🎣 California's Non-Dom CDL Standoff

Happy Monday. California’s plan to reissue thousands of non-domiciled CDLs has been paused again after federal regulators stepped in – that and more in today's feature.

Plus:

• UP–NS Merger Faces Pushback
• USDOT Extends ELP Enforcement to Rail
• $200K Cargo Fraud Case

🍳 What's Cookin' In Freight

🚆 UP–NS Merger Faces Growing Pushback. Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern say their proposed merger would reshape U.S. rail service by creating 10,000 single-line lanes and shifting 105,000 truckloads from highway to rail. Executives argue single-line service cuts costs, transit times, and handling compared to interline moves, boosting rail share in key markets. But opposition is mounting. BNSF CEO Katie Farmer warned the deal could reduce shipper choice and raise prices, citing past merger service failures. Shipper groups, labor unions, attorneys general, and bipartisan lawmakers are urging the Surface Transportation Board to apply strict scrutiny.

🚦 USDOT Extending English Proficiency Crackdown to Rail. Federal regulators are extending English-language proficiency enforcement from trucking to rail operations after safety inspections raised concerns. U.S. DOT Sean Duffy said the Federal Rail Administration (FRA) inspectors found cross-border rail crews struggling to interpret track bulletins and communicate safety instructions in English. “Whether you’re operating an 80,000-pound big rig or a massive freight train, you need to be proficient in our national language – English. If you aren’t, you create an unacceptable safety risk,” Duffy said. The FRA has capped non-English-proficient crews from Mexico at 10 miles inside the U.S. and sent certification letters to Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

🚨 Cargo Fraud Shifts From Theft to Deception. A nearly $200,000 cargo fraud involving a San Francisco tile supplier shows how cargo crime is evolving from trailer break-ins to sophisticated impersonation schemes. Fraudsters posed as a major engineering firm, used fake documents and Net-30 terms, and vanished after multiple high-value shipments were delivered. Industry data shows this isn’t isolated. Overhaul reports U.S. cargo theft rose 29% YoY, with criminals increasingly relying on digital fraud, synthetic identities, and AI-driven tactics rather than physical theft. In a separate Southern California case, Overhaul’s real-time monitoring helped recover a $200,000 full truckload after a tractor-trailer theft.

Together With OTR Solutions

Free yourself from back-office chaos.

With OTR Solutions, brokers get true automation and access to working capital, so you can focus on moving freight, not managing paperwork.

• Access your margin within 24 hours
• Outsource billing, AP, and AR
• Leverage flexible working capital

Powerful back-office solutions that scale with your brokerage.

California’s 17,000 Non-Dom CDL Reissue Plan Paused as ELP OOS Tally Hits 10,203

California’s non-domiciled CDL drama just added another plot twist, and it’s landing right in the middle of USDOT’s broader push on licensing eligibility and English Language Proficiency (ELP) enforcement.

What happened in California

California planned to restart issuing “corrected” non-domiciled commercial learner permits (CLPs) and CDLs on Dec. 17, after the DMV said it had satisfied federal compliance conditions.

One day before that restart date, FMCSA notified the state that it may not resume issuance, effectively pausing the plan.

California officials confirmed they halted the restart after receiving that federal directive and met with FMCSA on Dec. 18 to discuss next steps.

There has been no public approval from FMCSA or the U.S. Department of Transportation allowing California to proceed.

Key Numbers:

• The DMV identified ~20,100 non-domiciled CDLs with expiration dates that exceeded a driver’s legal presence/work authorization.
• On Nov. 6, the DMV said it sent notices to ~17,400 drivers, warning their licenses would be canceled in 60 days if they couldn’t show updated lawful presence matching the CDL term.
• KQED reports 17,000 licenses are set to be rescinded on Jan. 5.

Still, California maintains its complaint:

"DMV stands ready to resume issuing commercial driver’s licenses, including corrected licenses to eligible drivers."

As of now, California has not indicated it will defy federal regulators. The state is paused, negotiating, and waiting.

Meanwhile, an article from FreightWaves explains that California is dealing with two separate issues:

• The stayed September interim final rule (court action)
• Pre-existing FMCSA compliance failures uncovered in the 2025 Annual Program Review

And that distinction is key to the overall issue.

ELP Enforcement Numbers Keep Climbing

Overdrive reports that, as of Dec. 18, inspectors placed 10,203 CDL drivers out-of-service in 2025 for violating the federal ELP requirement (49 CFR 391.11(b)(2)), citing data mined from Fusable’s MC Advantage.

USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy confirms:

"We’ve already removed nearly 10,000 unqualified drivers and we don’t plan on taking our foot off the gas anytime soon!"

FMCSA Data Scrub?

Separately, a discussion has been circulating on Freight X alleging that data tied to non-domiciled CDLs was “scrubbed” from federal dashboards. Those claims have not been confirmed by FreightCaviar.

Several industry commenters pushed back on the more extreme interpretations, noting that CDL issuance and domicile status are maintained by state DMVs, not directly by FMCSA.

So, changes appearing in federal dashboards could reflect state-level data cleanups, reclassifications, expirations, or reporting logic updates, rather than drivers “disappearing” from the workforce.

Together With GenLogs

Santa (and shippers) both hate stolen loads from sold MC numbers.

That's why Santa loves GenLogs' new Carrier Compliance Suite.

GenLogs ensures every carrier is real and still running the roads.
Get off the shippers' naughty list. Get total trusted capacity today!

 🌎 Around The Freight Web

📈 Rejections Spike Again. Truckload rejection rates jumped to 12.8% overnight, their highest level since April 2022, according to SONAR data shared by Craig Fuller.

⚖️ 133 Pileup Verdict. A Texas jury awarded $44.1 million to Christopher Ray Vardy’s family, finding New Prime grossly negligent after a driver without winter training caused the deadly 133-vehicle I-35W pileup in Feb 2021.

🌬️ Train Toppled. A parked BNSF freight train with 150 double-stacked containers was blown over near Cheyenne after 75–78 mph wind gusts, scattering cars like dominoes. No injuries were reported.

🍺 Armed Theft Ring. Jose Cesari was sentenced to 5 years in prison for running an armed beer cargo theft operation that targeted railyards and warehouses, stealing truckloads and threatening workers during heists.

⛔ Kansas Shutdown. High winds and blowing dust forced temporary trucking shutdowns across parts of Kansas, as officials halted traffic due to near-zero visibility and rollover risks on Dec. 18.

🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER

• Manifest 2026: The Manifest Vegas 2026 agenda features 175+ sessions and 400+ speakers across three days of innovation and real-world insights. Register now to save $200 off the current price, a total savings of $700 off the on-site rate! ManifestVegas.com/FreightCaviar
• FreightCaviar Podcast: Is technology enough to fight freight fraud? What can the industry expect in the year ahead? OTR Solutions President Clayton Griffin answers your biggest questions. Catch the episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

FREIGHT HUMOR