Should Truck Weight Limits Be Increased?

The federal truck weight limit hasn’t changed since the 1980s at 80,000 pounds.  Many in the farming community would like to see that number changed.  Kelsey Kemp, associate director of government relations for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said raising that limit could bring significant benefits for agriculture and transportation efficiency.

“Our current Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill expires at the end of next year, so that's something that we are working on now," Kemp said.  "We're hoping to see the text of that bill soon, and NCBA is really focused on including a couple of our most prominent transportation priorities in that bill. One of those is increasing truck weights for federal interstates, and another one is exempting livestock haulers from hours-of-service regulations, as well as electronic logging device mandates.”

When it comes to cattle haulers, Kemp said NCBA supports a pilot program that would allow states to opt in on whether they want to increase trucking weight limits.

“We're focused on a pilot program that would be a state opt-in that would allow trucks up to 91,000 pounds with a sixth axle to travel on interstates," she said.  "We would be able to haul the same amount of cattle on four trucks instead of five, which would do a lot for our supply chain resiliency.”

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