Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, May 13, 2026:
- Congressional effort to fight cargo theft advances.
- OEMs gear up for looming emissions regs.
- Fleet’s drug, alcohol clearinghouse waiver request partially granted.
Legislation to combat cargo theft passes House
A bill that could help the fight against cargo theft has cleared a major hurdle. Tuesday the U.S. House of Representatives approvated it with a resounding 348-60 vote.
The “Combating Organized Retail Crime Act,” or CORCA, is bipartisan, bicameral legislation to establish a coordinated, multi-agency approach and create new tools to tackle evolving trends in organized retail theft.
CORCA would establish an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This center would be tasked with improving coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, along with retail crime associations and subject-matter experts.
The aim: to develop a cohesive strategy to combat these crimes and share valuable resources.
“Organized retail crime is an issue that affects everyone. Whether you are a business owner, truck driver, or the average consumer, these criminal enterprises are hurting your wallet and putting communities in danger,” said Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), the bill’s primary sponsor in the House.
Joyce added that CORCA “takes a targeted approach to apprehending these criminal networks" with the coordination center, likewise by "giving law enforcement the tools they need to do their job and protect our communities.”
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer said the organization "supports Congress’ action to begin cracking down on fraud and theft throughout the supply chain" and urged Congress to "advance additional legislation that will crack down on scammers and schemes that directly target our members.”
American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear said the legislation should help trucking and law enforcement “fight back against highly organized, technologically advanced cargo theft rings, which are often orchestrated by transnational criminal groups.”
Truckload Carriers Association President Jim Mullen commended lawmakers for passing the bill, adding that “CORCA represents an important step in bringing together industry stakeholders, law enforcement, and the federal government to develop effective solutions against increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.”
With the bill’s passage in the House, it now moves to the U.S. Senate where it will need to pass before moving to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law. A version of the bill introduced in the Senate in April by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) currently has 43 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.
[Related: Congress moves closer to federal cargo theft enforcement mandate]
Volvo, Mack unveil EPA 2027-compliant engines
Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks last week unveiled their respective redesigned 13-liter engines (Volvo’s D13 and Mack’s MP13) meant to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2027 emissions regulations, which require a dramatic reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
The unveiling took place at the ACT Expo in Las Vegas.
Volvo Trucks President Peter Voorhoeve said the “new D13 is the most powerful, most reliable and most fuel efficient (engine) in the industry today.”
As reported by Overdrive’s sister publication CCJ, Volvo refined its existing aftertreatment system, in commercial use for more than a decade, rather than building out a whole new system with unproven tech. A key piece of the new model, CCJ’s Jason Cannon reported, is the use of electricity to increase exhaust temperatures, ensuring the aftertreatment system functions optimally even in cold conditions.
Despite added emissions hardware, a VNL with the new D13 is expected to be 10% more fuel-efficient than its predecessor.
The D13 is available up to 540 horsepower and 1,950 lb.-ft. torque and features a unique engine brake that delivers 630 braking horsepower for better control on heavy loads on steep descents.
Read more about Volvo’s updated D13 here in CCJ.
Mack’s updated MP13 was likewise re-engineered to meet 2027 emissions standards while also getting a performance boost for both highway and vocational applications, CCJ reported. Mack’s MP13 is available with hp and torque ratings identical to the D13.
Mack said to meet the new EPA standards, its engineers focused on more complete combustion cycles to reduce CO2, soot, and particulate matter.
Mack Senior Vice President Govi Kannan noted that the cost of compliance is expected to be roughly $10,000 over the prior generation engine.
The updated MP13 offers a 3% fuel improvement in the Mack Pioneer, Anthem, and Granite models. For the new Keystone vocational model, it reaches a 6% efficiency increase in the all-new compared to its predecessor, the Pinnacle. Mack officials noted the Keystone’s gains were achieved without sacrificing the off-road versatility required for vocational work.
More from CCJ on the new MP13 can be found here.
Waste Management gets partial driver qualification, Clearinghouse exemptions
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has partially granted an exemption request from Waste Management (WM) for waivers from certain driver qualification requirements and drug and alcohol clearinghouse regulations when its drivers are transferred among two or more WM carriers with different USDOT numbers.
One exemption granted to the company gives limited relief from certain driver qualification requirements to allow WM to use the exception for a “single-employer driver” when it transfers drivers among affiliates.
FMCSA also granted a limited exemption from the requirement for the driver to undergo controlled substances testing when being transferred among affiliates if the driver has participated in a WM random controlled substances testing pool for any WM-affiliated employer for the previous 12 months.
Finally, FMCSA will allow WM to conduct a limited, rather than full, Clearinghouse query when transferring drivers among affiliates. If the limited query indicates that information about the driver exists in the Clearinghouse, the driver is not permitted to perform safety-sensitive functions unless and until a full query subsequently shows that the driver is not prohibited from operating a CMV.
The agency, however, denied a request from WM for broad exemptions from the pre-employment controlled substance testing and Clearinghouse requirements.
Waste Management requested the waivers in August 2024. The company in requesting the exemptions said that as part of its residential and commercial trash and recycling collection and waste disposal services, WM employs tens of thousands of commercial motor vehicle drivers among affiliates operating under 83 USDOT numbers. It's centralized USDOT compliance efforts across all related carriers under its Employment Screening Program (ESP), and critical compliance processes and documents are managed through centralized information technology systems, the company added.
The waivers are effective for two years through May 13, 2028.
[Related: Waste Management seeks waiver from certain clearinghouse requirements]
