b'14American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comBreakbulk shipping scores big wins in 2025,(STRIKINGcontinued fromblecoins in the U.S. is creating page 12) significantpotentialforfinan-time for the European Union tocialinstability.Ourmonetary prepares for busy 2026 bring its assets fully into play.space and financial players must Buttodoso,certainchangescontinue to be protected. Europe By Debra Phillips, AJOT in policy must be made, partic- must and intends to remain an ularlyattheEuropeanCentralareaofmonetarystabilityand Breakbulkshippingisalldrivers by lengthening the max- transport regulated commoditiesBank(ECB),whichcontinuescredible investment.aboutmovingbigproducts,imum on-duty period for driversor passengers across state lines.to sell the government bonds itAll of this should enable the fromturbinebladesneededtofrom 12 to 14 hours and extend- Thischangeisgoodnewsforholds, at the risk of pushing upeurotostrengthenitsposition supportwindfarms,tosteelingthedistancelimitwithinmotorcarriers,includingthoselong-terminterestrates,slow- amongreservecurrenciespro-beams and precast concrete struc- whichthedrivermayoperatehauling OS/OW loads, becauseing down economic activity andvided there is an offer of liquid tures for infrastructure projects.from100airmilesto150airitstreamlinestheregistrationcausing the euro to rise. and secure assets through Euro-In 2025, the oversize and over- miles.Theseexemptionsareaprocess,reducesadministrativepean bonds.weight (OS/OW) trucking sectorcrucial factor enabling OS/OWburden, and helps prevent fraudr iSK oFF inanciaLc riSiS Thisisconsistentwith also scored some big wins onproviders to serve the industrieswithin the industry. e merging amassiveEuropeaninvest-the regulatory front in the Unitedthat drive market sector growth. FmcSa a LLowS ap haSed With the US dollar and Chi- mentplanininnovationand States. This market sector, essen- e Limination oFm otor pproach to the andate nese renminbi serving as weap- defense,butinanaggregated tial to supply chain logistics, isam ons and growth stalling on thisandnon-fragmentedmanner. expected to grow in 2026 withc arriern umberS Foraeb S yStemS side of the Atlantic, he considersThis would enable us to position theexpansionofrenewableS treamLineSp roceSSeS Anotherissueofconcernthat European monetary policyourselves in the global race for energyandinfrastructureproj- Theseexemptionsareaforheavy-dutytruckershascouldbesignificantlyadjustedinnovation,Macronobserved, ects,particularlyindevelopingcrucial factor enabling OS/OWbeen the FMCSA mandate fortoday.RevaluingtheEuropeanwhofearsgreaterdivergence countries.Tokeeppacewithproviders to serve the industriesAutomaticEmergencyBrak- internal market means that infla- between European economies in demand for service and the com- that drive market sector growth.ing (AEB) on most heavy-dutytioncannotbetheonlyobjec- the coming years.plexity of global supply chains,Anotherwinforheavy-dutytrucks.Whiletheheavy-dutytive;growthandemploymentEuropesplaceintomor-OS/OWvehicleprovidersaretruckers in 2025 was the elim- trucking industry acknowledgesmust also be taken into account. rowsworldwilldependon undergoingdigitaltransforma- inationoftheMotorCarrierthesafetyadvantagesofthisThisisnecessarybecausenegotiationswithBeijingand tion, adopting new technologies(MC) number, a federal identifi- technology,implementationthe risks of a financial crisis areWashington but also and above to achieve greater efficiency. cation number that grants legalpresentschallenges,includingemerging. The growing dereg- all,onthedecisionstakenin r ecentr eguLatory authority for a for-hire carrier to(WINScontinued on page 16) ulation of crypto-assets and sta- Brussels, he concluded.c hangeSa LLowF LexibiLityForm eaLb reaKSOn December 4, 2025, the FederalMotorSafetyAdmin-istration(FMCSA)published a final decision to fully renew an exemption requested by the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) from the 30-minuterestbreakprovision of the Hours of Service (HOS) regulations. The Association and its members had wanted to avoid themandated30-minutebreak forseveralreasons.According totheSC&RA,statepermits oftenrestrictOS/OWloadsto specific days and hours, which frequentlyconflictwiththe mandatory30-minutebreak timing, making compliance dif-ficult. While the nation faces a severeshortageofparkingfor trucks,findingsafeandlegal parking for huge loads is espe-cially challenging, and a forced breakoftenmeansparkingon highwayshoulders,sometimes extendingintotraffic,which creates high crash risks.The FMCSA has acknowl-edged that OS/OW drivers are at least as likely to be in a crash whileparkedroadsidefora break as during driving, making the break counterproductive to safetyinthesespecificsitua-tions,asnotedintheFederal Register. Therecentrulingby the FMCSA comes after several yearsofadvocacyeffortsby the SC&RA and several interim rules by the agency for a limited period. The SC&RA responded positivelytotheFMCSAs action,viewingitasamajor victory for the industry.For drivers of oversize and overweightvehicles,thenew regulationallowsflexibilityin satisfyingthe30-minuterest breakrule,whichrequiresa breakaftereighthoursofcon-secutive driving. The break can besatisfiedbyadriverusing on-duty,notdrivingstatus rather than off duty status. The new rule also modifies the split sleeper berth exception to allow drivers to divide their required 10 hours off duty into two periods: an 8/2 split or a 7/3 split. Neither periodwouldcountagainstthe drivers 14-hour driving window. The rule also changes short-haul exceptionsavailabletocertain'