This week in trucking: DataQs upgrade, new autonomous drayage truck

Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of April 23

FMCSA is fixing its crash and inspection data reviews

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) updated its DataQs program, building what it calls a more streamlined framework for handling data review requests. The update includes new requirements for how states must process data review requests, including a three-stage review structure with timeline standards for each stage.

Under the three-stage review structure, a state agency would have to complete the initial review within 21 days, solicit reconsideration by an independent expert within 21 days, and issue the final review within 45 days.

Ohio publicly called out hundreds of carriers for unpaid tolls

The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission released a public list of 315 commercial trucking companies that owe $5,000 or more in unpaid Ohio Turnpike tolls. The carriers collectively owe nearly $5.2 million in unpaid tolls since April 2024. The biggest offender on the list is NYC Trucking Inc., a Pennsylvania-based carrier that the Ohio Commission claims owes more than $155,000.

PlusAI is no longer going public

Autonomous trucking company PlusAI has canceled its months-long plan to enter the Nasdaq stock market.

PlusAI was originally set to merge with a special-purpose acquisition company earlier this year to get closer to making its initial public offering. Just in the first week of this month, PlusAI founder and CEO David Liu had said that “we believe now is the right time to enter the public markets.”

But no longer. As of this week, PlusAI terminated its combination with the shell company, vaguely claiming that the decision was “due to market conditions."

A new autonomous truck developer entered the market

Autonomous truck company Humble Robotics has debuted, building its own fully electric, humanless trucks for regional and drayage operations—focused more on container yards than highways. They are so embedded in the ‘humanless’ aspect that the Humble truck has no interior cab.

The cab-less design is unique: it looks like a flatbed trailer with only a thin, flat rectangle in front where the cabin would be. The headlights are thin and vertical, and there is no grill. In place of side mirrors are much smaller LIDAR devices. The overall look is very flat, simplistic, and futuristic.

In fuel this week, diesel dropped by 21 cents

The national average on-highway diesel price dropped a hefty 21 cents to $5.40 per gallon, according to weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

However, since the administration’s report, Brent crude oil futures shot over $100 per barrel and have remained elevated for over a day. The exact status of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz remain muddy at best.