The Morning Mile — Tuesday, Sept. 29

Good morning, drivers. Here is what you need to know to start Tuesday, September 29.

Diesel relief spreads: Nebraska waived dyed-diesel rules and allowed 25% overweight ag loads for 90 days, while asking Washington for a 90-day pause on diesel exports. Montana adopted FMCSA's fuel-hauler hours waiver for intrastate drivers through December 16.

Court watch: A federal appeals court could throw out FMCSA's non-domiciled CDL ban "any day now" — and judges' toughest questions were about the exemption letting visa holders get CDLs.

Rates: Week 39 spot rates climbed — van $3.01, reefer $3.63, flatbed $3.60 — but linehaul was flat or down. Fuel did all the work, and the record $6.529 diesel reading hasn't hit surcharges yet.

Emissions fight: Daimler wants the EPA to drop a proposed provision letting engine makers pay ~$6,000–$7,000 fines instead of meeting the 2027 NOx standard. The 0.035 standard itself is happening either way.

Brokers in court: Six family-owned carriers filed a RICO suit alleging C.H. Robinson and TQL funneled loads to illegal chameleon carriers at rates compliant carriers can't touch. C.H. Robinson's denial is included — it's a lawsuit, not a verdict.

Money: ATBS says owner-operator income is near record highs, with flatbed gains doubled by data-center freight — but "this isn't probably going to be a long cycle." Their S-corp benchmark moved to $90K.

Veterans: Five veteran drivers are finalists for the 2026 Transition Trucking award; the winner takes home a Kenworth T680. Public voting opens November 1.

Why it matters

It's a diesel-and-enforcement week: more states waiving rules, a court deciding the fate of foreign-driver CDLs, and enforcement-driven capacity keeping rates up. Run clean, watch your surcharge math, and keep your paperwork tight out there.

CDLWire Morning Mile briefing, Sept. 29, 2026. Full stories above with sources.
Image: AI-generated illustration