Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025:
Trump halts regs activity to begin second term
In a move that has become fairly routine for incoming presidential administrations, President Donald Trump in one of the first acts of his second term issued a “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” halting in-progress regulations at federal agencies to give the new administration time to review the rulemakings.
Under the order, agencies must:
- Not propose or issue any rules, including sending a rule to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), until a department or agency head appointed or designated by Trump reviews and approves the rule.
- Immediately withdraw any rules that have been sent to the OFR but not published in the Federal Register, so that they can be reviewed and approved.
- Consider postponing for 60 days from the date of the order the effective date for any rules that have been published in the Federal Register but not yet taken effect. During this period, agencies should also consider opening a comment period to allow interested parties to provide comments about issues of fact, law, and policy, and consider reevaluating pending petitions involving such rules. Following the 60-day postponement, no further action needs to be taken for those rules that raise no substantial questions of fact, law, or policy. For rules that do raise substantial questions of fact, law, or policy, agencies should notify and take further appropriate action in consultation with the White House’s Office of Management and Budget Director.
For the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, rules -- whether proposed or final -- that the agency planned to publish but has yet to do so in recent months or in the next two months include:
- An advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to enhance the safety of women truck drivers and trainees and address the negative impacts of workplace sexual harassment. This rule was just last week was sent to the White House's OMB for approval.
- A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to implement several provisions of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) that relate to the FMCSA's Unified Registration System (URS), as well as update and codify the agency's procedures for granting, suspending, and revoking registration. Many of the proposed provisions codify existing FMCSA practices, while others improve on existing processes and procedures.
- An NPRM to amend certain Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to ensure the safe introduction of automated driving systems (ADS)-equipped commercial vehicles.
- An NPRM proposing changes to the drug and alcohol use and testing rules by increasing the availability of driver violation information in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to keep unsafe drivers off the road.
- A final rule from FMCSA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require and/or standardize equipment performance for automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems on heavy trucks.
[Related: Regulatory update: AEBs, speed limiters, more expected in 2025]
Truck tonnage down for second consecutive month
Trucking activity in the United States contracted in December, according to the American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, the second decrease in as many months.
"For the first time since March and April, truck tonnage contracted for two consecutive months," said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. "Tonnage fell 1.8% in November, bringing the two-month total decrease to 2.9%, pushing tonnage to its lowest level since January 2024.”
Costello noted that “sluggishness in factory output continues to weigh on freight volumes, but another drag on the index has been fleet growth at private carriers, which is holding back how much freight is flowing to for-hire carriers."
In December, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 111.3 compared with 112.6 in November. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, was down 3.2% from the same month last year.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 108.8 in December, 0.9% below November.
Two Missouri rest areas closing for renovations -- truck parking to remain open
The rest areas along Interstate 70 in Missouri at milemarker 104 near Boonville in Cooper County will temporarily close for several months for renovations.
Both the buildings and the areas for car parking will be closed, but the truck parking areas will remain open with no facilities.
Both rest areas will have improved access in line with the guidance of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the buildings will be remodeled both inside and out, including expansion to include an interior vestibule, family restroom, and vending area.
The westbound rest area will close beginning Tuesday, Jan. 21, 6 a.m. The eastbound rest area is expected to close in early February. All work, weather permitting, is expected to be complete in spring 2026. Signs and barricades will be in place during the closures.
