CDL Issues

The trucking industry finds itself mired in one of the most protracted freight recessions on record, a predicament exacerbated by a flood of capacity that has outstripped demand. This surplus stems from an industry with negligible barriers to entry, where supply can readily overshoot, challenging the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) persistent claim of a perpetual […]

(The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.) “BE AFRAID OF FREIGHT FRAUD!”  It’s no surprise when another freight fraud headline lands in our inbox, shows up on LinkedIn, or makes its way into a conversation.  Freight fraud is a trending […]

New immigration restrictions could curb driver availability, trigger a massive capacity crunch, and pull the trucking industry out of The Great Freight Recession. The Trump administration’s English Language Proficiency (ELP) mandate, effective June 2025, is already limiting the 3.5 million driver pool, particularly impacting immigrants, who according to the BLS account for at least 20% […]

President Trump is expected to sign legislation that extends business-friendly provisions included in the 2017 tax cuts.

The Freight Fraud Crisis The trucking industry is grappling with a surge in freight fraud, leaving carriers, brokers, and shippers vulnerable to sophisticated scams like identity theft and unauthorized double brokering. These schemes disrupt supply chains, undermine trust, and cause significant financial and logistical challenges. The root cause is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s […]

The English Language Proficiency (ELP) rule, now in effect, could significantly reduce trucking capacity. For a decade, large truckload carriers have embraced regulations like the ELD mandate and Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to limit market capacity, but effects were typically short-lived. The ELP mandate, enforced by a DOT Executive Order, requires commercial drivers to demonstrate […]

New legislation would mandate that all truck drivers be tested for proficiency in speaking and reading English before being allowed on the road.

If you think you know where new trucking companies are planting roots, think again. Yes, Texas and California still lead the nation in raw numbers of new MCs granted. But something very different is happening when you zoom in. Quiet ZIP codes like 93722 (Fresno, CA) and 78045 (Laredo, TX) are quietly leading the nation […]

The trucking industry has faced its longest and deepest downturn in history, beginning in March 2022. This prolonged slump, known as the Great Freight Recession, has driven many trucking companies out of business. A sluggish goods economy contributed, but the primary cause is excess capacity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, high freight rates and government stimulus, […]

Digging into data on U.S. truck drivers reveals a scary fact: 4 out of every 100 drivers on the road are driving without valid licenses.

Critics of the reinstatement of English language proficiency out-of-service violations argue that the directive is more political than practical and risks diverting attention from more pressing safety issues on U.S. highways.

State and federal officials are looking at ways to close loopholes and tighten regulations that govern how non-U.S. truck drivers gain the right to operate within the U.S.

Texas law enforcement, faced with a sharp increase in the number of truckers who had the Mexican equivalent of a U.S. CDL, used an informal geography test to learn that many of those individuals were from Honduras, Guatemala or other nations.

There is no easy fix: Enhancing trucking safety and driver competence, as well as combating CDL fraud, will take an all-hands-on-deck effort at every level of government.

Illegal work by B-1 visa truck drivers does serious harm to the U.S. trucking industry, stakeholders said.

More scrutiny of truck drivers and fraudulent CDLs could have operational and cost implications for trucking companies.

Non-domiciled CDL holders are just a small sliver of a bigger issue with how CDLs are issued and regulated.

Fraudulent CDL holders, improper training programs and language barriers are only a scratch on the surface of the systemic problems with the way commercial vehicles are licensed in the U.S.