Minnesota Gives Truckers 10% More Weight, HOS Relief

Minnesota just handed harvest haulers and fuel haulers real, concrete relief — and with diesel sitting above $6 a gallon, the timing matters.

Gov. Tim Walz signed Emergency Executive Order 26-11 on October 1. It lets qualifying trucks exceed normal weight limits by up to 10% while hauling corn, soybeans, wheat, potatoes, carrots, sugar beets, and forest products — but only from the harvest site to the first point of unloading, and only on state and local highways. Interstates are excluded, full stop.

A separate provision gives hours-of-service relief to drivers hauling fuel: diesel, fuel oil, gasoline, ethanol, and biodiesel. The state's logic is simple — fewer trips per harvest means less fuel burned when fuel is painfully expensive.

Know the limits before you roll. The order runs until it's rescinded or October 30, 2026, whichever comes first. CDL, drug-and-alcohol, and equipment rules still apply — this isn't a free pass, it's a weight and HOS carve-out. And when the emergency assistance ends, normal safety regulations snap back, including rest provisions for drivers coming off the relief.

Minnesota isn't alone: governors in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas have taken similar steps — but the exact rules vary by state, so check each jurisdiction before you cross the line. If you haul harvest or fuel anywhere in the Upper Midwest this month, read your state's order, not the headlines.