Happy Birthday, America!

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Author

Reed Loustalot
July 03, 2026

TRUCK PARKING CLUB

Friday Bulletin • July 3, 2026

Good Morning Truck Parking Club Members,

How Do You Really Feel About Trucking Right Now?

Forget the rate sheets and the load boards for a minute. This week we want the honest gut check: are you more optimistic or more burned out than a year ago, is the job better or worse than the day you started, and would you tell a friend to get into it today. We're asking every driver on this list, new and 30-year veteran, and we'll share what comes back.

Ten quick questions. $25 promo code shown after you submit.

The Big Thing

The Parking Money Is Finally Moving. Just Don't Wait On It.

For years the truck parking shortage got studies, hearings, and a lot of sympathy. This year it is getting checks. This month the Department of Transportation opened a $627 million INFRA grant round with a dedicated $200 million carved out only for commercial truck parking. That is the first real slice of the historic $200 million Congress signed into law back in February. The first application deadline landed July 1, with a second round due July 15.

And that might be the small pile. A separate 2027 transportation funding bill cleared the House Appropriations Committee on June 3 with another $200 million for parking. A new highway bill moving through Congress carries a near copy of the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, which would put $750 million toward parking over five years. Add it up and there is close to $1.2 billion on the table, more than has ever been aimed at this problem at one time.

The strings on the money are the right ones. It can only go to public parking near Interstates and the National Highway System, the spaces have to stay free for drivers, and none of it can go to EV charging or fuel islands. Rural and small-town projects get their own set-aside so it does not all pour into the big metros. This is real, and it is the closest thing to a win the parking fight has had.

Here is the catch. Grant money moves at government speed. Applications get scored, awards get announced, reviews happen, and then someday somebody pours concrete. The spaces this builds are years out, not weekends out. It does nothing for the driver circling an exit at 9 p.m. tonight, on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, looking for a legal place to shut down.

So celebrate the billion. It is earned, and it took years of pushing to get here. Just do not plan this weekend's parking around a spot that does not exist yet. The capacity that is already built, on private lots, yards, and secured locations, is the capacity you can actually book right now.

The money is coming. The spot you need is already here.

🎆 $50 Off for America's 250th

The country turns 250 this weekend, and we are not letting it pass quietly. For the holiday we are putting $50 toward your next place to park.

Use code america250 for $50 off a booking at any of our locations nationwide. Rolling straight through the weekend or shutting down to catch the fireworks, either way, grab a real spot before the good lots fill up. Good through the holiday weekend.

Mile Markers

Where the numbers landed this week.

Diesel: $4.668/gal, down about 16 cents on the week. That is the seventh straight weekly drop, though the pump is still roughly 94 cents higher than a year ago. (EIA)

Spot rates (all-in, national average): Van $2.74, Reefer $3.05, Flatbed $3.30 per mile. Load posts fell about 10% to 3.39 million as the pre-July 4 push faded, and van and reefer each slipped a penny. Flatbed still ticked up a cent, its 13th straight weekly gain. The market is holding near multi-year highs, with reefer running about 36% above a year ago. (DAT)

Stay Off The Ramp

You shouldn't have to choose between a highway ramp and a HOS violation. Thousands of drivers make that call every night. We built Truck Parking Club so you don't have to.

Use code ramp25 for $25 off any daily booking at any of our 5,600+ locations. Find a real spot tonight.

Quick Hits

Super Trucker Membership - $9.99/month

Unmatched flexibility + brand new features, right at your fingertips.

  • 5 refunds per month (cancel before booking starts, money goes to Club Cash)

  • 5 free booking date changes per month

  • 5% Club Cash on every purchase (up from 1%), up to $50/month

  • Access to Truck Navigation with every booking

  • MORE BENEFITS TO COME!

Property Members: Free Signage & Access Controls

Need signage for your lot? Have an automated gate you want connected to our app? We cover it.

News

Cargo Thieves Love a Long Weekend, and July 3 Is Their Favorite Day. CargoNet is warning that the stretch around July 4 is peak season for organized cargo theft, when facilities close, crews go home, and loaded trailers sit unattended. Their five-year data shows theft peaks on July 3, which this year is the holiday Friday itself. Losses have already topped $359 million in the first half of 2026, the average stolen load now runs about $341,500, and California, Texas, and Illinois lead the hot spots. If you have to drop and park loaded this weekend, do it somewhere secured and gated, not a dark ramp or an open shoulder. Read more on Overdrive

English Proficiency Is Now a Permanent Reason to Get Parked. The English language proficiency check that became an out-of-service violation in June 2025 is now written into the inspectors' standing rulebook and backed by federal law. One three-day operation across 26 states earlier this year put nearly 500 drivers out of service over it. The check is two steps, a verbal interview and a run through highway signs, and inspectors are told not to lean on translation apps or a passenger to get a driver through it. One failed stop grounds the truck and lands on your CSA record, so know the format before you are sitting in it. Read more on CDLLife

The Non-Domiciled CDL Crackdown Just Got a $160 Million Price Tag. FMCSA is withholding roughly $160 million in federal safety funding from California over the state's slow pace canceling about 13,000 non-domiciled CDLs it agreed to pull. It is the sharpest move yet in a nationwide push that started with a rule limiting non-domiciled licenses to a narrow set of work visas and requiring immigration status to be verified before a license is issued. For everyone running clean, this is capacity quietly leaving the road, which tends to firm up rates for the carriers who stay. If you hire drivers on non-domiciled CDLs, pull fresh records now and confirm every license is still valid. Read more on Trucksafe

The Walcott Truckers Jamboree -- July 9-11

The 48th Annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree returns to the Iowa 80 Truckstop off I-80, Exit 284 in Walcott, Iowa. Last year's event drew over 45,000 people.

This year features the Super Truck Beauty Contest, antique truck display, Trucker Olympics, Iowa pork chop cookout, fireworks at 9 PM, and live music all three days. Admission and parking are free.

The Regulars

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