The Morning Mile — Monday, Oct. 12

Good morning, drivers. Here is what you need to know to start Monday, October 12.

LA port record: The Port of Los Angeles handled a record 1,042,652 TEUs in September — the busiest month in its 118-year history — with loaded imports up 19% year over year.

English-proficiency push: OOIDA filed formal comments on Oct. 9 urging FMCSA to make English-proficiency violations an out-of-service offense, citing 97,113 violations since June 2025 but only a 28.9% out-of-service rate.

Towing-ring indictments: Twelve people were indicted in Colorado over an alleged predatory-towing ring that caused about $2.5 million in damages — including a trucker whose semi was hooked at a crash scene.

Gulf ports reopen: Gulfport and Pascagoula are back to normal port condition after Isaias; Mobile resumed regular schedules Saturday, while four Florida ports stay in recovery.

Power coming back: FPL expects 85% of Isaias-affected Panhandle customers restored by end of day, with the hardest-hit areas back Tuesday.

SPR exchange: The Energy Department authorized an emergency exchange of up to 4 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — 2 million each for ExxonMobil and BP — to ease storm-hit fuel supply.

Driver pay up: ATA's 2026 compensation study puts irregular-route driver pay at a median of $73,639, up 8.3%, with linehaul LTL drivers at $85,000.