U.S. truckload spot rates surged to a record $3.83 per mile in early June 2026 — a single-day jump of $0.09 — as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's most aggressive enforcement campaign in 16 years has removed approximately 40,000 non-compliant drivers from the workforce. Tender rejection rates have simultaneously spiked to 17.55%, while the van load-to-truck ratio is up 92% year-over-year and flatbed up 189%, signaling structural supply-demand imbalance. FMCSA's enforcement actions include the revocation of 28,000 illegally issued commercial driver's licenses to unqualified foreign nationals, removal of 20,000 drivers failing English proficiency requirements, and the purging of 400,000 unverifiable carriers from the MOTUS registration system. Unlike the demand-driven capacity crunch of 2022, this supply-side contraction is permanent — disqualified drivers cannot return — and logistics managers expect capacity tightness to persist for years rather than quarters.
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