Navigating Trump 2.0: Regulatory Insights for the Trucking Industry 

January 21, 2025 | Author: Jim Mullen

Every presidential transition brings predictions about its impact on the trucking industry. What makes this new transition unique is that Donald Trump held the office of President prior to outgoing President Biden. This gives us insight into how the returning administration may affect the trucking sector. 

This report will address the majority of the issues tracked by our Regulatory Committee, many of which the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. (NMFTA)™ has actively supported through industry advocacy efforts.

Environmental Protection Agency

Over the past four years, the industry has faced several Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California regulations regarding truck emissions and mandates regarding the sale and operation of zero-emission trucks. The NMFTA, both on its own and as a member of the Clean Freight Coalition (CFC), has been intimately involved in advocacy efforts on these issues. The industry has a proven track record of being a good steward of the environment, and the progress that the industry has made over the last several decades is significant. We fully support efforts to transition to cleaner trucks and support an “all of the above” approach to technology and alternatives to traditional diesel, including renewal gas, biodiesel, battery electric and hydrogen that will further reduce truck emissions. What we do not support are regulations that mandate a single technology on timeframes that are unattainable for the entire trucking ecosystem. 

President Trump was very clear during the 2024 campaign that he intends to direct his administration to rescind or rollback regulations and decisions made by the EPA that affect our industry. Campaign statements are a decent indicator of future action, but past conduct may be a better indicator. In President Trump’s first Administration, he rolled back regulations and a California waiver involving vehicle fuel efficiency standards set by the DOT. Combining his campaign statements and what his first Administration did, it is likely that we will see action on these issues. 

We have provided the incoming administration, including to the President’s transition team and to his nominee for Administrator of the EPA, with our top priorities: 

• Reopening the EPA Greenhouse Gas Phase 3 rule so that the industry can obtain relief from the unattainable criteria and timeframes under its de facto mandate for battery electric trucks; and
• Withdraw the Clean Air Act waiver that the EPA granted to California for CARB’s Advanced Clean Truck Act (ACT), which imposes unattainable battery electric sales mandates. California is only permitted to enforce ACT if they have the EPA waiver. Revoking the waiver would result in the elimination of ACT, which has been adopted by California and a dozen other states.

We anticipate that there is a good possibility that the administration will act on these two issues via an Executive Order early in the President’s term.

Department of Transportation

The NMFTA Regulatory Committee and staff have been tracking the following regulatory and policy efforts at DOT. Some of these issues date back to the Obama Administration and were considered at the DOT under President Trump’s first term. 

Speed Limiters

The FMCSA started the Rulemaking process to mandate speed limiters on trucks under the Obama Administration. They did not finalize the Rulemaking during Obama’s Administration. The speed limiter rule was still on the FMCSA regulatory agenda under the first Trump Administration, but no effort was undertaken to advance the rule during Trump’s term. Under the Biden Administration, the FMCSA made small progress to advance the rule, but also did not finalize the rule.

Given the Trump Administration’s prior “inaction” and opposition within segments of the industry, it's highly unlikely the FMCSA will finish this rule. 

Autonomous Trucks 

While I was at the FMCSA, the agency started the Rulemaking process for a regulatory framework for autonomous trucks. However, time ran out on the term before the agency could finish the process for a final rule.

Under Biden, the FMCSA did advance the Rulemaking, and changed the framework proposed by Trump 1. But the agency also did not get to a final rule.

This will be an interesting Rulemaking to watch as President Trump has made public comments that he is concerned about autonomous trucks eliminating drivers’ jobs.

Department Secretary Nominee Duffy made general comments at his Confirmation hearing that he is supportive of a federal framework for autonomous vehicles.

This is likely an issue that will be determined at the level of the President. 

Broker Transparency

There is a DOT regulation that has been on the books prior to trucking deregulation that requires that freight brokers must provide the carrier that it hired to haul the load with the rate that the broker received from the shipper. Most large brokers require carriers to waive this right in their broker carrier agreement. Other brokers make rate information inaccessible, requiring in-person requests at distant HQ locations. The regulation has been termed “broker transparency.”

This issue became a hot topic at the onset of Covid when freight rates plummeted, and a segment of the carrier industry raised allegations of broker fraud, and asked the FMCSA to undertaken what the carriers believed would be “enforcement” measure of the regulation. I was FMCSA Acting Administrator at the time.

The FMCSA generally concluded that it lacked the authority to do what was requested of it by the carriers involved.

The carrier segment then petitioned the Biden FMCSA to modify the regulation, including to prohibit the broker from including the contractual provision of waiving the carrier’s right to obtain the rate data.

The Biden Administration has started the Rulemaking process to modify the broker transparency regulation. Although the FMCSA’s proposed changes to the rule do not include the ban on the contractual waiver, it does require the broker to have the rate date available electronically and transmittal to the carrier within 48 hours of the delivery of the load. The proposal would prevent the broker from requiring that the carrier travel to the broker’s HQ but does not solve the waiver issue. I suspect that the FMCSA didn’t propose to prohibit the waiver because it lacks statutory authority to do so.

As the Rulemaking is only in the proposed rule stage, the Trump Administration will be in a position to determine its final outcome.

Based on the Trump Administration’s general policy of deregulation, and its previous sections, one might bet that the FMCSA will change direction on the Rulemaking. However, President Trump has made public statements that clearly indicate that he has an interest in supporting truck drivers generally.

Side Underrides

There have been advocacy efforts by a segment of stakeholders (“safety groups” predominantly) over the last decade to mandate that trucks have side underrides. Those stakeholders lobbied the Trump 1 DOT. The DOT took no action at that time.

The Biden DOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has sought public comment on side underrides, and conducted a study on side underrides and provided Congress with its report.

There is speculation that NHTSA is considering a regulation to mandate side underrides. Considering the Trump 1 Administrations lack of action on side underrides, and the administration’s deregulation philosophy and the lack of clear data on the safety effects of side underrides on commercial trailers, Trump 2 Administration is unlikely to mandate side underrides on tractor trailers. 

Labor

President Trump's choice of Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) as labor secretary has drawn opposition from some in the industry. The main reason for the opposition is Chavez-DeRemer’s support while in Congress of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which is proposed legislation that would amend previous labor laws, such as the National Labor Relations (NLR) Act for the purpose of expanding various labor protections related to employees rights to organize and collectively bargain on the workplace. The proposed law would prevent employers from holding mandatory meetings for the purpose of counteracting labor organization and would strengthen the legal right of employees to join a labor union. The PRO Act would weaken right-to-work laws which exist in 27 U.S. states. 

The PRO ACT has been defeated in the House and Senate previously.

Chavez-DeRemer's confirmation may be controversial within the Republican caucus in both Chambers.

Independent Contractor Rule

Under the Biden Department of Labor, they changed the criteria as to who qualified as an independent contractor. There was widespread concern among the industry that Labor was going to adopt the test which California adopted (the ABC test) which effectively would eliminate the independent contractor model for trucking. The final rule promulgated by Labor did NOT adopt the ABC test, but did change the criteria that the Trump 1 Administration adopted. Although there was a sigh of relief that they didn’t adopt the ABC test, there is still dissatisfaction that the Biden Administration changed Trump 1’s rule.

It will be interesting if Trump 2 seeks to revert back to Trump 1.