Celebrate Transit Employee Appreciation Day: March 18

Join UCR in honoring the public transportation industry workforce on March 18, 2026 — National Transit Employee Appreciation Day. Make plans for your organization to show gratitude to the industry’s dedicated employees.

National Transit Employee Appreciation Day is the perfect time to salute transit’s workforce and position transit as a viable career. Use the official National Transit Employee Appreciation Day hashtag, #TransitEmployeeAppreciationDay, when posting to social media.

Inspector Recognition

The inspector who noted the most UCR violations in February 2026 was Officer Scott Grimm, Illinois Commerce Commission Police. Officer Grimm issued 35 violations. 

The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Enforcement Subcommittee is pleased to recognize the inspector who issues the highest number of UCR violations each month. An annual award will be awarded to the inspector with the most cumulative violations over the year. The mission of the UCR Enforcement Subcommittee is to increase UCR enforcement, standardize enforcement practices, support enforcement agencies, and provide education and training resources. For more information about the UCR Enforcement Subcommittee, please visit https://plan.ucr.gov/subcommittee-members/.

Policy Spotlight: Audit Compliance

Participating states are required to perform audits each year on carriers who retreat from one payment bracket to a lower payment bracket to verify that the company has properly deducted vehicles from its UCR payment. This policy outlines the procedures if a State fails to meet the audit requirements or audit reporting standards.

View the complete Audit Compliance Policy in this document.

View this and all of the policies and procedures adopted by the UCR Board of Directors in the Document Library.

Education for Compliance Training Spotlight: State Admin Training

The UCR State Admin Training provides an overview of the Unified Carrier Registration Plan, including who needs to register and how to do so, and multiple guides for state employees on administrative tasks such as tracking registrations, refunding payments, and conducting audits.

View this training and further educational resources to support training for stakeholders in motor carrier regulation in the UCR Plan Educational Resources for Compliance Training.

Fleet buying spree signals trucking down-cycle may be turning

North American fleets sharply increased orders for new heavy-duty trucks in February, signaling strengthening demand across the freight market. Preliminary data from FTR Transportation Intelligence shows Class 8 net orders totaled 47,200 units in February, up 47% from January and 159% year over year. 

Source: “Fleet buying spree signals trucking down-cycle may be turning,” Mar 5, 2026. https://www.freightwaves.com/

Judge rules companies are entitled to refunds for Trump tariffs overturned by the Supreme Court

In a defeat for the Trump administration, a federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by Supreme Court are due refunds. Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade wrote that “all importers of record’’ were “entitled to benefit’’ from the Supreme Court ruling that struck down sweeping double-digit import taxes President Donald Trump imposed last year under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Source: “Judge rules companies are entitled to refunds for Trump tariffs overturned by the Supreme Court,” Mar 5, 2026. https://www.thetrucker.com/

FMCSA: Trucking Insurance Minimums Fall Short for Fleet Risk

Current federal minimum insurance levels in the trucking industry fail to adequately cover fleet risk for catastrophic losses as a result of spiraling medical costs across the past four decades, according to a new report to Congress.

The Federal Motor Carrier Administration in its 14-page report titled “Examining the Appropriateness of the Current Financial Responsibility and Security Requirements for Motor Carriers, Brokers and Freight Forwarders — Report to Congress” briefed lawmakers about current minimum financial responsibility requirements for motor carriers of property and passengers as well as current bond and insurance requirements for freight forwarders and brokers. Brokers are defined as those paid to arrange or offer to arrange the transport of property by an authorized motor carrier. The report is prepared every four years.

Source: “FMCSA: Trucking Insurance Minimums Fall Short for Fleet Risk,” Mar 4, 2026. https://www.ttnews.com/