Trucking industry debates weight limits for Congress’s next transportation funding bill

As Congress plans for the next major transportation funding bill, the trucking industry is making its voice heard. The House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure hosted trucking associations for a hearing on the industry’s policy priorities on March 26.

Transportation funding background

Each surface transportation infrastructure funding bill affects the transportation industry for several years. With a new Congress writing each bill, the funding round provides the trucking industry an opportunity to make its concerns known.

The next funding bill faces a unique environment: The famously business-friendly Republican Party gained a majority in both wings of Congress, and the next bill follows in the shadow of the massive $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

As IIJA expires in 2026, Congress is preparing a new funding bill over the next year.

Representatives from the Truckload Carriers Association, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Shippers Coalition, Teamsters, and American Farm Bureau Federation shared their perspectives on trucking’s top issues for lawmakers.

Lawmakers asked about several industry challenges and possible solutions. The trucking industry groups repeatedly disagreed with each other—particularly regarding interstate weight limits.

“Simply put, these proposals threaten safety, increase wear and tear on our nation’s roads, and [raise] unnecessary operational difficulties for our drivers,” Cole Scandaglia, senior legislative representative and policy advisor for Teamsters, told lawmakers.

The committee paid most attention to two issues: interstate weight limits and truck parking.

Raising the interstate weight limit

The Shippers Coalition criticized the Federal government’s weight limit for the Interstate Highway System and National Network, suggesting it was outdated and inefficient.

Generally, the interstate limits trucks to 80,000 lb. gross vehicle weight, 20,000 lb. on a single axle, or 34,000 lb. on a tandem axle group. Factors like the Federal Bridge Formula can further reduce the GVW limit.

State laws, meanwhile, vary in their weight limits for local roads and the National Highway System. Under specific scenarios, some state laws allow truck GVWs over 100,000 lb. The highest weight limit is in Michigan, which allows a GVW up to 164,000 lb. for timber hauling.

shippers coalition lindsey — Ryan Lindsey, on behalf of the Shippers Coalition, suggested Congress implement a pilot program to raise the weight limit of trucks on the interstate.

Varying weight limits can incentivize shippers to sometimes avoid hauling over interstates altogether.

“Safety is our No. 1 priority, but we’ve got to be as efficient as we can moving goods,” Ryan Lindsey, EVP of government relations for CRH and speaking on behalf of the Shippers Coalition, told lawmakers. “Most roads in our country today that are off the interstate currently have more weight than that on them today.”

The House committee’s members expressed interest in a program to raise interstate weight limits. Several lawmakers asked Lindsey and the other trucking industry representatives for their thoughts on increasing weight limits.

The Shippers Coalition supported an opt-in pilot program to raise the GVW.

“Congress should authorize a pilot program to modestly increase the gross vehicle weight limit on interstates from the current 80,000-lb. limit up to 91,000 lb. while adding a sixth axle or the bridge formula—whichever is lower,” Lindsey said.

However, TCA, OOIDA, and Teamsters warned against such a program.

“Bigger, heavier, longer does not represent safer in any way,” John Elliot, executive chairman of Load One and former chairman of TCA, said.

“You’ll hear a lot today about the need to increase size and weights as something that is good for trucking,” Lewie Pugh, EVP of OOIDA, said. “Make no mistake, these proposals are losers for truckers and highway safety.”

Truck parking

TCA and OOIDA emphasized that parking availability is one of the most critical policy issues facing Congress.

“If we’re really concerned about safety, the first thing and most important thing is a driver should have a safe place to rest every single solitary night,” OOIDA’s Pugh said. “We’re at a place in this country where there’s one safe spot for every 11 trucks.”

Truck parking availability has ranked as one of the trucking industry’s top issues for years, according to surveys by the American Transportation Research Institute. Parking ranked eighth among motor carriers and first among drivers in ATRI’s 2024 survey.

“We have to go back to the root cause: We build warehouses, we don’t provide parking. We continue to expand, we don’t put parking,” TCA’s Elliot said. “You drive down most major highways, you see rest area after rest area closed to save money. We’re our own worst enemies: We take away parking—we should be funding those, getting them back open.”