Trucking News

July freight shipments and expenditures see mixed results, reports Cass Freight Index

The Cass Freight Index showed shipments fell 4.8% year-over-year in July after a 4.1% drop in June, continuing a soft volume trend that has defined the freight market for much of the year. However, the picture gets more interesting when you look at what shippers are actually paying. The expenditures component rose 9.1% year-over-year in July to 3.52, a stark contrast to the volume weakness. That gap tells you everything you need to know about where the leverage sits: part of the softness stems from higher fuel prices, but the larger issue remains declining capacity, with rail intermodal continuing to gain share from trucking this year.

While showing gains, FTR's Shippers Conditions Index remains negative

FTR's Shippers Conditions Index came in at -5.4 for June, representing a 10-point improvement over May's -15.4 reading, which was among the six least favorable monthly readings since 2000. The index measures the overall freight environment for shippers, factoring in freight rates, capacity utilization, and fuel costs. While that improvement sounds encouraging on the surface, the reality underneath tells a different story for carriers and owner-operators reading the same data.

Nevada Joins Multi-State Suit Against Trump Administration Over CDL Database Access

Nevada's Attorney General joined a coalition of 22 states suing the Trump administration over demands to access commercial driver license databases containing immigration status information on 17 million CDL holders. The conflict reveals a sharp split within the trucking industry itself, with major industry groups at odds over immigration policy and labor strategy.

ClearLane Cuts Carrier Onboarding to Under Four Hours With Dedicated Verification Workflow

ClearLane, a freight back-office operations provider, announced that it has streamlined carrier onboarding to under four hours using a dedicated verification workflow that checks FMCSA registration records, insurance documentation, and safety ratings before a carrier is approved to haul. The move addresses a real pain point for brokers and freight companies: the traditional back-and-forth of collecting documents, verifying credentials, and getting carriers loaded into the system often creates bottlenecks that delay dispatch. By systematizing the entire process and running it through a defined workflow rather than ad-hoc manual steps, ClearLane has cut the typical turnaround time significantly while ensuring diligence happens in the right order.

AI & Autonomous Trucks: What Happens to Driving Jobs?

The headline "AI & Autonomous Trucks: What Happens to Driving Jobs?" touches on an industry tension that's been playing out in trucking for years now. The practical answer in 2026 is more nuanced than the hype suggests. While the American Trucking Associations reports a shortage exceeding 80,000 drivers in 2026, projected to reach 160,000 by 2030, autonomous trucks are nowhere near filling that gap at scale. As of mid-2026 there are still no commercially scaled, fully driverless freight operations on US highways, with limited driver-out pilots on specific Texas and Arizona corridors accounting for fewer than 50 trucks combined out of approximately 4 million Class 8 trucks operating nationally.

Fuel

Diesel Crack Just Broke $100 a Barrel for the First Time Ever. Here's What It Means For Your ...

The diesel crack spread, which measures the refining profit margin on converting crude to diesel, just hit an all-time record this week. The US diesel crack spread hit an all-time intraday high of $102.20 per barrel on Monday, August 17, 2026. This metric matters because it reflects how tight refined fuel supply has become relative to crude oil. It measures refining profitability, not what truckers pay at the pump. When the crack widens, refined product is scarce relative to crude. The spread jumped dramatically in just two weeks,on August 5, the crack spread was a more manageable $80.47 per barrel. By Friday, August 14, surging diesel prices vaulted the spread to $101.17. This kind of rapid widening happens only when the market is severely squeezed.

Why the strongest transportation RFPs go beyond price

The conversation around freight RFPs is shifting. RFP season offers fleets a chance to reassess freight patterns, operational costs, carrier performance, and long-term transportation needs, and shippers increasingly recognize that lowest price often masks higher total costs. A carrier that wins a lane at a 4% discount but delivers at 72% on-time performance is more expensive than it looks when you account for claims, service failures, and the operational cost of managing exceptions. For owner-operators and small fleets bidding these RFPs, this shift means your actual track record,on-time percentage, damage claims, communication reliability,now carries real weight alongside your price quote.

FTR's June Shippers Conditions Index reflects unfavorable but stabilizing environment

FTR released its June Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) showing a significant improvement over the previous two months. The index improved from May by 10 points to -5.4, the least negative index reading since January. While the index remains in negative territory, market conditions in June were unfavorable for shippers though much less so than they have been for months. This improvement signals a shift from crisis mode to what FTR describes as a more manageable operational environment.

Nevada joins multistate lawsuit over CDL driver data demands, but industry splits on whether to fight the rules

Nevada is caught in a clash between immigration enforcement and the trucking industry's basic workforce needs. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford has joined a coalition of 22 states suing the Trump administration for demanding states turn over databases containing sensitive personal identifying information, including the immigration status, of 17 million CDL holders. The Trump administration is threatening to withdraw federal funding to push states into compliance. However, the Nevada Trucking Association supports new federal rules that restrict noncitizen commercial drivers.

Fuel

Opinion | When Surcharges Become Profit Centres, Logistics Has a Problem

Fuel surcharges exist for a legitimate reason: to protect carriers and brokers from volatile diesel prices by adjusting rates to reflect real-time costs rather than locking in fixed prices. But there's growing evidence in 2026 that major logistics players are using fuel surcharges as something else entirely,a hidden profit lever that inflates costs far beyond what actual fuel expenses justify. The Breakbulk opinion piece flags a real industry problem: when surcharges stop being a neutral cost-pass-through and start being engineered profit centers, shippers and carriers alike get squeezed.

Why Your Trucking Lead Times are Getting Longer

Shippers are booking freight further ahead than ever before. Shipper tender lead times increased 7.3% to 3.63 days in 2025, up from 3.38 days in 2024, continuing a trend that has become routine. This represents a 39% increase over the average lead time in 2019 and marks the sixth consecutive year in which shippers have given carriers more time to cover contracted loads. What used to feel like normal behavior for tight markets has become the default even when capacity is reasonably available. Before the pandemic, shippers with easy access to trucks didn't need to plan far ahead and could tender a load a day or two out and trust a carrier would show up. That's no longer the default behavior, even in years when capacity has been genuinely loose.

DATA CENTER BOOM: Why freight demand is stronger than you think

The freight market's strength over the past year has puzzled many observers. Conventional metrics suggest soft overall demand, yet spot rates and revenue remain elevated. The explanation is that data center construction is quietly fueling significant freight demand, often going unnoticed by conventional measures. While consumer-centric sectors like beverages and appliances struggle, industrial demand for electrical goods, data centers, and batteries is soaring, creating a unique bifurcation in the freight market. For owner-operators, this matters because the freight you see available doesn't reflect weakness in overall demand,it reflects a market where certain specialized segments are absorbing capacity at premium rates.

Truckload linehaul rates rip higher in July, Cass says

For the second straight month, trucking rates moved substantially higher in July despite freight volumes remaining soft. Cass' TL linehaul index increased 2.3% from June and was 8.6% higher year over year. More notably, July marked 19 consecutive year-over-year increases and the largest in four years. This wasn't a case of traditional seasonal demand pulling rates up. Instead, the July surge happened in an environment where shippers still weren't moving significantly more freight than a year earlier, pointing to a fundamental tightening of trucking supply.

Truckstop, FTR: Spot rates declined more than usual in latest week

Flatbed spot rates fell the most in a comparable week since at least 2008, and dry van rates have fallen by more in a comparable week only once before, according to FTR's latest analysis of the spot market through August 14. While broker-posted spot rates in the Truckstop.com system remained very strong during the week ending Aug. 14, they were weaker than seasonally expected. The combination signals that summer's freight cycle is cooling faster than typical, and owner-operators and small fleet operators need to prepare for tighter margins ahead.

Congress Pushes for Full Transportation Funding as Key Deadline Looms

Transportation industry leaders are urging Congress to maintain current funding levels in any short-term spending bill, as the current surface transportation authorization expires on September 30. The risk is real: if Congress passes a stopgap continuing resolution that cuts federal transportation funding, states and contractors could halt projects mid-stream, creating gridlock in the supply chain. Any reduction in funding triggers uncertainty that makes state and local agencies freeze spending decisions, which means construction delays on the roads and bridges your freight depends on.

ACT: Supply-driven tightness moderates as freight cycle enters seasonal lull

Spot rates pulled back from their mid-summer peaks in early August after climbing strongly through June and July, but the pullback looks like a seasonal pattern playing out rather than a fundamental shift in market conditions. Rates are off more than 17% from the July 4 peak, and the traditional July lull is underway while spot rates remain roughly 55% above year-ago benchmarks with carrier capacity still tightly constrained. This moderation doesn't mean the market is suddenly loose again, just that summer moved into its predictable slower stretch.

Truck buyers await EPA emissions clarity

Class 8 truck sales rose 2.2% year over year in July to 19,254 units, marking a second consecutive monthly increase, while orders jumped 68% year over year as fleets raced to secure 2026 production slots. The surge is driven by uncertainty over EPA emissions regulations set to take effect in 2027. EPA revisions proposed in July could ease the cost impact, but final rules remain unclear, leaving manufacturers and fleet buyers in a cautious holding pattern even as they place orders.

Cass Freight Index: Demand turnaround remains elusive

The July Cass Freight Index shows that despite falling shipment volumes, supply shortages continue to worsen and drive rates in the opposite direction, with truckload linehaul rates up 8.6% year-over-year. At the same time, flatbed spot rates dropped 7 cents, adding a confusing layer to what owner-operators are seeing in the market right now.

DAT: Flatbed spot rates dips 7 cents to $3.54 a mile

Flatbed spot rates dropped 7 cents to $3.54 per mile last week as overall load posts fell 4% and equipment posts declined 2%. This marks another significant retreat in a segment that had dominated the rate markets earlier in the summer. Flatbed demand is cooling faster than dry van or reefer equipment types, with the flatbed rate falling more sharply than its peers. For owner-operators and small fleets chasing flatbed work, this shift signals a real change in the freight environment. The question is whether this cooling reflects normal seasonal patterns or something deeper.

Quarterhill lands $5M infrastructure contract in Oklahoma

Quarterhill secured a $5.25 million contract from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to deploy an intelligent transportation system at a commercial vehicle facility along Interstate 35. The project includes weigh-in-motion, electronic screening systems, mainline and ramp sorter systems, tire classification and dimensioning technology, designed to improve efficiency in commercial vehicle operations. Work on the project is set to begin in August and will support Oklahoma's efforts to modernize freight infrastructure as commercial vehicle traffic continues to grow.

FMCSA names Steve Dowling chief safety officer

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has appointed Steve Dowling as Chief Safety Officer, bringing over 35 years of combined industry and law enforcement experience to the position. The appointment matters to owner-operators and small fleet owners because the Chief Safety Officer essentially shapes how FMCSA interprets and enforces the rules that govern your daily operations. This is not a ceremonial role. Dowling will assist with directing the country's commercial motor vehicle safety programs, manage regulatory compliance, and play a key leadership role in advancing FMCSA's safety mission, which directly affects compliance requirements, inspection priorities, and enforcement patterns that directly impact your bottom line.

Congress takes on push to recruit military veterans as truckers

The federal government's Freedom Haulers initiative, launched by the Trump administration in July, is getting its first legislative backing. Representative Brian Mast introduced legislation to codify the Freedom Haulers initiative, permanently securing the fast-track pathway for America's Veterans to earn commercial driver's licenses (CDLs). Mast's bill was introduced on Aug. 13 and is co-sponsored by Rep. Earl Carter, R-Ga. The move aims to transform what is currently an executive initiative into permanent law, ensuring that the veteran recruitment pipeline doesn't disappear with a change in administration.

Truckers will pay more to use the Kansas Turnpike starting in September

Owner-operators and small fleet managers who run through Kansas need to budget for higher tolls starting next month. The Kansas Turnpike Authority approved a three-year annual toll adjustment of four percent for commercial vehicles with five or more axles, effective September 1, 2026. This is the first rate hike since 2022. For trucking companies using the Kansas system, that four percent hit will apply every year through 2028, compounding your fuel and maintenance costs on a critical corridor.

DOT Truck Driver Database Lawsuit: Duffy Vows to Fight States

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued an extraordinary demand on August 11, 2026, ordering the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) to hand over the complete Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) database,covering five years of records for roughly 17 million drivers,by August 17, with threats to terminate AAMVA's federal contracts and funding if the deadline was missed. The database contains sensitive personal information including names, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and Social Security numbers. On the same day, the Department of Homeland Security issued a parallel subpoena for the same records, which states characterize as coordinated with FMCSA.