Pier Trucker Oakland

10/09/2026

-- ‘Drawn-out’ peak shipping season appears to be winding down: US retailers --

US import volumes are beginning to slow, bringing a gradual end to an elongated peak shipping season that began in earnest in May and extended well into October, a major retail group said Thursday.

“Even with any fluctuations in final data, we’re likely past the busiest part of the year,” Jonathan Gold, vice president for Supply Chain and Customs Policy at the National Retail Federation (NRF), said in statement. "The truth is that the peak season started early and was stretched out through the summer and early fall, with the difference from month to month often amounting to little more than a rounding error.”

Gold’s comments came as the NRF and Hackett Associates released their monthly Global Port Tracker (GPT), with the latest report showing US ports handled 2.3 million TEUs of imports in August, up marginally from July and enough to “likely make August the busiest month of the year,” according to the GPT.

In last month’s report, the NRF forecast that September would likely be the top month of the year for US imports, with 2.31 million TEUs. But the group has revised that downward, saying it now expects September to come in at 2.28 million TEUs when the final data is calculated.

The latest GPT then projects gradual declines into the fourth quarter, with October imports expected to be 2.25 million TEUs and November at 2 million TEUs. The year closes with December imports ticking slightly higher at 2.02 million TEUs, according to the report.

“Core economic indicators are broadly flat or weakening slightly month over month recently,” Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said in the statement. “Despite this, consumers appear to remain confident and cautious at the same time, with consumer confidence indexes sliding to multi-year lows while consumer spending continues to be robust in the face of increasing inflation.”

The gradual decline in imports into the fourth quarter comes as marine terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach acknowledge the consistently heavy volumes in recent months is beginning to strain the pool of skilled longshore labor at the US’ busiest gateway.

US import volumes from Asia have risen steadily since April, climbing from 1.49 million TEUs to 1.79 million TEUs in August, a gain of 20%, according to PIERS, a sister product of Journal of Commerce. Half of US imports from Asia move through the Los Angeles-Long Beach gateway.

The GPT forecasts imports at 13 US ports: Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Tacoma, New York/New Jersey, Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami, Jacksonville and Houston.

Source: JOC

10/02/2026

09/02/2026

-- Multiple US agencies strengthen DOT crackdown on illegal trucking --

Federal agencies are working together to close unqualified commercial driver training schools, adding another capacity constraint to an already-tightening US truckload market. That effort supports higher freight rates and gives safety-focused carriers a competitive advantage, transportation analysts say.

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) on Monday announced the “emergency removal” of more than 110 entry-level driver training providers associated with more than 5,000 drivers who failed English language proficiency (ELP) tests. More than 160 other schools face proposed removal following nearly 400 investigations in 40 states.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) simultaneously targeted more than 200 training schools in 23 states as part of a broader crackdown on alleged commercial driver’s license (CDL) fraud and illegal activity in trucking. It’s all part of a multi-agency crackdown on fraud.

The removal of the schools alone is unlikely to create a significant capacity shock, but analysts say the action is the latest in a series of federal enforcement initiatives reducing capacity and slowing the flow of drivers into trucking.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Trump administration intends to pursue problems throughout the driver licensing and training system.

“From states failing to follow the law to shady training schools and illicit companies, together we will tackle every link in the chain,” Duffy said.

Avery Vise, vice president of trucking at FTR Transportation Intelligence, cautioned against viewing the latest action in isolation.

“In terms of a market mover, it is not a huge deal,” Vise said, adding driver availability was already tightening before the latest enforcement actions.

Vise said data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows truckload employment at its lowest level since 2014, while a preliminary revision released last week indicates employment is actually at its lowest level since 2012. “The underlying issue was already there,” he said.

That contraction predates increased enforcement involving foreign drivers, ELP requirements and other trucking regulations, Vise said. But the resulting disruption is adding pressure to the market.

“Certainly, one of the factors this year driving up rates is the disruption from all of the enforcement that’s gone on,” he said. “It is certainly adding to the pressure, but it’s not the primary driver of that pressure.”

-- ‘Stacking effect’ --

The cumulative effect of the enforcement push is becoming increasingly important to carrier supply, said Dean Croke, principal analyst at DAT Freight & Analytics. He pointed to ELP enforcement, scrutiny of electronic logging devices and CDL training requirements as actions separating compliant carriers from operators unable or unwilling to meet federal standards.

“If you stack all of these on top of each other ... it creates this big chasm between the haves and the have-nots,” he said.

If training schools are forced out or required to meet existing standards, “the driver pool that comes into the industry slows right down compared to the last five or six years,” Croke said. “The net is that capacity becomes tighter [and] driver supply becomes tighter.”

The greater impact could emerge when freight demand strengthens. A market with fewer marginal carriers and a slower influx of new drivers would have less capacity available to absorb additional freight.

“Eventually, demand improves, and then this market really accelerates,” Croke said. Higher rates would help attract qualified drivers into trucking, but driver pay would also have to increase, he said.

-- Compliance as a ‘competitive advantage’ --

For carriers, enforcement could change the economics of compliance. Carriers investing in safety and compliance have competed against operators with lower costs that did not meet the same standards, Croke said. “Compliance becomes your competitive advantage, not a line item on a [profit and loss statement],” he said.

Mike Regan, chief relationship officer at TranzAct Technologies, likewise expects the federal enforcement push to tighten capacity and ultimately increase transportation costs for shippers. “Capacity is going to be impacted by this,” Regan said. “It absolutely tightens the rope a little more.”

Regan noted that federal English language proficiency requirements for commercial drivers date to 1936 and said the administration’s actions demonstrate a greater willingness to enforce long-standing safety requirements. “The message that they ought to be receiving is that we are serious about safety, and we have the capacity to be more aggressive and hold more people accountable,” he said.

Regan expects the crackdown to accelerate what he called shippers’ existing “flight to the quality carriers,” even if that means paying higher freight rates.

“Everyone has been talking about the flight to the quality carriers,” he said. “This is going to accelerate that move even more.”

Source: JOC

08/27/2026

-- ‘Roadcheck’ enforcement adds pressure to tightening US truckload capacity --

For the first time, truck drivers who failed to demonstrate English language proficiency were pulled out of service at a high rate during this year’s International Roadcheck, a multi-day enforcement blitz that took place May 12–14. This year’s Roadcheck results, released Tuesday, underscore the growing impact of a US federal truck safety crackdown.

The number of drivers placed out of service (OOS) in the US and Canada rose almost 19% from the 2025 Roadcheck. In the US, 9.5% of those drivers were placed out of service for failing to meet English language requirements. Another 3.7% were placed out of service for tampering with electronic logging devices (ELDs) used to track driver hours.

For shippers, the crackdown isn’t just pushing up rates. It’s spurring a “flight to quality” as shippers and brokers place greater emphasis on carrier vetting, safety and compliance amid concerns about liability exposure in accident cases. In a tightening market, however, thoroughly vetted capacity may become more difficult to find, and more expensive.

Stepped-up enforcement “is going to take a situation where capacity is tight and exacerbate it,” Mike Regan, chief relationship officer at TranzAct Technologies, told the Journal of Commerce. “It’s going to basically make it a bit worse, which is going to drive up rates.”

Spot and contract truckload rates are expected to rise in the fourth quarter.

Regan warned the rising emphasis on carrier vetting, which follows the US Supreme Court’s May decision in Montgomery vs. Caribe Transport LLC II, can leave transportation managers balancing customer service against carrier quality and risk.

“We’re entering a new world for transportation,” Regan said. “If you need to get stuff moved, the potential is you’re going to be paying a lot more to get it moved.”

-- Tackling ELP and ELDs --

US regulators are taking aim at truck drivers who are not qualified to drive, improperly licensed or in the country illegally. Regulators are also doubling down on ELD tampering and enforcement, one of the priorities for inspectors involved in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA’s) Roadcheck, which occurred across North America.

Failing to demonstrate English-language proficiency put 361 drivers out of service in the US after this year’s Roadcheck, accounting for 9.5% of US driver OOS violations. ELP moved into the top five OOS violations during Roadcheck this year, after ELP violations became an OOS violation in June 2025 following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

ELD tampering, falsification or manipulation was CVSA’s focus during this year’s Roadcheck. Inspectors issued 146 out-of-service orders for ELD tampering, accounting for 3.7% of driver OOS violations and ranking seventh among driver violations. The number of drivers placed out of service in the US and Canada rose 18.8% from a year ago to 3,969.

CVSA roadside inspection specialist Jeremy Disbrow distinguished mistakes involving electronic logging from deliberate efforts to conceal a driver’s actual hours behind the wheel by tampering with devices. “This is an intentional act,” he said.

More than 7,200 truck drivers have received out of service orders this year to date for allegedly tampering with an ELD “so the device does not accurately record or retain required data,” according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s online database of inspection data.

The leading reason drivers were placed out of service in the US was failure to have a medical card certifying they are physically able to drive a commercial vehicle — 1,072 drivers lacked this basic document, according to CVSA. Another 614 truck drivers did not have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) at all, non-domiciled or not.

-- Brakes lead vehicle failures --

The CVSA said state and provincial inspectors conducted 54,575 inspections across North America during its annual Roadcheck, down from 56,178 inspections last year.

Most of the equipment and drivers inspected passed, with 81% of vehicles and 94.2% of drivers having no OOS violations. During Level I inspections, the most comprehensive roadside inspection, the vehicle OOS rate was 24.8%, and the driver OOS rate was 5.2%. Brake problems accounted for the largest share of vehicle OOS orders.

Cargo securement, one of CVSA’s areas of emphasis during this year’s Roadcheck, was also among the leading reasons vehicles were placed out of service.

Those violations directly concern shippers because the capacity they purchase must not only be available, but safe and compliant enough to complete the trip. A truck sidelined for brakes, tires or improperly secured cargo cannot complete a shipment until the OOS condition is corrected. That often means sending a second truck to take the load.

Regan said the capacity implications extend across the truckload industry, including dry-van, refrigerated, flatbed and bulk transportation. He said he pays particularly close attention to the refrigerated sector because its capacity tends to be tighter and operating requirements more demanding.

Meanwhile, the pressure on the driver pool continues. “The attrition in the driver ranks, we expect that to continue with each month of enforcement,” Regan said.

Source: JOC

08/19/2026

-- FMCSA’s 'Motus' rollout creates headaches for US motor carriers --

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA’s) rollout of its new “Motus” registration system is creating problems for some US motor carriers, including unexpected deactivation of Department of Transportation (DOT) registration numbers that, in some cases, have temporarily prevented otherwise legitimate carriers from operating.

Motus is a key plank in the FMCSA’s campaign to root out “chameleon carriers” that continue to operate after being shut down for safety violations, a one-stop registration system requiring identity verification. FMCSA began implementing Motus in December and entered “phase II” of its rollout in May, asking carriers to register through the system.

“Their rollout hasn’t been great; it’s been a challenge,” P. Sean Garney, co-director of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting, told the Journal of Commerce. “As they continue to sort of fix things, we’re seeing ongoing bugs.”

Garney said his firm has worked with several trucking companies experiencing Motus-related problems, including companies that have found incorrect or outdated licensing and insurance information associated with their records.

“We are undoubtedly hearing instances where carriers have had their DOT numbers unexpectedly inactivated because of erroneous or outdated licensing and insurance information,” he said.

For shippers and brokers, the “bugs” in the system can further tighten capacity but also make it more difficult to vet carriers before tendering freight. That’s an issue gaining traction following the US Supreme Court’s May decision in Montgomery vs. Caribe Transports LLC, which is seen as increasing broker and shipper liability risk.

For carriers, incorrect information in Motus can mean an out-of-service order. Garney said his firm also has heard of conflicts between state and federal enforcement systems that have resulted in trucks being placed out of service.

“There are material impacts happening to carriers because this information is incorrect,” Garney said. “Carriers get stuck in the lurch and sometimes they can’t operate till they get it fixed.”

-- Bumpy, but necessary, modernization --

FMCSA has publicly acknowledged problems with the transition.

On June 22, the agency temporarily suspended the deactivation of USDOT numbers for entities that had not completed required biennial updates since June 1, saying the step was intended to reduce disruption. FMCSA said registrants should not worry about inactivation resulting from Motus-related access or system issues.

The agency’s website also carries an alert for users unable to claim a USDOT record when an email address has inadvertently been registered under the Transportation Service Provider role. FMCSA directs affected users to close that account and, if the problem persists, submit a support ticket and documentation establishing ownership.

FMCSA did not respond to Journal of Commerce questions seeking the number of affected Motus accounts or when the system is expected to be fully stabilized.

American Trucking Associations (ATA) President Chris Spear acknowledged implementation difficulties in written testimony to a Senate Commerce subcommittee June 9. Spear said ATA strongly supports the modernization effort as FMCSA continues “refining the platform and addressing implementation challenges.”

Garney said some affected carriers have turned to his firm after unsuccessfully trying to resolve problems through FMCSA’s customer service channels.

His firm has helped clients by collecting individual cases and bringing them to FMCSA officials who can address them. Garney said agency officials have responded quickly when specific problems reach the appropriate people.

He acknowledged that some difficulties stem from additional identity-verification requirements central to FMCSA’s effort to combat fraud, creating a balance between stopping fraudulent operators and avoiding barriers for legitimate carriers.

Still, Garney said replacing FMCSA’s older systems is necessary.

“I’m happy that they’re modernizing,” he said. “I’m just sad that the industry has to feel the pain as they go.”

-- Scale of transition is sizeable --

FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs describes Motus — a name derived from Latin for “motion” — as central to the agency’s effort to stop registration fraud and identify chameleon carriers attempting to evade federal safety oversight.

“You are not able to get into Motus without having some sort of business verification, ID verification for the individuals who are responsible for safety at those motor carriers,” Barrs said during a recent interview on SiriusXM’s “On the Move” news program.

Barrs said FMCSA also is examining relationships among companies and individuals suspected of using multiple identities.

“We are looking into those and investigating those individuals that we believe are on the top list of our chameleon carrier list that are evading safety,” he said.

The scale of the transition has been substantial. Barrs said in early June that during Motus’ first week, the system received 120,000 new user applications, processed more than 10,000 regulated-entity applications and helped more than 13,000 motor carriers claim their USDOT numbers.

Source: JOC

07/23/2026

International Longshore and Warehouse Union dockworkers walked off the job Wednesday at the Port of Oakland, in sympathy with strikers at an area sugar refiner.

07/21/2026

OICT will be open second shift

07/21/2026

Due to a labor issue outside of the Port of Oakland, ILWU has walked off the job in solidarity which has caused OICT terminal operations to stop at this time.‼️

06/27/2026

Per TraPac, Monday, Tuesday-Front End Grace Period (90 min.) Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Front- End Grace Period (60 min). Grace Period Subject to change without notice