Two bills just dropped in the Senate that could reshape trucking faster than anything since deregulation. Plus: Russian hackers targeted your load board, flatbed rejection rates just hit 40%, and a robot is taking the Houston-Dallas overnight run.
This week: The Dalilah Law, a trucking bankruptcy that wiped out thousands overnight, a FreightGuard civil war on Reddit, and the payroll data that's predicting Q4 capacity.
Indiana pulled the trigger on carriers employing illegal CDL holders. Plus: tariff ruling could flood LA with imports, DC finally moves on double brokers, spot rates are outrunning contract, and more.
Plus: The Supreme Court reviews Trump’s tariff case, IPS and J&R Schugel join forces, U.S. Bank shows shrinking freight but rising rates, and more in today's newsletter.
Good Monday morning. The DOT's compliance net just got wider. Secretary Sean Duffy says shippers will now share liability for unqualified drivers, a move that will ripple to the brokers they hire.
Plus:
TOP LANE MOVERS POWERED BY TRIUMPH
⚖️ Supreme Court to Decide Future of Presidential Tariff Power. The Armchair Attorney's Matthew Leffler says Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc. could become the defining Supreme Court case on executive trade authority. At issue is whether presidents can use the 1977 IEEPA law to impose sweeping import tariffs without Congress. Lower courts have blocked Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, duties of up to 60% on global imports, calling them unconstitutional. What's at stake? Nearly $90 billion in tariff revenue, hundreds of trade deals, and the balance of power between Congress and the presidency. A ruling against Trump could reaffirm legislative control over trade, while a victory would grant the White House vast unilateral economic power.
🤝 IPS Acquires J&R Schugel. Interstate Personnel Services (IPS) has acquired J&R Schugel (JRS), merging two employee-owned carriers into a 2,000-truck, 6,000-trailer network. Both companies’ employee-owners “voted overwhelmingly in favor” of the deal, announced in late October. The acquisition expands IPS’s reach into refrigerated freight, complementing its dry van and logistics units under Paschall Truck Lines and Transport Distribution Co. IPS CEO Dave Gibbs said the merger “creates new opportunities for employee-owners,” while JRS CEO Sean Claton added that the deal preserves their ownership culture and enhances customer value. Financial terms were not disclosed.
📉 U.S. Bank Sees Freight Contraction as Rates Edge Higher. The U.S. truck freight market shrank again in Q3 2025, with shipments down 2.9% from Q2 and 10.7% year-over-year, according to the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index. Despite falling volumes, shipper spending rose 2%, signaling that capacity is tightening as smaller fleets exit. U.S. Bank’s Bobby Holland said, “Shippers paid more to move less freight,” as rates rose beyond fuel-driven costs. Regionally, the Southwest saw the steepest decline, while the Northeast outperformed with 6.3% annual shipment growth. ATA’s Bob Costello noted the sector remains under strain from weaker manufacturing and consumer demand despite earlier signs of recovery.
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is turning up the heat on every part of the trucking chain. In a press conference, he announced a federal crackdown on fraudulent CDLs, including licenses issued to individuals who aren’t legally authorized to work in the U.S.
"We are going to go after the CDL mills that are issuing licenses… saying you have a qualified individual — and the truth is they are not," Duffy said.
He warned that companies hiring unqualified drivers will be "held to account."
"We are diving into the companies that hire these drivers that may not have a lawfully issued license or do not speak the language," he said.
Duffy also named shippers as the next enforcement target:
"A company can’t hire someone knowing they can’t speak English… We have to take a look at shippers — people who load up these rigs and send them across the country."
Though he didn’t mention brokers directly, the implication is clear: shippers will now demand stringent proof of driver compliance from the brokers and carriers they work with, forcing new diligence across the market.
Adriana Pulley
OOIDA President Todd Spencer backed the crackdown:
"Trucking is a skilled profession, not cheap labor. We applaud the administration’s commitment to restoring standards."
CVTA praised the action as "a modest but noteworthy step," adding that it finally answers years of calls to police "CDL mills."
FMCSA’s school purge and Duffy’s licensing enforcement mark the most aggressive federal oversight since ELDT went live in 2022.
The crackdown now stretches from fraudulent CDL schools to state DMVs, carriers, and shippers, with brokers pressured to prove the drivers they book are trained, legal, and fluent enough to safely share the road.
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🎄 Capital Tree Haul. Knight-Swift was chosen to transport the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, the Silver Belle. The tree will be harvested from Nevada, making celebratory stops before arriving in Washington, D.C.
🙅‍♂️ Driver Loss Myth. Michigan State’s Jason Miller pushed back on claims of a 600,000-driver purge, calling the estimate a “clear nonsensical plot.” He said Census and BLS data show roughly 2.9 million active truckers, adding that freight recovery hinges on improved domestic manufacturing, not massive capacity cuts.
⚖️ California Sues OEMs. California filed suit against 4 major truck manufacturers over the Clean Truck Partnership, alleging collusion to weaken emissions standards and delay the state’s zero-emission transition.
đź’Ą Crash Lawsuit. A trucker has filed a $1 million lawsuit against another driver and carrier after a failure-to-yield crash caused serious injuries and vehicle damage.
📺 Fatal Anime Distraction. A truck driver admitted to watching anime seconds before a fatal crash that killed another motorist. According to the affidavit, he used it as background noise to “keep from zoning out.”
🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER
FREIGHT HUMOR
Two bills just dropped in the Senate that could reshape trucking faster than anything since deregulation. Plus: Russian hackers targeted your load board, flatbed rejection rates just hit 40%, and a robot is taking the Houston-Dallas overnight run.
This week: The Dalilah Law, a trucking bankruptcy that wiped out thousands overnight, a FreightGuard civil war on Reddit, and the payroll data that's predicting Q4 capacity.
Indiana pulled the trigger on carriers employing illegal CDL holders. Plus: tariff ruling could flood LA with imports, DC finally moves on double brokers, spot rates are outrunning contract, and more.
The Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs illegal. Plus: an Illinois official took $300K and handed out illegal CDLs, cartel violence may affect your Mexico freight, 550 CDL schools just got shut down, and more.
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