Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced a plan to add 1,400 new long‑term truck parking spaces at 33 locations across 18 counties.  The project (to be built in 2026–2027) will make Ohio “the #1 state in the nation for public truck parking” and improve safety by giving drivers more safe rest areas.  The bipartisan effort is widely reported as a major step to address chronic truck parking shortages in the Midwest.

Newly appointed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has proposed revoking the Clean Air Act’s 2009 Endangerment Finding for greenhouse gases, (read between the lines: the proposal is to state that greenhouse gasses do not cause danger), which underpinned all U.S. truck and vehicle emissions rules.  This rollback would void Obama‑ and Biden‑era truck greenhouse‑gas (GHG) standards (including the pending Phase 3 rule requiring 25% ZEV trucks by 2032).  Politically-correct summary from ChatGPT: “Industry groups are divided: some fleets praised the move as removing a heavy compliance burden, while others warn it injects uncertainty and penalizes early adopters of clean‑tech.”

Carroll Fulmer, a 450‑truck LTL carrier founded in 1954, announced it is ceasing operations amid the ongoing “Great Freight Recession”.  The company cited steep litigation costs and weak freight demand. 

Reading between the lines, it seems like they were sued into oblivion. I feel like there is more to this story if an investigative reporter wants to have some fun.

A bipartisan bill dubbed the “AMERICA DRIVES Act” was introduced in Congress to preempt state laws and establish a national framework for Level 4/5 autonomous trucks. This assumes that we can actually get trucks to Level 4/5 autonomous driving within our lifetimes.

If passed, the bill would allow fully driverless heavy trucks (with no human on board) in interstate commerce and direct the FMCSA to update rules to exempt such trucks from driver requirements. Some people are pretty angry.

Florida authorities announced the arrest of four suspects in a cross-state theft ring that stole over $400K, (maybe 3 freightliners worth?), of Electronic Control Modules from Class 8 trucks. This seems both impressive and disappointing at the same time.

Did You Know? This week North Dakota increased its speed limits. Enjoy exclusive footage of trucking in the Roughrider State.