Thousands of trucking jobs were lost in September as the federal government cracked down on non-domiciled CDLs and English-proficiency violations.
According to the latest federal government employment report, nearly 7,000 trucking jobs were eliminated in September. That marks the largest monthly job loss in more than a year. About the same number of truck driver jobs were lost in May 2024.
So far this year, the number of trucking jobs has evened out. Employment in trucking has gone up and down throughout the year amid volatile trade conditions caused by tariffs. In September, there were only 100 fewer truck driving jobs than there were at the start of the year.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment report does not specify who lost jobs or where. However, September’s trucking job losses correlate with President Donald Trump’s push to rein in non-domiciled CDLs and drivers who violate English-proficiency requirements.
At the end of September, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published an interim final rule addressing non-domiciled CDLs. That rule imposes much stricter requirements on non-citizens seeking to obtain a CDL. A federal court has put that rule on pause. A motion to reinstate the rule is pending.
FMCSA’s interim final rule was expected to eliminate nearly 200,000 non-domiciled CDLs. That could dramatically alter trucking jobs and overall employment in the industry.
Considering the rule was not published until the end of the month, it may not have affected September’s employment report.
Although the non-domiciled CDL interim final rule may not have moved the needle in September’s job report, a crackdown on English language proficiency violations might have. In May, Duffy announced that the Department of Transportation would begin enforcing out-of-service requirements for English-proficiency violations.
Since then, out-of-service orders have been pouring in. According to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association’s Foundation, more than 31,000 English-proficiency violations have led to nearly 8,000 out-of-service orders from June through October. Out-of-service violations peaked in September.
David Spencer, vice president of market intelligence at Arrive Logistics, suggested the trucking industry may see a mass exodus soon. He said peak-season rate increases may just delay the inevitable loss of trucking jobs.
“With further job losses in October likely being a result of the FMCSA ruling on non-domiciled CDLs, the numbers point to what could be a rapidly deteriorating capacity environment,” Spencer said. “With tariff front-loading complete and the addition of new government regulations, it’s been more difficult for certain demographics of drivers to continue operating without risk of being put out of service. Even though the courts have temporarily eliminated enforcement of the ruling on non-domiciled CDLs, the damage may already be done.”
What immediate impact FMCSA’s interim final rule had on trucking jobs may never be known. Because of the government shutdown, there will be no employment report for October. Analysts will have to fill in the gaps in November’s report, which will be published in mid-December. LL
Land Line Senior Editor Mark Schremmer contributed to this story.
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