Rising fixed costs and creditor claims are forcing a small drayage carrier tied to West Coast ports into restructuring.
Secretary Duffy has moved beyond funding threats. He’s now openly discussing pulling California’s ability to issue commercial driver’s licenses to anyone, a move that would effectively ground 700,000 CDL holders and create supply chain chaos that would make the 2021 port backups look like a minor inconvenience.
The Trump administration’s decision to drop its appeal that tied billions in transportation funding to immigration enforcement represents a significant legal setback, but don’t mistake this tactical retreat for surrender. For motor carriers employing non-domiciled CDL holders, the regulatory battlefield has only shifted, not cleared.
California’s years of documented CDL fraud, enforcement failures, and defiance of federal regulations finally caught up with it. Today’s $160 million funding cut for non-domiciled CDL violations, combined with October’s $40 million ELP penalty, marks the largest federal enforcement action against a state licensing program in FMCSA history.
California’s latest high-risk audit reads like a warning label for the freight industry. As the state struggles with data integrity, benefit administration, and mounting fiscal pressure, the consequences may extend beyond Sacramento, into CHP staffing, roadside inspections, and federally funded enforcement programs that trucking depends on.
California delays cancellation of 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs until March despite Secretary Duffy’s January 5 deadline. With $160 million in federal funding and potential decertification of the state’s entire CDL program on the line, the standoff could reshape federal-state authority over commercial licensing for years.
A class-action lawsuit filed in Alameda County seeks to block California’s Jan. 5 cancellation of nearly 20,000 commercial driver’s licenses. The plaintiffs argue the DMV is punishing immigrant drivers for the agency’s own administrative failures while refusing to let them reapply for corrected credentials, violating state law and due process.
California is expected to reissue approximately 17,000 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses it planned to revoke after federal enforcement pressure, setting up what may become the most significant federal-state confrontation over CDL authority in decades.
Union Pacific has brought a rare trackage rights dispute with BNSF to the Surface Transportation Board.
A proposed California law, Assembly Bill 1331, could upend how trucking fleets monitor drivers by prohibiting dashcam and GPS surveillance during off-duty periods, even inside the vehicle. If passed, the bill would redefine off-duty time as private, creating costly compliance challenges and raising concerns about safety, theft prevention, and liability. With $500 penalties per violation and the potential for lawsuits, fleets operating in California, and nationwide, may need to rethink how they balance privacy with operational oversight.
A proposed California law, Assembly Bill 1331, could upend how trucking fleets monitor drivers by prohibiting dashcam and GPS surveillance during off-duty periods, even inside the vehicle. If passed, the bill would redefine off-duty time as private, creating costly compliance challenges and raising concerns about safety, theft prevention, and liability. With $500 penalties per violation and the potential for lawsuits, fleets operating in California, and nationwide, may need to rethink how they balance privacy with operational oversight.
A subsidiary of Iowa-based CRST The Transportation Solution Inc. will pay $100,000 to a job applicant who claims the company rescinded a job offer over the applicant’s criminal history.
The California Air Resources Board has withdrawn its request for a waiver to implement the Advanced Clean Fleets rule.
Pilot Flying J named Liz Leon as the company’s 2024 Road Warrior.
Xiaodi Hou was cast as a villain in the decline into irrelevance of autonomous trucking developer TuSimple. He sees it differently.
California anticipates new regulations allowing long-haul trucks to operate on roads with speed limits over 50 mph.
California’s PAGA law, long a bane for business, is set to get an overhaul.
Autonomous trucking regulation is already a state-by-state issue. In California, it may become a community-by-community matter.
To view more FreightWaves infographics, click here
To view more FreightWaves infographics, click here
The California Highway Patrol has issued a final rule requiring ELD use by intrastate drivers on and after Jan. 1, 2024.
The governor of California appears to favor supporting autonomous trucking technology over labor objections.
Union Pacific is seeking to bring operations back to normal at two of its California subdivisions that were hit by Tropical Storm Hilary.
Union Pacific’s Mojave and Yuma subdivisions are out of service due to high waters and mud over the tracks caused by Tropical Storm Hilary; electrical outages at some terminals are also impacting operations.
To view more FreightWaves infographics, click here
The new regulations calling for zero-emissions configurations by as early as 2030 are too lofty in part because technologies are not yet commercially viable.
The California State Assembly voted 54-3 to ban autonomous trucks without safety drivers from the state’s roadways.
The California Air Resources Board has passed a regulation that compels freight and locomotive operators in California to adopt technologies to reduce locomotive emissions and phase out diesel locomotives.
The California Air Resources Board is expected to discuss this week a proposed regulation calling for zero-emissions locomotives by 2030 and 2035.
To view more FreightWaves infographics, click here
Tesla this week delivered a fleet of Semi trucks to PepsiCo, which said the all-electric Class 8 vehicles will be used for local and long-distance deliveries.
The California Air Resources Board is welcoming comments on its proposed Advanced Clean Fleet rule, which would move up the ZEV mandate from 2040 to 2036.
The California Air Resources Board’s update on the Advanced Clean Fleets rule has only minor variations, and the journey to new regulations next year is well on its way.
Are supply chains already manifesting significant changes in domestic transportation patterns?
Los dos mayores estados del país para el transporte de mercancías se mueven en direcciones opuestas
Como parte del acuerdo, el gigante intermodal no volverá a contratar a contratistas independientes.
California’s ABC test was a key reason why a decade-long misclassification case against Hub Group settled.
An appellate court that will determine whether the Prop 22 gig worker vote in California is constitutional recently heard arguments.
El Estado Dorado, que suele marcar tendencias en materia de reglamentación, va a la zaga en lo que respecta al requisito de los ELD para los camiones que permanecen dentro de las fronteras del Estado; se ha abierto el período de comentarios
Golden State, often a trendsetter in regulation, lags behind on ELD requirement for trucks that stay within state borders; comment period open.
State gasoline taxes varied widely across the United States in July
Outbound truckload tender volumes spiked this week out of Southern California, while intermodal volumes dipped due to a brief embargo. Could this be a result of shippers preparing for a potential strike?
How is it that California, the world’s fifth-largest economy and the state most autonomous trucking startups call home, refuses to allow commercial testing of the technology?
Container vessels are expected to use auxiliary engines while in port this week to help California’s struggling electric system cope with extreme heat.
California companies may be able to get up to $500,000 per purchase of a qualified zero-emission terminal tractor, refrigeration unit or forklift.
Two lawyers in the trucking industry break down the Supreme Court’s decision on the AB5 case, which will be “disruptive” to truckers.
The International Maritime Organization and a California congressman look for strategies to lower emissions on World Ocean Day.
Urb-E, the e-cargo bike last-mile delivery company, has joined the Zero Emission Delivery Zone program in Santa Monica.
AOI Capital has acquired 3PL RK Logistics Group, which specializes in e-commerce warehouse and distribution.
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: A development is capitalizing on the booming California-Mexico trade; the Port of Galveston will receive $11 million for a channel dredging project; a Canadian auto components maker expands its Mexican plant; and Border Patrol rescues migrants locked in a railcar.
Truckers face potential early season triple-digit heat the next few days in parts of Southern California (video forecast included).
Covering a tractor and trailer in solar panels could potentially generate more than 18,000 watt hours of energy per day in California conditions.
California’s meal and rest break regulations are preempted by federal hours-of-service regulations, according to the courts, which means employers of short-haul drivers need not comply. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)
A compilation of the past week in social media images includes scenes from a major snowstorm, a California wildfire and a western dust storm.
A wildfire near an eastern California airport has led to road closures and evacuations (video forecast included).
On-demand truck driver platform Haul announced a $10 million funding round as it looks to expand its coverage area for fleets in need of temporary drivers.
The rail district, a public-private partnership with Merced County, will serve agricultural producers in the region.
High winds helped spread a Southern California brush fire, leading to evacuations and school closings.
Wildfire leads to evacuations and partial closure of California’s Pacific Coast Highway.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state plans to lend policing and prosecution support to Union Pacific and other victims of cargo theft.
The Biden administration unveiled on Friday the state allocations for a historic $27 billion bridge replacement and construction program with California coming out on top.
California officials are going to court again to try to mitigate the emissions impact of a new air logistics center at the San Bernardino Airport anchored by Amazon Air.
Recent Sierra snowfall has been bad for transportation but good for ski resorts and watersheds.
It’s an “all-hands-on-deck situation” as a blizzard leads to power outages and road closures in the Sierra Nevada.
Perhaps no single segment of the supply chain was more affected by the COVID pandemic than last-mile delivery. The final mile has undergone an evolution as e-commerce and faster delivery demands take hold.
Commercial real estate sales continued to boom in 2021, with prices up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis in November.
FedEx Express has taken delivery of the first electric vans as part of a 500-unit order from BrightDrop. The vehicles are in operation in California.
All Western states, with Colorado topping the list
California officials are trying to address a perceived shortage of truck drivers by making it easier to get a license.
California and federal officials are partnering to speed up future freight infrastructure investments, as well as reduce delays impacting cargo flows today.
Truckers face ongoing risk of flooding and road closures this week in the Northwest (video forecast included).
Crews have to “contain” wildfires before they can extinguish them. This installment of AskWaves explains why — and what “containment” means.
A compilation of the past week in social media images includes a Rockies blizzard, Southern floods, a new California wildfire and more.
Truckers can go back to using Highway 101 in Southern California after it was closed due to a spreading wildfire.
Truckers face an elevated risk of rollovers as weekend winds increase in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Restaurants impacted by recent disasters such as Hurricane Ida and the California wildfires are eligible to apply.
A Palo Alto woman has been arrested on suspicion of starting the latest California wildfire, which has destroyed more than 150 structures.
Holiday shipping woes, California supply chain interruptions, and a solution to your final mile deliveries.
Drought and wind keep the threat of spreading wildfires elevated in Northern California.
“Hace unas semanas tuvimos una unidad de comida aquí en el Norte de California que no podía recibir su pedido de comida al por mayor. Así que cogimos conductores y camionetas de nuestra unidad de suministro y fuimos a recoger la comida del proveedor y la llevamos al incendio”, explicó Cunningham.
Carriers are rejecting a disproportionate amount of long-haul freight heading east versus west. Does this dramatic imbalance have long-term implications?
As companies struggle to ensure independent contractors are properly classified, many are missing out on the value technology can provide in the process.
In 2020, there were 523 tunnels in 40 states and the District of Columbia.
“If you send us the right resources at the right time, we can up that containment very quickly,” one official said about fighting wildfires amid this year’s broken supply chains.
The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development and OnTrackNorthAmerica have formed the Southwest Supply Chain Coalition as a way to develop a regional approach to supply chain infrastructure investments.
Drivers may hit more areas of low visibility and potential road closures as wildfires and smoke spread across the West (forecast video included).
The California Supreme Court recently addressed what the proper rate for paying missed meal, rest, and recovery periods is under California state law. And for employees, it’s a financial win.
One major concern for the opposition is a possible explosion of lawsuits under the state’s PAGA provision.
Road closures and evacuations continue as the Caldor fire spreads toward the Lake Tahoe resort area.
Crews made only slight progress over the weekend containing the nation’s largest wildfires, with no rain in sight (forecast video included).
“You might as well be safe and get out now,” a fire official said, encouraging people to evacuate areas in the path of the life-threatening Dixie fire.
Crews are having trouble controlling the Dixie fire in northern California, which is now the second largest in the state’s history.
Gusty winds have made it challenging for crews to contain large wildfires in Western states (forecast video included).
Americans used about 123 billion gallons of motor gasoline in 2020
The railroad reopened the Dry Canyon Bridge in Northern California weeks ahead of schedule.
The “significant” damage has caused BNSF to reroute trains, and the railroad is uncertain when service in the area might be restored.
TCA firmly believes the trend of California-specific legislation becoming the national standard must end.
Both Union Pacific and BNSF have taken to rerouting trains because large wildfires have temporarily closed portions of their networks in Northern California.
Truckers will run into areas of low visibility, poor air quality and potential road closures due to dozens of Western wildfires (forecast video included).
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Mexico trade boomed in May but profit margins are tightening; a Korean auto supplier opens a plant in Mexico; Otay Mesa plans to open a new port by 2024; and Texas trucking company set to build terminal.
