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TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2026.05.09

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2026.05.09 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending May 9, 2026, written by Vicki Simons.

I welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.

TDMST Weekly Round-Up

1. Regarding Carbon, Fuel, Iran, Oil:

Based on my limited reading, it seems to me that people around the world are reeling from the illegal, immoral, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran that was started by U.S. President Donald J. Trump.

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Supply chains have been disrupted and the price of fuel, oil, other products, and various services have risen sharply, as shown in the articles in this section.

If this situation bothers you, please contact your federal elected officials.

Carbon

In the May 5, 2026, article linked in this section, John Smith, incoming president and CEO of FedEx Freight, was quoted as saying regarding LTL:

  • that it is “undergoing its most significant shift in decades, driven by technology, sustainability pressures, customer expectations, and rising costs”; and
  • “The changes are coming at a breakneck speed”.

In my opinion, there are other sectors of trucking where changes are coming quickly, too, some of them hastened by the price of fuel!

Fuel

So that you can track the price of fuel:

In an effort to save as much fuel as possible, here are a few of the articles on this site dealing with aerodynamics:

Now this week’s articles on this topic:

Iran

Oil

2. Regarding Amazon, Business, Capacity, Chameleon, Conditions, Mack, Trucking:

Amazon

Lots of news this week…

Business

Capacity

Chameleon Carriers

For background on chameleon carriers, please read:

The Anatomy of a Chameleon Carrier Empire. How They Build It.

Conditions

Mack

Trucking

3. Regarding Autonomous Vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Emissions, Fuel Gig, Fuel Hybrid, Fuel WEX, Hydrogen:

Autonomous vehicles

I totally oppose the operation of autonomous, driverless, or self-driving commercial motor vehicles on the same roads as the motoring public — but I share articles on this topic with my readers to help us stay current on the topic.

Electric vehicles

It could be that with the price of fuel being so high right now, that truckers and trucking companies are looking at alternatives.

Before you buy an all-electric Commercial Motor Vehicle, please do your due diligence by asking some questions and getting answers.

Emissions

Fuel gig

There has been at least one time in the past when gig drivers have been offered “gas price relief” of sorts.

Fuel hybrid

Federal approval in Canada…

Fuel WEX

Hydrogen

4. Regarding Coercion, ELDs, Employment, Language, Legal, Motus, Training:

Coercion

From the first article in this section:

  • “The Coercion Rule, which went into effect in January 2016, allows drivers to report incidents of coercion to FMCSA and authorizes FMCSA to issue penalties against motor carriers, shippers, receivers, or transportation intermediaries that have coerced drivers.”
  • “On April 28, 2026, FMCSA shared an FAQ bulletin on the Coercion Rule, which prohibits trucking companies, shippers, receivers, and other entities from coercing a commercial vehicle driver to violate certain FMCSA regulations, including hours-of-service limits, commercial driver’s license (CDL) regulations, and drug and alcohol testing rules.”

For reference purposes: “the Coercion Rule (49 CFR 390.6)”

ELDs

The opening sentence from this article says it all:

FMCSA, don’t go down the self-certification road again:

FMCSA’s decision to allow companies to self-certify has backfired on multiple occasions.

That has certainly been the case with ELDs!

Employment

Language

This is part of “General qualifications of drivers [who drive a commercial motor vehicle]” 49 C.F.R. 391.11(b)(2):

Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;

Here are at least some of this week’s articles on this topic:

Legal

Regarding the situation described in the first article in this section:

If you know that your truck has a violation, fix it!

Frankly, I’m surprised that the trucker was allowed to drive the truck in that condition. Just saying.

Motus

Training

5. Regarding Ban, Ports, Roads, Speed Limit, Speeding:

Ban

As jurisdictions take new actions all the time, pay attention to signage about truck bans.

Ports

Roads

Speed limit

Speeding

6. Regarding Congestion Pricing, Lottery, Pay, Rates, Tariffs, Tolls, Trade, UCR Fee:

Congestion pricing

A notable headline within the article in this section says:

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association supports efforts to end the congestion pricing program.

I encourage you to read the detail in the article.

Economy

Financing

The excerpt/subtitle in the article in this section reads:

Rates starting at 7.9%, terms up to 84 months, startup-friendly lenders with no time-in-business requirement — the semi-truck financing market in 2026 is more accessible than it has been in years, but the gap between the advertised rate and what you actually pay is where most small carriers get burned.

If at all possible, please do not obtain a truck on a payment schedule, but rather pay cash.

Before you sign anything, please have your legal representative review it.

For your convenience:

Now for the article:

Lottery

Let’s hope that lottery winners will exercise the financial discipline not to end up in a worse situation than they were in before they won!

Pay

Regarding the first article in this section, you may want to read this article on this site:

On Cash Advances: Pros and Cons for Professional Truck Drivers

Rates

Tariffs

For a much better and more thorough explanation about the problems with Trump-issued tariffs, please search for the word “tariffs” in Peggy Hall’s Substack archive.

There’s also a short video on Telegram with this description:

Peter Schiff on Trump’s punitive tariffs against U.S. allies and why all tariffs are paid by the American people, not foreign manufacturers

Now for the articles…

Tolls

Failure to pay a toll is a type of theft.

Pay what you owe!

Trade

UCR fee

From the article in this section:

On May 1, 2026, FMCSA announced that it would extend the comment period on the NPRM at the request of the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC). The end of the comment periods was pushed back from May 7, 2026, to May 26, 2026, to provide the public with more time “to access the supporting documentation regarding fee calculations for the 2027 registration year.”

Read more…

7. Regarding Crashes, Deaths, Decal, Drugs, Dumping, Fake:

Crashes

Please look through these articles to see if there is anything you can learn to help you prevent being involved in a similar crash.

Regarding the first article in this section:

Now for the articles this week:

Deaths

I express my deep sympathy — and offer my condolences — to the families of those whose loved ones died as reported in these articles.

Decal

Well, I applaud their concern but am curious as to why they didn’t know it was a decal!

Drugs

Never ever haul or take illegal drugs.

Dumping

This section could also be referred to as “littering” but I think it goes farther than that because of the sheer weight.

I wish the article had said what the “criminal charges” could be!

Fake

The article in this section says:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a public alert warning the transportation industry about a significant increase in sophisticated “cyber-enabled” cargo theft tactics threatening U.S. supply chains.

In my opinion, it is always best to go with a proven load board.

DAT TruckersEdge - Most Loads. Best Rates. Serving Owner-Operators Since 1978. 10% off your first 12 months. New customers only.

8. Regarding Fatalities, Fire, Injury, Missing, Scam, Theft, Vices:

Fatalities

I express my deep sympathy — and offer my condolences — to the families of those whose loved ones died.

Fire

Injury

May the Lord heal these people!

Missing

Scam

Please be aware of and speak out against these and other types of scams that can impact truckers and trucking companies.

Theft

Vices

9. Regarding Cold, LTL, Parking, Securement (Pick-Up), Testing:

Cold

LTL

Parking

Securement (pick-up)

OK, this involved a pick-up truck, but the point is that securement of cargo is a big deal!

Testing

10. Regarding Inspections, Recalls, Supply Chain, Tires:

Inspections

If you keep yourself and your rig in perpetual readiness for an inspection, you’ll never be caught off-guard.

Truck inspections can take place at any time and anywhere, but just about any engaged trucker can tell you that certain types of inspections take place on a scheduled basis.

In the past, I have read that some truckers — who have the ability to not drive during an international or nationwide truck inspection — choose to park their rigs during these times.

Recalls

If your tractor or trailer is under a recall, please have the work attended to as soon as possible.

Supply chain

Tires

11. Regarding Technology, Weather, Weight, Work Zones:

Technology

Weather

Weight

Work zones

12. Regarding Awards:

Awards

Congratulations to every trucker who has received an award or recognition for his/her efforts!

I wish to highlight from the first article in this section:

Michel “Mitsou” Francoeur of Trois-Rivières, Quebec was named the 2026 Volvo Driver of the Year for his “38-year career in the industry, including more than 25 years without an at-fault accident.”

Woohoo!

I wish you — and all professional truck drivers — safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.









Return from TDMST Weekly Round-Up: 2026.05.09 to our TDMST Weekly Round-Up Trucking Commentary or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.



Rate Match Guarantee. We'll meet or beat your current rate. DAT Outgo.
Factor with more freedom. Non-recourse + no annual contracts. DAT Outgo.
Factor smarter, faster, and save. Keep more of what you earn. DAT Outgo.
Factoring that pays faster. Super fast funding speeds. DAT Outgo.