Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, June 25, 2026:
- Not sure which load to take? Load board now offering carrier-specific recommendations.
- Natty Ice and Fireball found in cab during driver’s DUI arrest.
- Truck parking lot closing temporarily along state’s toll road.
- Tonnage hauled by trucks down for second straight month.
DAT One now offering load recommendations based on carrier profiles
DAT Freight & Analytics has launched a new “Load Recommendations” feature in the DAT One mobile app that displays a curated set of loads most likely to fit a carrier’s truck, lanes and operating preferences.
Instead of scrolling through every available load and filtering manually, the new feature allows carriers to open the app and see their top opportunities the moment they sign in, with no setup required, DAT said.
Load Recommendations draws on several factors, including the carrier’s equipment types, the lanes they typically run, and how they search for freight in the DAT One marketplace. The feature prioritizes loads that fit the carrier’s operating pattern and automatically brings them forward.
Recommendations refresh regularly and become more tailored as the carrier uses the app, DAT said. The new feature is “intended as a faster starting point, not a replacement for the carrier’s own judgement about which loads to call on.”
Carriers will still have full access to DAT One’s traditional search features when they want to look beyond the app’s recommendations.
Load Recommendations is available now for DAT One subscribers in the mobile app.
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Truck driver arrested with BAC over 8x legal limit
A truck driver in Iowa was arrested this week on I-35 after a traffic complaint led to a roadside stop and field sobriety testing.
The Iowa State Patrol Commercial Motor Vehicle Unit said a trooper, after responding to a complaint and stopping a truck, “observed an open container of alcohol in the vehicle’s cup holder. Additional unopened containers were also present in the cab.”
Iowa State Patrol
During the stop, evidence showed the driver was operating with a blood alcohol content more than 8 times the legal limit for a commercial vehicle operator (.04). The driver’s BAC was reported to be 0.321.
“Thankfully, the driver was removed from the roadway and booked into jail,” ISP added.
Indiana Toll Road truck parking lot closing for 4 months
The truck parking lot at Exit 72 along the Indiana Toll Road will be closed beginning July 13 through November 20, due to scheduled construction.
During this time, trucks will not be permitted to park at Exit 72. Other nearby truck parking lots along the toll road are at Exits 144, 107, 101, 96 and 31, along with mile markers 108 and 39.
Indiana Toll Road officials said the “closure is necessary to support bridge rehabilitation at the plaza and pavement improvements in and around the plaza area, which will help enhance long-term safety and roadway conditions.”
Among states, Indiana performed in above-average fashion for parking in Overdrive's 2025 Highway Report Card rankings, based on our reader survey respondents' opinions of metro and state parking availability. The state cracked the top 10 best states for parking, while it was far and away the No. 1 worst for roads.
Access the full download and a report on the consensus No. 1 worst segment, I-70 in Indiana, via the link below.
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Truck tonnage dips for second straight month
Trucking activity in the United States contracted 2% in May after decreasing 0.9% in April, according to the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
“After a total gain of 4.7% during the first three months of the year, tonnage fell a total of 2.9% during the last two months,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Despite the recent decreases," the index is still up year-over-year "for the sixth straight month, which is pretty good considering the bulk of freight drivers, like manufacturing and construction, remain lackluster.”ATA
In May, ATA’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 114.4 -- a 0.6% increase over the same month last year. During the first five months of the year, tonnage was up 2% from the same period last year. In 2025, the tonnage index was flat compared to the 2024 average.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 114.8 in May, 0.8% below April’s reading of 115.7.
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