Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, April 2, 2026:
Volvo, Daimler bring Toyota into fuel-cell development joint venture
Volvo Group, Daimler Truck AG and Toyota Motor Corporation have signed a non-binding agreement to cooperate in the fuel cell system joint venture cellcentric.
The three companies intend to collaborate based on an equal shareholding with Toyota as the third joint venture partner to cellcentric. Volvo and Daimler partnered to establish cellcentric in 2020.
The combination of the companies will support and accelerate their joint objective to develop, produce and commercialize fuel cell systems for heavy-duty vehicles and other heavy-duty applications with comparable requirements.cellcentric
Additionally, Toyota and cellcentric intend to jointly manage the development and production of fuel cell unit cells – the core component of fuel cell systems – and directly linked architecture and control elements with the aim of creating competitive products based on the technologies of both companies.
By combining Volvo’s and Daimler Truck’s extensive commercial vehicle expertise with Toyota’s fuel cell development, production technology and manufacturing experience, the aim is to further strengthen cellcentric’s technological advantage and market competitiveness.
“We are thrilled to explore this collaboration with Toyota, so that we through cellcentric can accelerate and create critical mass for hydrogen applications,” said Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO, Volvo Group. “This is an important signal to customers, suppliers, and others in the ecosystem. Given the importance of accelerating the transformation into net-zero transportation, the need of great companies coming together and collaborating is more important than ever.”
Karin Rådström, President & CEO of Daimler Truck, said bringing Toyota into the partnership “ will enable us to strengthen development and further scale hydrogen technology, which we believe must complement battery-electric drives in decarbonizing transport.”
Volvo, Daimler Truck and Toyota aim for equal shares in cellcentric, which will continue to operate as an independent and autonomous entity, serving a wide range of customers across heavy-duty on- and off- road transport as well as heavy-duty stationary applications. Volvo, Daimler Truck and Toyota will continue to compete independently in all other areas of their respective businesses.
The signed agreement is non-binding. The companies will continue discussions and aim to reach a legally binding agreement, which will be subject to approval by all relevant parties and by the respective boards and authorities.
ELD tampering now officially an OOS violation
Truck drivers found by an inspector with a false log violation as a result of ELD tampering will now find themselves out of service, as the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2026 North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria took effect April 1. The 2026 OOS criteria replace and supersede all previous versions, CVSA said.
With the new OOS criteria in effect, inspectors will now differentiate between:
- Traditional "false log" violations of 49 CFR 395.8(e)(1), and
- False-log violations that are the result of the growing issue of ELD tampering, which will be recorded as violations of 49 CFR 395.8(e)(2).
A determining factor at roadside will be whether or not the inspector can "determine approximately when the actual drive and rest periods occurred," according to CVSA Roadside Inspection Specialist Jeremy Disbrow in February. For violations determined to be tampering-related, inspectors will have no ability to make a determination of just when the last rest or drive period was established.
The addition of ELD tampering to the OOS criteria is just one of 17 changes the Alliance made to the criteria this year. Review the full list of changes here.
FMCSA offers data on railroad crossing crashes
Last May, as part of its deregulatory push, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the regulations related to driving at railroad grade crossings.
Currently, drivers of certain commercial vehicles -- buses transporting passengers, trucks hauling certain hazardous materials -- are required to stop before crossing a railroad track unless an exception applies, such as when the railroad grade crossing is controlled by a functioning highway traffic signal transmitting a green indication.
The agency last year proposed to add such an exemption for any railroad grade crossing equipped with an active warning device that is not in an activated state (flashing lights or crossing gates down, indicating the arrival of a train), which would allow CMVs to proceed across the tracks without slowing or stopping.
Last week, FMCSA issued a notification of data availability (NODA) to alert interested parties about information that FMCSA believes may be relevant. Using data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), FMCSA has identified information on vehicle and railroad collisions, rear-end CMV fatal crashes, and signal failures. That information, which FMCSA may consider it in the context of further regulatory action, is available on the Federal Register docket here.
The new data shows that very few hazmat-carrying trucks and passenger-carrying buses were involved in vehicle-rail collisions between 2016 and 2024. During the same time period, there were 10 fatal rear-end collisions at railroad crossings actively controlled by signals such as crossing gates and flashing lights, but none at crossings controlled with a highway signal that would show a green light or passive crossings marked with a crossbuck, but not equipped with an active highway or other signal.
FMCSA also used FRA data to report that across 71,249 active railroad grade crossings with multiple through trains per day, there are approximately 263 signal failures per year at railroad crossings.
FMCSA is now considering whether to rely upon this data in further regulatory action. The NODA is necessary to disclose such possible reliance and to provide the interested public an opportunity to comment on the accuracy and relevance of the information.
The comment period for the NPRM ended on July 29, 2025. Comments submitted in response to this NODA must be limited to addressing any relevant information related to the data. Comments addressing other matters will not be considered. Comments on the data can be filed here through April 27.
[Related: The 18 'burdensome' regulations FMCSA proposes to rescind, amend]
