[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
FMCSA issues fuel transport waiver as diesel supplies tighten
Agency points to global disruptions and increased seasonal demand forecasts
FMCSA issued the waiver effective Sept. 16, and it will expire Dec. 16. (Getty Images)
Key Takeaways:
- FMCSA issued a limited hours-of-service waiver for interstate gasoline and diesel haulers through Dec. 16.
- Drivers operating under the waiver must follow specific driving, rest and licensing requirements.
- The agency cited fuel supply disruptions and expected demand increases tied to transportation and agricultural harvesting.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has waived hours-of-service requirements for interstate gasoline and diesel haulers through Dec. 16 as fuel suppliers and agricultural harvesters contend with supply disruptions and higher demand forecasts.
FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs issued the waiver Sept. 16, and it took effect that day.
The waiver came in response to “global supply disruptions, anticipated increases in the demand for gasoline and diesel fuels in the late summer and fall, and to mitigate impacts on the costs and availability of fuel for transportation service providers, agricultural harvesting and the traveling public as the demand increases,” FMCSA noted.
The limited waiver was issued to provide greater delivery and distribution flexibility amid current global supply chain disruptions as transportation and agricultural harvesting demands increase.
Requirements
The HOS waiver stipulated that drivers delivering fuel must:
Not drive more than 16 hours in any 24-hour period. This limit applies even if the driver is also operating under an exception in 49 CFR 395.1 or any other waiver, exemption or declaration.
Take a break of at least at least six consecutive hours in the sleeper berth in each 24-hour period. If there is no sleeper berth, drivers must take a break of a minimum of eight consecutive hours in each 24-hour period.
Maintain a valid commercial driver license for the transportation with all necessary endorsements for the commercial motor vehicle being operated and not be subject to an out-of-service order, disqualification or lost driving privileges.
Keep a physical or digital copy of the waiver in their possession when operating under the waiver and present it to law enforcement officers if requested.
Image
FMCSA Administrator issued the waiver Sept. 16 (FMCSA via X)
FMCSA noted if a driver operating under the waiver at any time informs a carrier about needing immediate rest, that driver must be immediately allowed to find a safe resting place and given at least 10 consecutive off-duty hours before resuming driving.
“The waiver applies while the driver returns empty to the motor carrier’s terminal or the driver’s normal work reporting location,” the waiver noted.
When shifting from hauling fuel under the waiver to normal operations, a driver is required to take a 10-hour break when the total time reaches 14 hours or greater, which may also take into account transporting both fuel combined with normal operations.
Motor carriers or drivers subject to a current out-of-service order are ineligible for the waiver until the order has been rescinded in writing by the issuing jurisdiction.
Diesel supply pressures
Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, acknowledged higher diesel costs are the result of an unprecedented disruption of global refining capacity.
Read the latest from API President & CEO @mj_sommers in @WSJopinion: https://t.co/43gL44GMkO
— American Petroleum Institute (@APIenergy) September 29, 2026
According to API, “the world has lost almost 10% of its fuel-making capacity” with millions of barrels each day of diesel off the market.
Less crude is being processed as diesel, which constricts the supply and places greater economic pressure on truckers as well as farmers during seasonal crop harvests.
“The U.S. produces more diesel than any other country — and our refineries are running all-out. They produced more diesel this July than in any July on record — operating at a 97% utilization rate,” API noted. “But those high utilization rates also mean that refineries don’t have the ability to further increase fuel production, and there aren’t easy ways to increase the share of each barrel of oil that becomes diesel. Right now, the strain is at the refining step.” Thus, FMCSA’s HOS waiver of 49 CFR 395.3 for motor carriers and drivers transporting essential gasoline and diesel fuel affirmed gas, diesel and jet fuel are the nation’s main transportation fuels.
FMCSA noted that while the waiver remains in effect through Dec. 16, no state shall enforce any conflicting interstate law or regulation to impede a driver or motor carrier operating under the waiver.
“States may also adopt the same waiver or policy with respect to operations in intrastate commerce,” the agency noted.
