"USPS tried to ban immigrant truck drivers — it went horribly"--Freight Waves. First, the background:
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean P. Duffy recently announced an emergency interim final rule to restrict non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs), causing significant disruptions in the trucking and supply chain industries. Issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on September 29, 2025, the rule addresses widespread abuse in the issuance of these licenses to immigrants. The rule requires that states immediately stop issuing new non-domiciled CDLs, but created a two-year phase in period before all non-domiciled CDLs are invalidated.
Non-domiciled CDLs, originally intended in 2017 to allow drivers residing in one state to obtain a license in another, evolved to include non-U.S. residents, sometimes without proper work permits. A DOT audit revealed that at least 200,000 such licenses were issued, with over 25% in California improperly granted.
When the Postal Service enacted policies to comply with the rule. "Facilities were instructed not to load trailers hauled by such drivers as part of efforts to improve safety across a network of asset carriers and brokers handling local, regional, and cross-country work."
The policy’s impact was immediate, resulting in canceled loads and widespread disruptions. USPS operations, heavily reliant on these drivers, saw trips missed and sorts delayed, exposing vulnerabilities in the postal linehaul network.
Within days, USPS reversed the ban, deeming the service and cost impacts too severe for an abrupt change. This highlighted the critical role non-domiciled drivers play in mail delivery reliability.
While contractors can go back to using the non-domiciled drivers, the USPS maintains that "other rules—such as English proficiency and two drivers per truck—still apply."
The article goes on to report that "[s]ince the FMCSA permitted foreigners to get a non-domiciled CDL in March 2019, over 200,000 have been issued. In that same period, the trucking industry has added more than 310,000 trucks, flooding the market with way too much capacity." The consequence is that the trucking industry is "the longest downturn in history, [which] we dubbed the Great Freight Recession."
The primary culprit: a way oversupplied trucking market. The elimination of non-domiciled CDLs pool will have a significant impact on the freight market as these drivers leave the service. After all, depending on how many of the 200,000 non-domiciled CDLs are currently active and hauling freight, it could wipe out 5%+ of all truckload capacity in the market.
The English proficiency rule will also have an impact: "An insurance executive at a large agency suggested that at least 10% of the truck drivers on the road would fail an inspection if tested on their English language proficiency."
- More: "USPS Built Mail System On Foreign Truck Drivers, Now Expects Special Treatment From Law."--Zero Hedge.
Deal with the pain, cut 10% a month.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
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