ANKENY, IOWA (RFD NEWS) — America’s trucking fleet could soon see changes in both efficiency and weight limits under a new amendment being discussed in Washington.
The BUILD America 250 Act would allow states to participate in a pilot program permitting six-axle trucks to operate at up to 91,000 pounds, up from the current federal standard of 80,000 pounds.
Mike Steenhoek with the Soy Transportation Coalition joined us on Friday’s Market Day Report to discuss the proposal and what it could mean for agricultural transportation and freight movement across the country.
In his interview with RFD News, Steenhoek explained the details of the amendment and how the pilot program would operate, including which states could opt in and what types of vehicles would be eligible.
“Well, in most areas of the country, the federal interstate system caps the allowance for a semi-truck at 80,000 pounds, and that’s been in place since the early 1980s,” he explained. “A lot of states have higher allowances on their state and local systems, but the system is mostly capped at 80,000 pounds.
He also addressed potential impacts on the agricultural supply chain, including fuel savings and, for farmers, cost reductions due to increased payload capacity on overall transportation costs.
“A big discussion we’re having as a country is that we’re all experiencing high fuel costs,” Steenhoek said. “More and more of our budget is being allocated to the price at the pump, and we’re looking for ways to provide some degree of relief for fuel costs in this area of elevated prices. And this is one way of doing that—allow states to have six-axle, 91,000-pound semis operate on the interstate system.”
For grain transportation, a major draw is improved efficiency. Steenhoek explains that an additional axle allows trucks to carry more weight while also providing more consistent levels of wear and tear.
“That additional axle is very important because it displaces the weight over more tires or wheels, so that the imprint on the road and wear and tear is actually the same or less,” he noted. “That additional axle also provides more stopping and braking capacity, so stopping distances are slightly less than a five-axle 80,000-pound semi. Of course, it increases efficiency, and it saves costs for a typical grain elevator. You can save about $44,000 a year just in fuel costs by going to this approach. It reduces carbon emissions, so there are significant benefits.”
In addition, Steenhoek discussed safety concerns raised by critics, including roadway wear and public safety, while also weighing how the proposal could help address ongoing truck driver shortages and improve logistics efficiency for ag shippers. He shared feedback he’s hearing from both truckers and agricultural stakeholders, as well as how industry groups are reacting to the potential change.
“Yeah, that’s one of the big arguments against it — but with that additional axle, you’re actually reducing stopping distances,” he noted. “One of the biggest contributing factors to motorist safety is the number of semis a motorist will encounter versus the weight of those semis. A typical grain elevator, if you went to a six-axle, 91,000-pound configuration, that results in 838 fewer trips, meaning fewer semis on the road. Reducing those trips clearly has a benefit on motor safety. So we think there’s a strong case not just for cost savings and efficiency gains, but also for motorist safety.”
Finally, Steenhoek addressed the broader outlook for the proposal’s likelihood of becoming reality and discussed next steps in the Surface Transportation Board’s review of the revised Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger application.
“So they’ve deemed the application acceptable, and now they can proceed with the review process. That was the first step—to determine if the application is complete. That does not grant approval of the merger itself,” he said. “This will now be at least a year-long process, probably longer, where the Surface Transportation Board reviews the transaction to determine whether they will approve or reject it. So, it’s a long process ahead of us.”
