This week in trucking: Sysco loses retaliation suit, $200 million for truck parking

Here are this week's major trucking industry headlines:

Listen to the news on this week's episode of The Fleet Lead podcast here or search for The Fleet Lead on your favorite podcast app.

Summaries of the stories are below:

The latest highway funding bill includes truck parking

The federal government enacted the next surface transportation funding bill. Most notably, the funding bill includes $200 million in grants specifically for truck parking projects. The bill also codifies out-of-service orders for English Language Proficiency violations.

Five employees won a $52 million verdict against food distributor Sysco

Sysco, the nation’s 12th largest private fleet by power units according to the FleetOwner 500, was found liable by a California court for whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination against five employees, after workers reported dangerous yard conditions and hazardous food safety practices, according to the Daily Journal.

EPA is looking to further weaken DEF derates

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week demanded information from diesel engine manufacturers about DEF derates. In its latest request for information, EPA also said “it is being thoroughly assessed whether derates may no longer be necessary for compliance."

Heavy-duty equipment demand in January was very strong

According to preliminary counts from ACT Research and FTR Transportation Intelligence, North American Class 8 orders reached about 31,000 in January. The order count was higher than FTR’s 10-year average for the month, and it marked the first time the industry saw two back-to-back year-over-year gains since early 2024.

Spot rates made a record-high jump

Spot rates shot up last week, according to weekly reports from FTR Transportation Intelligence and DAT Freight & Analytics. According to FTR, dry van rates rose 20 cents and refrigerated rates rose 45 cents. The 45-cent boost in refrigerated rates was the largest that FTR had ever recorded, as far back to 2008.

In fuel, diesel prices increased 6 cents

The national average on-highway diesel price rose 6 cents to $3.68 cents per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration.