding on board. Retrofitting a truck for that has been estimated at EUR 25,000 to 30,000. As of October 2026 the proposal has not been adopted: Parliament has seen over 3,000 amendments, five Council presidencies have passed without a general approach, and a plenary vote has been reported for April 2027 (unconfirmed).
A hauler does not need to know which version passes to prepare. A system that already logs journey time, rest stops and feeding will be ready for any of them.
The haul as data
A load produces a short, specific set of facts:
| Stage | Data | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| Order | Yard, head, pickup window, destination | Who asked for what |
| Dispatch | Driver, truck, trailer, assigned time | Who is responsible |
| Loading | Head loaded, time, papers attached | What left the yard |
| In transit | Route trail, stops, time on truck | How long and where |
| Delivery | Head delivered, reason for any difference, receiver, signature | What arrived and who accepted it |
| After | Loaded miles, documents, on-time record | Invoice and compliance |
The important line is the difference between head loaded and head delivered, with a required reason for any gap and a signature at the gate. Frozen as a tamper-evident bill of lading, it settles most arguments before they start.
Two kinds of visibility
Yards want to know when the truck will arrive, so they can plan unloading. Dispatch needs the map. Drivers deserve privacy outside the job. A good transport system separates these: yards see the stage and arrival time, dispatch sees position, and location tracking is limited to working time and its stated purpose, as employment and privacy law in both the US and the EU expect.
Offline is the normal case
Rural routes lose signal. A driver's app has to record counts, signatures and photos with no connection, keep the device time and the later server time, and sync when back in range. An append-only history of each load, including actions taken offline, is what makes the record honest enough to rely on in a dispute.
Where to start
Replace the text thread first. One place where yards order, dispatch assigns and drivers deliver, with counts at both ends and a signature at the gate, turns transport from the least documented step in the chain into one of the best.
Figures and rules are from the sources named, as of October 2026. They are not results from any Mule system.