Why trucking costs keep climbing

Trucking leaders are bracing for higher costs, from increased driver wages to elevated expenses related to equipment replacement. 

Meanwhile, cargo theft is increasingly becoming a physical and digital issue, and the FMCSA warns of a phishing scheme targeting motor carriers. Keep reading for the details to ensure you're protected.

And, well ... this is one way to repair a truck. 

⬆️$3.688

AVG. COST OF DIESEL PER GALLON IN U.S. AS OF 02/09, UP 0.007¢

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

The road to health. This blog post reveals the biggest sources of stress for drivers and some ways fleet managers could help their mental health. 

Canceled CDLs. A deep dive explores the impacts of revoked licenses on one community in California.  

Cut idle time. Motive’s vehicle tracking helps fleets uncover hidden idle time, reduce fuel waste, and improve driver safety across local and long-haul routes. (AD) 

Job opening. Read CDLLife? The news site is looking for a Director of Publishing & Community in Kansas City, Mo. 

Great contribution. TravelCenters of America's recent charity golf tournament raised a record-breaking $100,000 for the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund. 

2026 could be the year of the trucking capacity purge

The North American trucking sector has been slowly but surely shedding capacity since about 2022. Now, "the industry may be heading toward the largest capacity purge ever," predicts Alfredo Lozano, CEO of LIS Software Solutions.  

Reasons for the purge include the contraction of freight volumes and immigration policy changes. The result of the exodus: capacity will become more scarce, and carriers may need to pay higher wages and larger bonuses to their drivers, Lozano writes.

Why this matters: Both a decrease in supply and an increase in demand are needed to rebalance the freight market and raise rates. But there may be some short-term pain for fleets, as more carriers exit the market and drivers become scarce. (Mexico Business News)

BILL TO LAW: Funding bill officially makes English proficiency an OOS violation

PHISH ALERT: FMCSA warns of phishing emails from false DOT execs

JOB CUTS: Transportation cut 31K jobs in January, highest of any industry

CLOSED DOORS: Trucking co. R&R with 900+ tractors shuts down

DEJA VU: Congress once again intros bill to mandate underride guards

TRUCK TOLL: Industry blasts proposed 30% hike to Illinois toll

 "There's no silver bullet. It's just good old-fashioned hard work and diving into your P&L and focusing on any lever you could pull from a cost perspective.”
- Adam Miller,  Knight-Swift CEO

On Bloomberg's Talking Transports podcast, Miller discusses the state of the trucking market and how LTL differs from the TL cycle. Carriers big and small contend with similar market dynamics, and Miller, head of one of the largest trucking firms, says there's no singular solution to weathering the storm. (Talking Transports)

Trucking execs tread with caution on CapEx plans

While executives at major trucking companies expect higher capital expenditures this year compared to last, they're not planning for growth. Instead, most spending will go toward replacing aging equipment. In other areas of the business, they're focused on cost-cutting measures and doing more with less. 

Why this matters: The cautious outlook from the country's trucking leaders signals that the industry still isn't out of the woods. Smaller trucking companies may follow a similar strategy, spending only what they need to, and making the rest as efficient and lean as possible. (Fleet Owner)

Cargo theft shifts from physical-only to cybercrime

Cargo thieves are no longer just raiding trailers and warehouses. They're using sophisticated cyber tactics, from stealing credentials to GPS spoofing, which manipulates location data so a dispatcher can't necessarily spot an unauthorized route change. AI has only added fuel to the fire, such as deepfake voice calls that could impersonate an executive with scary accuracy.

Why this matters: The rise of this new form of crime means fleet managers can no longer treat cybersecurity as an isolated IT function. They have to embed it into fleet operations as well as physical security to keep systems and shipments safe. (Heavy Duty Trucking)

Thanks for reading today's edition! You can reach the newsletter team at editor@theinsidelane.co. We enjoy hearing from you.

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The Inside Lane is curated and written by Shefali Kapadia and edited by Bianca Prieto.