Today I Learned – August 2026

NACFE does most of its work in the field at industry events and staff members hear a lot of interesting things each month. Here are some things we learned recently. Contact us if you want to ask questions about where and how we learned what we share here.

As of July 22, 2026, the FMCSA officially eliminated three long-standing paperwork mandates — physical in-cab ELD manuals, CDL conviction self-reporting, and mandatory roadside inspection report returns — scrapping obsolete rules that generated thousands of administrative violations annually.

— Dean Bushey, Director of Programs

According to the Tesla impact report, Model Y batteries degrade ~20% of their capacity at 200,000 miles, and it takes ~15 years for the average truck to accumulate that many miles. While good news for the auto industry, we need to keep an eye on this for heavy-duty trucks.

— Jeff Seger, Clean Energy Consultant

The Port of Prince Rupert, B.C., has the deepest harbor in North America, allowing deep draft large container vessels. It is 500 nautical miles closer to Asian ports than other Pacific ports, speeding intermodal loads inland to Chicago in 4 to 4.5 days.

— Rick Mihelic, Director of Emerging Technologies

In 2025 there were about 35,000 fuel cell trucks in the world, of which 95% were in China. China also accounted for 90% of electric truck sales last year and about a quarter of the total trucks sold there were electric. China’s electric truck fleet now numbers around one million.  

— Ken North, Emerging Technologies Consultant

In 2025, the average price for a gallon of diesel in the US was $3.66. As of August 10, 2026, the average price for a gallon of diesel in the US is $5.26 — a jump of $1.60.

— Kim Ehrenhaft, Design Director

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