The Playbook

The trucking world keeps pushing a narrative of a driver shortage. Reality says the problem is more nuanced than that.

Starting June 2025, the FMCSA will enforce long-delayed rules on driver medical certification and English proficiency, with direct implications for fleets, intrastate drivers and licensing agencies. From MVR downgrades to out-of-service roadside inspection orders, these rules shift from paper compliance to real-world enforcement. Fleets that fail to adapt may face costly violations or sidelined equipment.

The 2025 Texas Trucking Show might showcase the best trucks in the country, but it’s also a living, breathing example of why trucking still runs on relationships. From 7-Eleven’s Slurpee truck to Scania’s U.S. road debut with Bruce Wilson, remote-controlled semis, and hundreds of vendors, this year’s event served equal business opportunities, industry education, and community connections.

If you’re still saying yes to every load just to “keep the wheels turning,” you’re not running a business—you’re gambling with your profit and praying it works out. The hustle mindset might have gotten you your first truck, but it won’t keep you in the game. The carriers who last know that saying no is […]

If you’re a small fleet owner wearing ten hats, let me hit you with something hard: just because you can do everything, doesn’t mean you should. That mentality will trap you in one truck. It’ll keep your business crawling when it should be scaling. And the longer you delay outsourcing the low-dollar, high-time tasks, the […]

Let’s get one thing straight up front—this isn’t about politics, and it’s not about opinion. This is about operational reality. The FMCSA’s renewed enforcement of English proficiency rules isn’t new, but it is hitting harder now, and if you’re not paying attention, it can cost you. Small fleets and owner-operators need to stop treating this […]

There’s a new threat moving faster than enforcement can keep up with—and it’s not just hitting the mega carriers. It’s hitting the small fleets. It’s hitting the owner-operators. And it’s hitting the guys who thought, “That would never happen to me.” Freight theft isn’t just a big city problem or a warehouse security issue anymore. […]

Let’s get one thing straight—branding is not a logo. It’s not your color scheme, it’s not your slogan, and it sure as hell isn’t your Instagram page with four truck selfies and a motivational quote. Branding is how the market remembers you when you’re not in the room. It’s what brokers, shippers, and even other […]

Everyone wants to scale. Until they do. That’s when the problems start. Invoices get missed. Drivers start calling dispatch for payroll issues. You’re chasing paperwork, and no one can find the load confirmation for that Tuesday drop in Birmingham. Adding trucks too fast without fixing your back office is like building a house on wet […]

Most carriers don’t realize how much empty miles are quietly killing their bottom line. You can have the best rates in the world, but if your truck runs 150 miles empty between loads, you’re bleeding profit—and most of the time, you don’t even notice it until it’s too late. Deadhead doesn’t show up on a […]

It’s one thing to want funding—it’s another to actually qualify for it. Plenty of carriers talk about adding trucks or expanding into new markets, but when it comes time to sit down with a lender, the story on paper doesn’t match the ambition. Lenders aren’t interested in how many loads you ran last week or […]

The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges rose for just the second time in nine weeks.

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 Texas Department of Public Safety does not enforce the federal English language proficiency requirement for intrastate CDL drivers. This aligns with state law but may conflict with the FMCSA’s updated ELP enforcement policy, raising questions about federal funding under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.

Everybody talks about scaling. More trucks, more drivers, more freight. But here’s the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to say out loud: Not every carrier is built to scale — and not every carrier should. Because growth isn’t always about adding trucks. Sometimes growth looks like refining your lanes, raising your rates, tightening your operations, and […]

Government freight isn’t the secret shortcut social media makes it out to be—but for small fleets that are tired of chasing the spot market and ready to build something more stable, it’s a lane worth learning. Over the past year, more owner-operators and small-carriers have started asking how to bid on government loads, especially as […]

Still Foggy at the Top – What the New Logistics Report Means for the Rest of Us For all the hope around trucking bouncing back, the new CSCMP “State of Logistics Report” just affirmed what most small carriers already feel: Things are still off. Freight isn’t booming, costs haven’t come down, and the people at […]

The FMCSA is quietly revamping its National Consumer Complaint Database (NCCDB), aiming to transform it from a bureaucratic black hole into a real-time system for identifying unsafe carriers, shady brokers, coercive shippers and repeat fraud offenders.

NHTSA’s proposal to require drunk and impaired driving prevention technology in all new passenger vehicles has sat in limbo since early 2024. Now, with a new White House, fleets, OEMs and safety advocates are asking: Will the FMVSS become reality or is this another safety initiative lost to election-year politics?

With over 12% of trucks sidelined during last year’s CVSA Brake Safety Week, the 2025 focus on rotors and brake drums puts heavy-duty and vocational trucks in the crosshairs. This guide breaks down what inspectors look for and how clean, well-maintained rigs are more likely to pass or avoid inspection altogether.