Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, June 4, 2026:
- Repeal the excise tax on trucks? Senate bill joins one introduced the House last year.
- Cargo theft ring busted in New York.
- Virginia (No. 9 toughest state for vehicle violations) parked 17 coal trucks with out-of-service ordered in targeted effort. Find where states on your routes stand in the maintenance-intensity map below.
Congress zeroing in on big truck tax
A bipartisan bill that would repeal the 12% federal excise tax on new truck and trailer purchases has been introduced in the Senate.
Senators Todd Young (R-Indiana) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Maryland) introduced the “Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act” on June 2. A House version of the legislation was introduced in March 2025, garnering 10 coponsors.
The 12% excise tax on heavy trucks is the highest such levy on any product in the country, Young noted.
“By adding as much as $15,000 to $30,000 to the cost of a new heavy truck, trailer, semitrailer chassis, or tractor, the tax makes it more expensive for trucking companies and independent operators to modernize their fleets,” a press release from Young’s office said. “Additionally, because the tax applies only to new vehicle purchases and not used trucks, it creates an incentive to keep older vehicles on the road longer, slowing the adoption of newer trucks that are safer and more fuel-efficient.”
Young called the repeal a “simple step” to help the trucking industry and consumers.
The tax was first levied in 1917 by Congress to help finance America’s involvement in World War I but has remained on the books over the subsequent 109 years.
The text of the bill calls on Congress to “consider a more reliable and consistent revenue mechanism to fund the Highway Trust Fund,” adding that “Congress should advance the deployment of the most modern, clean, and safe trucks through eliminating the Federal excise tax on trucks.”
The effort to repeal the tax has received support from a variety of trucking and truck dealers organizations, from the American Trucking Associations to American Truck Dealers and others.
[Related: Bill to repeal 12% tax on trucks revived in Congress]
Eight charged in $5M cargo theft ring
Eight individuals have been indicted for allegedly conspiring to impersonate trucking companies in a retail theft ring in the Northeast.
The defendants allegedly used fraudulently obtained shipment information of real carriers and brokers, impersonated the legitimate companies, and stole nearly $5 million in goods from logistics sites in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey. The stolen goods were then diverted to New York City for sale on the black market, according to a release from the Manhattan District Attorney.
The eight individuals were charged with one count of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree and varying counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree. Other charges in the indictment include Grand Larceny in the First and Second Degrees and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First and Second Degrees. The individuals charged were:
- Murodullo Khasanov
- Nodir Kobilov
- Shavkatbek Mamadjanov
- Rakhmiddin Abdullaev
- Aleksey Vorobyev
- Nizom Ismoilov
- Doston Mardoev
- Dilshod Nabiev
[Related: Owner-op jailed after unwitting participation in a cargo theft: Cationary tale, mitigating risk]
“We allege these defendants operated a wide-ranging and brazen, multimillion-dollar interstate retail theft conspiracy that impacted businesses and consumers around the country,” said District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “We believe that many small businesses were harmed by this theft, some of which may not be able to recover from their financial losses. Furthermore, the intersection of sophisticated online hacking and large-scale theft is deeply concerning and will only grow more prevalent, and we are using every tool available to stay ahead of this emerging trend.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record, the defendants operated the alleged conspiracy between October 2025 and April 2026. In total, the defendants allegedly committed six thefts and stole $165,000 worth of lamb; $432,000 worth of cheese; $295,000 worth of beef; more than $266,000 worth of copper; and more than $3.3 million of cigarettes. The thefts were coordinated and directed by alleged ringleader Murodullo Khasanov.
The scheme involved receiving winning bids on load boards from “hacker groups,” the DA alleged. Then they would lease a truck “and affix the name and registration number of the real shipping carrier that was supposed to make the pickup,” then go to the pickup location, obtain the goods, and coordinate further movement into and through Manhattan.
[Related: Cargo theft profileration ups the ante on truckers' prevention]
Virginia inspectors park 17 trucks in coalfields
The Law Enforcement division of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles recently conducted an operation that “targeted dangerous trucks and operators in the coalfields of western Virginia,” according to the Virginia DMVA division.
The agency celebrated that there were no seat belt violations found during the effort, but noted these 17 power units with vehicle violations "severe enough to be placed out-of-service."
Nationally, vehicle maintenance violations made up roughly 60% of all recorded violations in 2025, and Virginia's 60.8% vehicle violation rate was high enough to put the state among the top 10 toughest in the nation at No. 9. That's according to recent trends analysis conducted by Overdrive with sister data company RigDig, creator of Overdrive's Truck History Report.
Percentages among states range from Indiana on the low end at 30.4% vehicle violations to Texas with a whopping 83%, with big impact on the national average. See the contiguous 48 charted in the map below.
Virginia ranks higher on the toughest states list for brakes (at No. 6) and just outside the top 10 at No. 11 for light violations.
Other violations highlighted by Virginia DMV during the recent coal truck targeted operation:
- Drivers using dyed diesel for highway use to avoid fuel taxes
- Drivers operating on a suspended license
- Drivers operating without a license
- Expired or no state registration
[Related: One-day blitz parks 500+ trucks: Toughest states for brakes violations]
