Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025:
FMCSA operations ‘continue as normal’ amid government shutdown
With Congress unable to agree to a deal to keep the federal government operational into the new fiscal year, the government officially shut down at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Despite this, the trucking industry likely won’t see much impact, as Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration employees are expected to continue working. According to the Department of Transportation’s shutdown plan, FMCSA’s 1,084 employees are primarily funded by authorized contract authority and paid out of the Highway Trust Fund.
“All operations continue as normal with a lapse in annual appropriations, subject to the amount of liquidating cash the Agency has available,” DOT’s plan said of FMCSA.
DOT said there will be no significant agency activities that stop as a result of the shutdown, as “activities are funded with contract authority, offsetting collections, and advanced appropriations.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration likewise won’t see any employment reductions during the shutdown, DOT noted. All 574 NHTSA employees will continue working.
The Federal Aviation Administration will see the biggest impact of the shutdown, as 11,322 of FAA’s 44,829 employees will be furloughed.
FMCSA again extends Oregon wildfire HOS relief
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has determined that an emergency still exists that warrants the extension of an emergency declaration in Oregon due to wildfires in the state.
The declaration was first issued by Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek in July. Since then, FMCSA has twice extended the declaration. On Sept. 29, FMCSA issued its third extension, which is valid through Oct. 31.
The waiver exempts truck drivers responding to the emergency from 49 CFR Part 395.3 (maximum driving time).
The regulatory relief under the extension of the declaration applies regardless of the origin of the trip, as long as the carrier or driver is providing direct assistance to the state of Oregon. Direct assistance does not include transportation related to long-term rehabilitation of damaged physical infrastructure after the initial threat to life and property has passed, FMCSA said. Nor does it include routine commercial deliveries, including mixed loads with a nominal quantity of qualifying emergency relief added to obtain the benefits of the declaration.
Used-truck sales see unexpected gain in August
Same dealer used Class 8 retail truck sales experienced their first increase in five months in August, according to the latest State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks by ACT Research.
Class 8 used-truck sales jumped 11% in August over July as average sales prices fell.ACT Research
ACT reported an 11% increase over July, which ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam said “was better than expected on a seasonally adjusted basis. August is typically the second best sales month of the year, running more than 8% above average.”
Used-truck sales at auction also outperformed expectations, increasing 3.4% in August. Wholesale used-truck sales saw the largest month-over-month gain since February 2024, increasing by 35% from July.
“Even though summer does not officially end until late September, used truck sales typically exit the summer (and spring) doldrums in August,” Tam added. “Clearly August did not disappoint this year, at least from a unit volume perspective. Industry participants should interpret this as a positive sign, especially in light of all the noise in the economy and commercial vehicle market these days.”
