Cleveland-Cliffs Steel: FMCSA provisionally renews and combines its hours-of-service and equipment exemptions

Where things stand on October 20, 2026: on September 30, 2026, FMCSA published a notice that provisionally renews two exemptions it had granted to Cleveland-Cliffs Steel LLC (Cliffs), formerly ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor, LLC, and consolidates them into one. They are exemptions from certain hours-of-service and parts and accessories requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). The notice gives the consolidated exemption an effective period of September 23, 2026, through March 23, 2027, 11:59 p.m. local time, unless revoked earlier. FMCSA is taking comments until October 30, 2026, in docket FMCSA-2016-0050. The relief is restricted to Cliffs' drivers and vehicles at its plant in East Chicago, Indiana.

The plant and the two crossings

Cliffs operates a steel plant at 3001 Dickey Road in East Chicago, Indiana. According to the notice, public roads pass through portions of the facility, so Cliffs has to cross public roadways when it moves steel coils and scrap metal between areas of the plant for further processing or shipment. There are two crossings:

• Riley Road, approximately 80 feet long.
• Dickey Road and 129th Street, approximately 0.2 mile of travel on a public roadway.

Cliffs states that both crossings are controlled intersections and that it currently averages approximately 32 crossings per day at each location.

What the exemption allows

Hours of service: coil and scrap drivers

As the notice summarizes it, under 49 CFR §395.3(a) drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) may not drive after having been on duty for 14 consecutive hours until they have been off duty for at least 10 consecutive hours, or the equivalent.

The exemption from §395.3(a) is restricted to Cliffs' employee-drivers with commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) who transport steel coils or scrap metal between the production and shipping locations identified in Cliffs' application. The notice says:

Drivers utilizing the exemption may work up to 16 consecutive hours in a duty period and return to work following at least 8 hours off duty when necessary.

Equipment: only the coil carriers

The exemption from four Part 393 provisions is restricted exclusively to Cliffs' specialized CMVs used to transport steel coils:

• §393.5, which defines heavy hauler trailer;
• §393.11, Table 1, footnote 4, on the mounting height of rear side marker lamps;
• §393.75(f), tire loading restrictions;
• §393.120, commodity-specific cargo securement requirements for metal coils.

Cliffs' scrap trucks are not covered by these exemptions and must comply with all applicable requirements of Part 393.

The coil carriers are specialized tractor-trailer combinations whose trailers have cradles that hold between one and five steel coils. According to Cliffs, they have an unloaded gross combination weight of approximately 77,000 pounds and may weigh as much as 263,171 pounds fully loaded. The notice says they have a maximum speed of approximately 30 to 33 miles per hour, operate at approximately 15 miles per hour when fully loaded, and use off-road tires. Cliffs also operates two scrap trucks, and states that each one is weighed before movement to ensure that it does not exceed 80,000 pounds.

Conditions

• CMVs operating under the exemption may use public roadways only at Riley Road and at the intersection of Dickey Road and 129th Street, and only to move steel coils or scrap metal between portions of Cliffs' facility.
• All drivers operating under the exemption must hold CDLs. Drivers and vehicles must comply with all other applicable provisions of the FMCSRs.
• Cliffs must maintain any oversize or overweight permits required by State or local authorities.

Notifying FMCSA of an accident

Cliffs must notify FMCSA within 5 business days of any accident, as defined in §390.5, involving a CMV operating under the exemption. The notification must include:

1. the exemption identifier, Cleveland-Cliffs Steel LLC;
2. the name and USDOT number of the motor carrier;
3. the date of the accident;
4. the city or town, and State, in which the accident occurred, or which is closest to the scene;
5. the driver's name and driver's license number;
6. the vehicle number and State license number;
7. the number of individuals suffering physical injury;
8. the number of fatalities;
9. the police-reported cause of the accident;
10. whether the driver was cited for violation of any traffic laws or motor carrier safety regulations;
11. the total driving time and total on-duty time of the driver at the time of the accident.

States

Under §381.600, as the notice applies it, during the period the exemption is in effect no State shall enforce any law or regulation that conflicts with or is inconsistent with the exemption with respect to a person operating under it. States may, but are not required to, adopt the same exemption for operations in intrastate commerce.

Revocation

The notice says:

FMCSA will immediately revoke the exemption if: (1) Cliffs, its drivers, or CMVs fail to comply with the terms and conditions of the exemption; (2) the exemption results in a lower level of safety than was maintained before it was granted; or (3) continuation of the exemption would not be consistent with the goals and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136 or chapter 313.

FMCSA also writes that, should the safety record of Cliffs, its drivers or its CMVs deteriorate, it will take all steps necessary to protect the public interest, including revocation of the exemption without prior notice.

How long it lasts: six months, and two passages that say five years

Section V.A of the notice, the grant of the exemption, says:

FMCSA provisionally renews and consolidates Cliffs' two existing exemptions for six months, subject to the terms and conditions of this decision and the absence of adverse public comments that would cause the Agency to revoke the exemption. The consolidated exemption is effective September 23, 2026, through March 23, 2027, 11:59 p.m. local time, unless revoked earlier.

The DATES section of the notice gives the same period. Two other passages speak of 5 years. In section IV, FMCSA concludes:

Therefore, for the reasons discussed above and in FMCSA's previous decisions, FMCSA concludes that provisionally renewing and consolidating the exemptions for an additional 5 years, subject to the terms and conditions below, would likely maintain a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety achieved without the exemptions.

And section V.E says:

The exemption will be valid for 5 years as provided in section V.A., unless revoked earlier by FMCSA.

Section V.A, which V.E refers to, gives six months and the dates above. The notice does not explain the difference.

What it replaces

Effective September 23, 2026, the consolidated exemption supersedes:

• the steel-coil exemptions, originally granted in 2016 and renewed effective September 23, 2021, through September 23, 2026;
• the separate scrap-truck exemption from the hours-of-service requirements of Part 395, granted on May 11, 2022, which was effective through May 11, 2027.

On July 21, 2026, Cliffs applied for a 5-year renewal of both exemptions and asked FMCSA to consolidate them into a single exemption under a single effective period. Cliffs states that both exemptions arise from the same plant operation, involve the same two public-roadway crossings, and impose the same hours-of-service terms and safety controls.

Why FMCSA renewed it

What Cliffs states. Driving is approximately 10 percent of the covered employees' workday, and employees do not work more than 16 hours per day, with a 16-hour workday being the exception rather than the rule. Its drivers generally work an 8-hour shift plus overtime, while the production and shipping areas operate 12-hour shifts; without the exemption, Cliffs says, the difference creates a potential gap in moving coils and scrap between portions of the facility. Cliffs also states that there have been no safety-related incidents or accidents attributable to operations under the exemptions during the past 10 years, and that its operations remain substantially the same.

What FMCSA says. FMCSA is not aware of any evidence showing that Cliffs' operations under the existing exemptions have resulted in a degradation in safety. The covered CMVs travel only short distances on public roads within or immediately adjacent to the facility; the crossings occur at controlled intersections; the coil carriers operate at low speeds when loaded, and Cliffs marks and flags them as oversize loads and uses conspicuity tape; covered drivers hold CDLs and remain subject to all other applicable FMCSRs. FMCSA concludes that the renewal and consolidation would likely maintain a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level achieved without the exemptions.

The legal basis. Under §381.315(a) FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption request in the Federal Register, and under §381.315(b) it must publish its decision there. Under §381.300(b), an exemption may be renewed.

Comments

FMCSA requests comments on Cliffs' application to renew and consolidate its exemptions. Comments must be received on or before October 30, 2026, in docket FMCSA-2016-0050. FMCSA specifically asks for information on the safety performance of Cliffs' drivers and CMVs operating under the exemption and on whether the consolidated exemption would maintain the requisite statutory level of safety. Comments received after the closing date will be filed in the public docket and considered to the extent practicable. As section V.A says, the provisional renewal is subject to the absence of adverse public comments that would cause FMCSA to revoke the exemption.

Sources

• FMCSA, Hours of Service of Drivers; Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Exemption Renewal for Cleveland-Cliffs Steel LLC, notice of provisional renewal of exemption; request for comments, 91 FR 61916 (September 30, 2026).
• Docket FMCSA-2016-0050, regulations.gov.
• 49 CFR §395.3.
• 49 CFR Part 393.
• 49 CFR §390.5.
• 49 CFR Part 381.