Trucking news and briefs for Monday, Nov. 3, 2025:
- Truck manufacturers scored the first victory in a legal battle with CARB over the Clean Truck Partnership.
- Cargo theft activity leveling out? Q3 numbers show quarterly dip.
- "Right place at the right time" proves divine guidance for latest Highway Angel, who helped injured trucker at crash scene.
CARB blocked from enforcing Clean Truck Partnership as litigation plays out
In the ongoing legal battle over the applicability of the Clean Truck Partnership (CTP) agreement made between truck manufacturers and the California Air Resources Board, truck makers got the first win when U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins on Oct. 31 issued a preliminary injunction barring California from enforcing the terms of the CTP.
The CTP was a commitment from OEMs to meet California’s emissions standards that required the sale and adoption of zero-emissions technology in the state, also offering more timing flexibility for manufacturers to meet the requirements.
Daimler Truck North America (DTNA), Paccar, International Motors, and Volvo Group North America (VGNA) sought an injunction in a lawsuit filed in August, arguing that the CTP was invalidated when Congress and President Donald Trump in June disapproved of the Environmental Protection Agency’s waivers granted to CARB for its Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) and Omnibus Low-NOx rules that impact truck emissions and sales.
The court on Friday ordered that while litigation is pending, CARB is "enjoined from implementing, enforcing, attempting to enforce, or threatening to enforce the Clean Truck Partnership."
[Related: Top truck makers sue CARB/California over enforcement of Clean Truck Partnership]
CARB last week filed its own lawsuit against DTNA, Paccar, International, and Volvo Group alleging breach of contract over their agreement with the state on the CTP. The court order explicitly clarifies that this injunction bars CARB from pursuing its state court breach-of-contract lawsuit seeking specific performance of the agreement.
Other signatories to the CTP, though not included directly in the lawsuits, are Cummins, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company, Hino Motors Limited, Isuzu Technical Center of America, Stellantis N.V., and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA).
[Related: CARB sues truck makers]
Cargo theft activity down 10% in third quarter from Q2 as thieves adjust to anti-fraud tools
Cargo theft activity in the U.S. and Canada during the third quarter was mostly flat compared to the same period a year ago, according to theft recording firm Verisk CargoNet. The firm in its Q3 report showed a “stabilizing theft landscape, evolving tactics among organized crime groups, and increased targeting of high-value and ultra-high-value goods.”
CargoNet recorded 772 cargo theft events across the U.S. and Canada in Q3 -- a modest 1% increase compared to Q3 2024 and a 10% decrease from Q2 this year. While incident volume remained relatively stable, the financial impact surged to record levels.
Food and beverage commodities led all categories with 170 theft events, followed by household goods (92) and metals (65). As the holiday season approaches, CargoNet noted a modest uptick in thefts of games and toys.Verisk CargoNet
Total value of stolen goods in Q3 2025 reached $111.88 million, driven by organized crime groups targeting high-value shipments of enterprise computer hardware, cryptocurrency mining equipment, and copper products. The average stolen shipment value doubled to $336,787, up from $168,448 in Q3 2024 -- clear evidence that cargo thieves are becoming more strategic in selecting targets, CargoNet noted.
California and Texas -- historically high-theft states -- saw modest year-over-year increases of 11% and 12%, respectively. However, the most dramatic shift occurred in the New York City metropolitan area, where New Jersey theft incidents surged 110% and Pennsylvania rose 33%.
"The NYC metro area is emerging as both a primary location for theft activity and a destination for stolen goods," said Keith Lewis, VP of Operations at CargoNet. "Organized crime groups are exploiting the region’s dense logistics network and proximity to major consumer markets."
[Related: Prime time for cargo theft: $18M vanishing every single day]
CargoNet’s analysis showed organized crime groups are in a transitional phase, adapting to anti-fraud tools deployed across the logistics industry. While overall activity remained relatively static year-over-year and declined modestly from Q2 2025, behavioral shifts within these networks signal a recalibration that supply chain stakeholders must monitor closely, the firm said.
Some groups are abandoning complex schemes, such as proof-of-delivery fraud and authority takeovers, in favor of simpler, more direct thefts of unattended, loaded trailers, especially in Southern California, the Bay Area, Phoenix, and Lake Tahoe.
Conversely, other groups are refining their fraud tactics to bypass security measures. According to CargoNet, these bad actors exploit a critical vulnerability: most anti-fraud tools focus on the shipment tender phase. Using sophisticated social engineering, they gather intelligence on shipments already assigned to legitimate carriers. Once they identify the carrier, they impersonate company representatives to misdirect drivers.
In Q3, CargoNet witnessed criminal groups leverage social engineering techniques to obtain granular shipment details, including the specific brokerage handling the shipment, the assigned motor carrier, and critically, the names and contact information of individual points of contact at both the brokerage and carrier level. By using the correct names, company details, and shipment specifics, these criminals established credibility that allowed them to redirect shipments to fraudulent addresses without ever being tendered the shipment.
CargoNet expects these social engineering tactics to become more prevalent in Q4, particularly as criminal groups refine their information gathering methods and exploit publicly available load board data to identify and research high-value targets.
[Related: Cargo theft proliferation ups the ante on truckers' prevention]
Driver’s quick actions at crash scene earn Highway Angel recognition
The Truckload Carriers Association has named Online Transport truck driver Phil Damme, from Evansville, Indiana, as its newest Highway Angel for his heroic actions at the scene of a serious crash on I-68 in Maryland.
On the night of October 5 at approximately 10:51 p.m., Damme was driving through the mountain passes near Ellicott City when he noticed a strange flicker of headlights, followed by sparks illuminating the roadway ahead. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately slowed down and approached the scene, discovering an overturned rig blocking the road.
Phil Damme
Damme was the second person to arrive, alongside another motorist who had narrowly avoided the crash. Assessing the danger, he quickly helped remove the truck’s shattered windshield to reach the injured driver trapped inside.
Seeing that the man was bleeding heavily from his arm, Damme used his own belt as a tourniquet, stemming the bleeding and likely saving the driver’s life before emergency personnel arrived.
“He was bleeding pretty bad,” said Damme. “I put my belt up above his elbow and tightened it really, really tight to slow down the bleeding.”
His calm, decisive response turned a chaotic and frightening situation into a coordinated rescue effort. Following the incident, Damme was personally thanked for his bravery. Known among his colleagues for his strong faith, he humbly credits “being in the right place at the right time” as divine guidance.
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