Archived edition — October 30, 2026  ·  Read the latest news →
Road watch
ClosuresRulesWeatherDieselRecalls
CDLWireThe wire for CDL holders
Illustration: rows of white bobtail tractors and semi trailers parked at a truck equipment leasing lot in Illinois at dusk, with the leasing office behind them
Carrier watch

Super Ego is back — and as of Nov. 1 it won't lease to non-domiciled drivers, ELP violators or Conditional-rated carriers

The Elmhurst, Illinois leasing company at the center of the chameleon-carrier scandal announced new safety and eligibility requirements effective Nov. 1 for every new lease, renewal and added unit: a current FMCSA safety rating on file, no Conditional ratings, no unresolved English-proficiency violations, and no non-domiciled CDLs for owner-operators or carrier owners. Overdrive visited its lot Wednesday and found it largely empty — the company says it still serves more than 1,200 carrier customers.

Carrier watchUpdated Friday, October 30, 2026
Read story
Regulations

Motus reclassified a flatbed carrier as a hazmat hauler and suspended it — and roughly 6,475 carriers got the same insurance-change suspension this week

Dynamic MD of Carol Stream, Illinois learned Tuesday that FMCSA's Motus system had reclassified it from general freight to hazardous materials, raising its insurance minimum to $1 million against the $750,000 on file and suspending it without notice. A Central Analysis Bureau and CCJ analysis found more than 6,475 carriers hit by the same kind of change, roughly 6,000 of them this week.

Equipment

NHTSA starts the first major tire-standard overhaul in more than 20 years — and the bias-era tests may not survive it

A negotiated rulemaking announced Oct. 26 puts the plunger-energy strength test, the bead unseating test and the endurance test on the table, along with non-pneumatic tires and sidewall markings. Secretary Sean Duffy will appoint an 18-member committee for a single two-year term; ATA's maintenance council calls the legacy tests 'vestigial' for modern steel-belted radials.

Latest news

The newest stories across every desk.

Equipment

NHTSA starts the first major tire-standard overhaul in more than 20 years — and the bias-era tests may not survive it

A negotiated rulemaking announced Oct. 26 puts the plunger-energy strength test, the bead unseating test and the endurance test on the table, along with non-pneumatic tires and sidewall markings. Secretary Sean Duffy will appoint an 18-member committee for a single two-year term; ATA's maintenance council calls the legacy tests 'vestigial' for modern steel-belted radials.

Newsletter

The Morning Mile — Friday, Oct. 30

Motus suspensions hit roughly 6,475 carriers in a week, spot rates slip but hold 40%-plus year gains, NHTSA opens a tire-standard overhaul, and a record September at the ports backs up on rail, not the truck gate.

Law & safety

Werner's Leathers: capacity cuts are in the 'early innings' — about 15% of trucks still out of alignment, only 3% to 4% gone

Werner Enterprises Chairman and CEO Derek Leathers told analysts Tuesday that enforcement-driven capacity reductions have barely begun, with driver-application rejection rates up 170% since January and driving-school enrollment down 20% to 30%. Werner's third-quarter revenue rose 23% to $950.5 million and it swung to a $6.6 million profit — while spending heavily to hire drivers into the tightening market.

Closures

221 trucking companies have filed for bankruptcy this year — and nearly 40% of small carriers say they may be out within six months

Bloomberg data compiled for an Oct. 28 report puts 2026 bankruptcy filings at 221 trucking companies, extending a three-year spike at levels not seen in decades. A Truckstop and Bloomberg Intelligence survey of hundreds of small carriers found two-thirds with revenue flat or down, squeezed by diesel, insurance and the cost of the money they borrowed to get started.

Enforcement

22 and a half years for the I-71 stopped-traffic crash — and a CDL investigators say was built on identity fraud

Modou Ngom, 50, was sentenced Thursday in Delaware County, Ohio, for the April 11 crash that killed two parents and their young son in an I-71 construction zone. A jury convicted him in September on all eight counts. The case behind the sentence is a records story: a license obtained fraudulently in 2003, a CDL obtained under a different identity in 2007, a brake citation three weeks before the wreck, and an earlier unsafe-vehicle conviction that never reached federal records.

Recalls

Great Dane recalls 6,810 Champion and Everest trailers: landing-gear brace welds may fail and drop a parked trailer

NHTSA recall 26V708 covers certain 2026 and 2027 model year Champion dry vans and Everest reefers built with one supplier’s K-brace assemblies. The welds can be off-seam and weak; the failure risk is a trailer parked without a tractor and without safety stands, above all during loading and unloading. Inspection and replacement are free; owner letters go out by Dec. 22.

Enforcement

A driver reset his hours by phone in front of FMCSA and state police — the agency vows to 'hold violators fully accountable'

At a Wednesday meeting with Illinois State Police in DeKalb, a Meiborg driver parked at police headquarters, called a federally registered ELD provider and had his hours reset in about 10 minutes, on video. The carrier staged the demonstration to show regulators how ELD fraud works; FMCSA answered with its registry record and a promise of accountability.

Carrier watch

Strong quarters, slammed stocks: insurance and claims costs knocked 11% off C.H. Robinson and nearly 18% off Landstar in a day

C.H. Robinson raised truckload linehaul rates charged to customers 31.5% year over year and still watched its stock fall 11.14% on Wednesday, after disclosing claims expenses drove a 29.7% jump in selling, general and administrative costs. Landstar fell 17.76% as its finance chief detailed claim severity and reserves up 27% on a shrinking truck count. The thread through both calls was Montgomery-era broker liability.

Browse the full archive →

Browse by topic

On the road

Weather, immigration, roads and safety.

Money & business

Driver pay, fuel costs and carrier news.

Trucks & rules

Regulations, equipment and technology.

The Morning MileThe Morning Mile — 4 stories in two minutes.
Read the briefing

Driver & fleet tools

A practical utility layer beyond the news

Trip Fuel + Tolls Estimate

Enter your trip numbers for a fuel-and-tolls estimate. Nothing is saved. Tolls are your own manual estimate — they depend on your route and vehicle.

Estimate only — fuel + tolls. It does not include maintenance, insurance, driver pay, or other operating costs.

Coming soon

On the roadmap — not live yet, and we won’t pretend otherwise.