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TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2026.11.07

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2026.11.07 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending November 7, 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 Diesel, Holidays, and Oil:

Diesel

So that you can track the price of fuel:

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

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:

Holidays

Not all of the articles in this section refer to Christmas, but for reference purposes about “the holidays” around Christmas time:

Now for the articles on this topic:

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.

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.

2. Regarding Amazon, Brokers, Business, Canada, Insurance, Leasing, Rail, and Tesla:

Amazon

Quoting from the second article in this section:

Early reports from Amazon, Tractor Supply and Carter’s point to an uneven environment heading into the holiday season, with shipping inflation alongside isolated delays in getting merchandise into inventory.

What are your thoughts?

Brokers

Business

Canada

According to the fourth article in this section:

Changes to U.S. tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods took effect Friday, Oct. 30, potentially affecting the cost of commodities transported across the U.S.-Canada border by commercial trucks.

Under a presidential proclamation published in the Federal Register Oct. 30, President Donald Trump has removed an additional 50% tariff from certain Canadian products while applying the same duty to other categories of imported goods.

Are you glad or sad that the 50% tariff has been removed?

Please comment through the form below.

Insurance

Please regularly review your truck insurance to see if it is just right to meet your needs without being too expensive.

Leasing

There are numerous mentions regarding truck leasing on this site.

One article is entitled:

Commercial Truck Leasing: Beware of Designed-to-Fail Schemes

Rail

Tesla

3. Regarding Capacity, Containers, EPA, Exemption, FMCSA, Politics, and Trade:

Capacity

In case you need it, the definition of capacity can be found in this site’s glossary.

Containers

EPA

Exemption

FMCSA

Politics

Trade

4. Regarding ATRI, Brake Safety Week, Enforcement, Inspections, Language, and Violations:

ATRI

Brake Safety Week

Reversing the order of the paragraphs from the article in this section:

Inspectors conducted 15,528 inspections across Canada, the United States and Mexico during the Aug. 23-29 campaign, resulting in an overall brake-related out-of-service rate of 15.3%.

Commercial vehicle inspectors placed 2,369 trucks and other commercial vehicles out of service for brake-related violations during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2026 Brake Safety Week, including 232 in Canada.

Please keep your truck well-maintained!

Enforcement

Inspections

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

Language

I have lumped together in this section:

  • both English Language Proficiency (ELP);
  • and Non-Domiciled CDL.

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;

This needs to be the standard across the U.S. trucking industry.

Violations

A lot of violations are found during truck inspections while others are spotted on the road.

Make it your aim as a trucker to do everything in compliance with the law and regulations — even if your trucking company is trying to get you to compromise.

For your convenience, please review these posts:

Now for the news articles on this topic:

5. Regarding Autonomous Vehicles, Electric Vehicles, and Fuel Payment:

Autonomous Vehicles

I most definitely 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.

Fuel Payment

If you use the fuel payment system described in the article in this section, would you please write a service review?

Service Reviews on Services Marketed and Sold to Truckers

Thanks.

6. Regarding Crashes, Death, Drowsy Driving, Drugs, Fatalities, Fraud, Scam, Theft, and Violence:

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.

Death

I express my deep sympathy — and offer my condolences — to the family of the loved one who died as reported in this article.

Drowsy Driving

For reference purposes:

Drowsy Driving: Dangers, Statistics, and No Substitutes

Drugs

Never ever haul or take illegal drugs.

Fatalities

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, as it concerns a “highway”:

Fatality means any injury which results in the death of a person at the time of the motor vehicle accident or within 30 days of the accident.

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

Can you learn anything from the articles below that would help prevent being involved in a fatal large truck crash?

Fraud

Never attempt to deceive, misrepresent something, intentionally pervert the truth, or pretend to be someone else for the purpose of trying to get something valuable.

Scam

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

Theft

Never take something that doesn’t belong to you unless you have permission from the owner.

With as much surveillance equipment as is in place in the 21st century, it’s only a matter of time before the thieves are apprehended.

Please bear in mind that, should the economy worsen, the temptation will increase for people to hijack trucks and steal the contents.

Desperate people do desperate things.

Violence

It is never right to perpetrate violence upon someone in an unprovoked manner.

All perpetrators of violence must be dealt with in a just legal manner.

7. Regarding Aerodynamics, Economy, Employment, Getting Paid, Lottery, Pay for Weight, Rates, Surcharges, Tariffs, and Taxes:

Aerodynamics

Quoting the article in this section:

“The report found that aerodynamic technology is both proven and under-adopted,” said Dean Bushey, NACFE’s director of programs. “One thing we do know is that aerodynamics is not a finished subject. There is more to come.”

Do you have any parts on your truck that aid with aerodynamics?

If so, which ones and how much fuel do they help you to save?

Economy

Employment

Getting Paid

Lottery

Let’s hope that the lottery winner will exercise the financial discipline not to end up in a worse situation than he was in before he won!

Pay for Weight

The article in this section says:

Supporters say heavier trucks mean fewer trips, less traffic and lower emission. Haulers could move more freight without adding another truck to the road.

But the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association warns that heavier trucks could raise safety risks and put more strain on roads and bridges. OOIDA points to research from the Transportation Research Board and the U.S. Department of Transportation that questions the push for higher weights.

Thoughts?

Rates

Pay attention to rates and please make sure that the increased price of fuel is built into your calculations.

Surcharges

If you are assessed a surcharge for hauling any commodity, please contact me through the form below.

I’d like to connect with you for details.

Thanks.

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 in this section…

Taxes

8. Regarding ELDs, HOS, Industry, Legal, LTL, Parking, Qualifications, and Testing:

ELDs

According to the article in this section:

Electronic logging devices (ELDs) have long been used to track truck drivers’ hours of service, but the information they collect is taking on another role: helping freight brokers verify the identities of motor carriers and detect potential fraud.

Is this a good move or not?

Please comment through the form below.

HOS

There’s been a battle over the federal Hours of Service regulations for a long time!

Industry

Articles pertaining to the trucking industry:

Legal

LTL

Parking

Qualifications

According to the article in this section:

Trucking companies need to look beyond minimum regulatory compliance to protect themselves from growing legal exposure, increasingly sophisticated cargo theft and changing expectations around carrier safety, according to Heather Devine, chief legal officer at Traffix. …

One of the most significant developments involves the Montgomery case in the U.S., which she said has altered the legal landscape for freight brokers facing negligent carrier selection lawsuits.

Personally, I think that U.S. carriers need to do a whole lot more, including making sure that drivers they hire:

  • are in the country legally;
  • can read, write, and speak English proficiently;
  • have the ability to navigate their trucks on CMV-specific routes via a hard copy truckers atlas; and
  • drive trucks that are equipped with CMV-specific GPS units (thereby eliminating any potential shortcut for attempting to use a less expensive non-CMV-specific GPS tool.

What are your thoughts?

Testing

9. Regarding Maintenance, Operations, Parts, Pests, Ports, Securement, Speed, and Strike:

Maintenance

The first article in this section is valuable.

One of the points is:

“Know What Sensor Readings Should Be at That Temperature”.

Operations

Parts

From the November 2, 2026, article in this section, we read:

In its inaugural Heavy-Duty Price Index, FinditParts found that the price of truck parts has gone up about 6% compared to January 2024. Price increases were uneven across categories.

Driveline and axle prices saw the highest increase at 13%. Meanwhile, HVAC parts stayed mostly stagnant.

If you own a truck or fleet, are you seeing this, too?

Pests

Ports

Securement

It is the professional truck driver’s responsibility to make sure that his/her load is secure before driving.

The Code of Federal Regulations 49 CFR Part 393 covers “Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation”.

Subpart I details “Protection Against Shifting and Falling Cargo”.

It covers everything from § 393.104 Standards for cargo securement devices and systems to very specific kinds of loads including boulders, containers, metal coils, etc..

If you have not been trained on how to secure your load, demand that your trucking company provide you with that training before you drive a single inch!

Why? Because you as the trucker will be held responsible for it if something goes wrong.

Speed

No matter how “hot” your load is, obey the speed limit in every jurisdiction where you travel.

Strike

10. Regarding Recalls, Routing, and Runaway Ramps:

Recalls

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

Routing

When it comes to truck routes, I have addressed this issue on this posts on this site:

Now for the articles in this section:

Runaway Ramps

According to the article in this section, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) Highway Patrol said regarding runaway truck ramps:

“These ramps are designed to save lives by providing a last-resort stopping option for heavy commercial vehicles experiencing brake failure or loss of speed control on steep grades. Using a runaway truck ramp for any non-emergency purpose can create serious safety risks for everyone on the roadway. They are not pullouts, scenic overlooks, rest stops, or exit ramps.”

You might say, “But, Vicki, we’re truckers. We know what these ramps are for.”

But not all truckers do!

According to a December 13, 2021, article:

Truck driver sentenced to 110 years in Colorado wreck that killed 4:

Prosecutors argued that Aguilera-Mederos acted recklessly and made a series of poor decisions before the deadly wreck, including failing to use a runaway truck ramp on the side of the highway…

Please be careful.

11. Regarding Technology, Training, and Weather:

Technology

Training

Weather

12. Regarding Appreciation for Drivers and Awards:

Appreciation for Drivers

Awards

There are different kinds of awards and recognition described in this section.

Congratulations to all truckers who have:

  • demonstrated skill and achievement in their work as professional truck drivers;
  • been recognized for that skill and achievement, perhaps for safe driving;
  • been given a tangible reward; or
  • been nominated for or given an award.

Thank you!

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: 2026.11.07 to our TDMST Weekly Round-Up Trucking Commentary or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.



Factoring that pays faster. Super fast funding speeds. 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.
Truckers, for all that you do all year long... thanks!
Rate Match Guarantee. We'll meet or beat your current rate. DAT Outgo.