• All cargo must be firmly immobilized or secured on or within the vehicle.

Federal regulations specify how cargo and equipment on a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) must be loaded and secured to prevent that cargo or equipment from:

• Leaking, spilling, blowing, or falling from the vehicle; or
• Shifting so much that it adversely affects the vehicle’s stability or maneuverability.

Basic principles

All cargo must be firmly immobilized or secured on or within the vehicle using:

• Structures like floors, walls, and beams (as long as they are strong enough);
• Tiedowns like straps, chains, or ropes;
• Dunnage or dunnage bags;
• Shoring bars; or
• A combination of these.

Cargo that is likely to roll must be restrained by chocks, wedges, a cradle, or other equivalent means to prevent rolling. Those items used to prevent rolling must not be able to become loose in transit.

To prevent shifting, articles of cargo that are placed beside each other and secured by tiedowns across the top must either be:

• Placed in direct contact with each other; or
• Otherwise prevented from shifting towards each other while in transit, such as by placing dunnage in between.