The American Trucking Associations (ATA) shared in a news release that it supports the House Appropriations Committee’s vote to crack down on predatory towing in the 2025 fiscal year’s transportation funding bill.

The bill would direct the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to facilitate discussions with local, state, and private sector stakeholders to develop guidelines for towing and recovery regulations at all levels of government. 

“Charging truck owners thousands of dollars for each unwanted tow and holding cargo hostage with excessive invoices are egregious practices that disrupt our supply chain,” said Chris Spear, ATA’s president, in a release.

“ATA and our federation of state associations are fighting back against these predatory towers and ransom payments that target the truckers we depend on to deliver our nation’s goods. We welcome this important step forward to develop commonsense reforms that will inject more transparency and fairness into the system and hold unscrupulous companies accountable.”

Predatory towing involves incidents in which a towing operator significantly overcharges, unlawfully seizes assets, damages assets using improper equipment, or illegitimately withholds the release of a truck, trailer, or cargo.

According to a recent study by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the most frequent types of predatory towing include excessive rates, experienced by 82.7% of motor carriers, and unwarranted extra service charges, experienced by 81.8% of carriers. Between 2021 and 2023, 30% of crash-related tows included predatory billing, ATRI found.