Texas and Pennsylvania had the largest number of brick-and-mortar commercial driver training schools affected by the Department of Transportation’s sweeping crackdown on CDL training providers announced Monday.
DOT provided a state-by-state breakdown showing 13 schools each in Texas and Pennsylvania, followed by 11 in California, 10 in Florida and nine in Utah, according to information provided by the agency to Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin.
The breakdown comes a day after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced what he called an emergency shutdown of 110 commercial driver training schools that federal officials identified through an analysis of drivers cited for English-language proficiency violations.
“These are driving schools that account for 5,000 of the violations for English proficiency,” Duffy said Monday during a news conference in Detroit. “There’s 110 of them through a data analysis that are the greatest offenders. As of today, those schools are shut down.”
The state-by-state breakdown released by DOT includes:
| State | CDL schools impacted |
| Texas | 13 |
| Pennsylvania | 13 |
| California | 11 |
| Florida | 10 |
| Utah | 9 |
| Ohio | 7 |
| New Jersey | 3 |
| New York | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 3 |
| Arizona | 2 |
| Colorado | 1 |
| Idaho | 1 |
| Maryland | 1 |
| New Mexico | 1 |
| North Carolina | 1 |
| Oregon | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
| Virginia | 1 |
| Washington | 1 |
| West Virginia | 1 |
| Physical-location total | 84 |
DOT also said 23 additional training schools operated online and had no physical location, and Duffy has ordered a review of those providers.
The 84 schools identified by state plus the 23 online providers account for 107 schools. DOT’s state breakdown therefore does not fully account for the 110 schools Duffy said Monday were subject to emergency removal.
Federal officials have not released a complete list identifying all of the schools by name.
Texas, Pennsylvania, California account for nearly half of physical schools
Texas, Pennsylvania and California together accounted for 37 of the 84 physical-location schools, or about 44% of those identified in DOT’s state breakdown.
Adding Florida and Utah brings the five states’ combined total to 56 schools, representing two-thirds of the physical-location providers identified by DOT.
The geographic breakdown provides the first detailed look at where the schools targeted in the federal crackdown were operating. Monday’s initial announcement did not provide a complete list of the affected schools or their locations.
FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said Monday that every school targeted for emergency removal had trained at least 10 drivers who were subsequently cited during roadside inspections for failing to meet federal English-language proficiency requirements. Collectively, the schools certified more than 5,000 drivers later cited for those violations.
Federal regulations require entry-level driver training providers to teach drivers about English-language proficiency requirements and certify that trainees meet applicable standards before completing training.
Barrs specifically identified ASC Technical Institute in Texas, saying it certified 58 drivers who were later cited for English-language proficiency violations. Barrs said one of its former trainees subsequently ran a stop sign and killed a man in Texas.
He also identified Platinum Plus Truck Driving School in California, which he said certified 36 drivers later cited for English-language proficiency violations. One of those trainees was involved in a fatal crash in Oklahoma, according to Barrs.
Why it matters: The state breakdown shows the CDL training crackdown is concentrated in several major trucking states, with Texas, Pennsylvania, California, Florida and Utah accounting for two-thirds of the physical-location schools identified by DOT.
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The freight management arm of DHL Group on Monday announced the acquisition of Uruguay-based Aero Cargas S.A., giving the company its first direct operation in a country that is experiencing regional and international trade growth.
Latin America has seen strong growth in cross-border trade, including airfreight, in the past couple of years as geopolitical tensions, wars and tariff proliferation make trade in other parts of the world more difficult. DHL Global Forwarding (XETRA: DHL) said the investment in Aero Cargo was motivated by Uruguay’s potential to capture more trade flows given its position as an Atlantic gateway to the Mercusor trade bloc, with the Port of Montevideo at the entrance to the primary inland waterway that flows past Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.
But DHL’s annual report on global trade ranks Uruguay No. 130 in the world for connectedness, a measure of a country’s international trade, capital, people and information flows. Uruguay exported $13.5 billion in goods during 2025, the highest figure in 10 years, driven by beef, soybeans and dairy, according to the government of Uruguay. Imports have been growing faster than exports in the past year. The country’s largest trade partners are China, Brazil and Argentina.
The acquisition follows DHL’s 2030 growth strategy of investing in high-growth markets and evolving trade corridors.
Aero Cargas has served as a DHL agent in Uruguay for more than 30 years. It arranges air and ocean freight, project cargo, land transport and customized multimodal services. It also has a strong track-record in Free Trade Zone operations, pharmaceutical logistics and regional inventory management, DHL said in a news release.
The ability to coordinate freight transportation for large industrial projects is important as Uruguay’s data center sector continues to expand, anchored by massive investments from multinational tech giants and state-backed AI-infrastructure, and the country grows as a top digital hub in South America. DHL has long experience with complex logistics moves, such as transporting heavy machinery, cooling systems and advanced components for large technology projects.
In April 2025, DHL Group said it would invest $2.2 billion over five years in healthcare logistics. About 10% of that is expected to be invested in Latin America.
More than $1 billion worth of pharmaceuticals moves through Uruguay annually as global pharma brands increasingly rely on the country as their regional distribution center for Latin America. Active ingredients and finished products arriving from Europe and North America need to be reprocessed, repackaged and re-exported to markets like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia.
Erik Meade, the head of DHL Global Forwarding Latin America, said the acquisition of Aero Cargo allows DHL to quickly support clients that require precision logistics and temperature-controlled facilities to reach customers in the region.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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Cook County investigators recovered approximately $647,420 in Nike merchandise after a fictitious pickup involving fake documents. The incident began Aug. 21 at a company facility in Memphis, Tennessee. A driver picked up the shipment intended for Dallas using fraudulent paperwork, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Authorities later learned the shipment had gone toward the Chicago area.
A Nike representative contacted the Sheriff’s Police Organized Retail Crime Unit on Aug. 23. Detectives began working the case involving the pickup two days earlier. Their efforts led to a distribution facility in Des Plaines, Illinois. Officers found the shoes alongside a stolen trailer.
The recovery occurred in the 1300 block of South Mount Prospect Road. Authorities have not identified whoever carried out the theft. Officials also have not announced arrests or charges. Their inquiry into who bears responsibility remains ongoing.
Collaboration crosses jurisdictions
Cook County Sheriff’s Office Commander Michael Ware credited several groups with helping investigators recover the cargo. He identified law enforcement, retailers, transportation partners and private-sector organizations. Ware described cargo theft as sophisticated organized crime that frequently crosses jurisdictions. His team remains committed to disrupting criminal networks and protecting the supply chain.
“The recovery of approximately $647,420 in stolen merchandise demonstrates what can be accomplished through strong collaboration,” Ware told FreightWaves. He also praised his Organized Retail Crime Unit for its work. Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart received recognition for supporting those efforts. Ware connected that backing with resources available for complex cases.
“His leadership has provided us with the resources and support necessary to pursue these complex investigations,” Ware told FreightWaves. Detectives have not explained how the person obtained fraudulent paperwork. Police also have not disclosed how the load reached Illinois. Ware noted that the active case limits what his office can release.
Why It Matters
Fake documents can make a fraudulent pickup appear legitimate long enough for valuable freight to disappear. Quick communication across the supply chain can become critical once a shipment goes off course.
CFCO perspective
CFCO training emphasizes human-level verification before anyone releases freight. Documents alone cannot confirm the person standing at the dock belongs with that shipment. Teams need to verify the individual against trusted information before cargo leaves their control. Do not discover the driver at the dock. Confirm the driver at the dock.
Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phil Brink.
Arizona police recover $400K in stolen cargo during stops 20 minutes apart – FreightWaves
Deputies recover $150K in New Balance shoes after BNSF boxcar burglary – FreightWaves
The post $647K Nike cargo recovered near Chicago after fraudulent Memphis pickup appeared first on FreightWaves.
Mexico rail is taking freight share — and 150-car rail ferries are part of the story.
Bill Stephens of Trains Magazine breaks down what Grupo Mexico Transportes is doing differently: winning volume from highway and short-sea moves, expanding rail ferry capacity, and using a more aggressive security strategy to cut cargo theft incidents. If you move freight across North America, this is a real look at where rail competition is shifting.
#RailFreight #CargoTheft #MexicoLogistics
Grupo México Transportes, the largest railroad in Mexico, has ordered two additional rail ferries capable of carrying 150 railcars each across the Gulf of Mexico, according to rail journalist Bill Stephens, who visited the company’s headquarters in Guadalajara this week. The expansion comes as demand on the joint-venture ferry service — operated with Genesee & Wyoming — outpaces capacity and volumes surge on finished-vehicle shipments manufactured in Mexico.
The service runs from the Port of Mobile and connects to Mexican ports, offering a faster transit for some U.S. origin points than an all-land routing. Rail equipment is carefully shoved onto tracks aboard the vessels, secured with chocks, and sailed across the Gulf — eliminating the transloading step that adds cost and time to competing barge moves out of the Port of Veracruz.
“Volume is so strong and demand is so strong, and they’re taking share from those barges that they’ve ordered 2 more rail ferries that can carry 150 cars each,” Stephens said.
Stephens described Grupo México — which operates the Ferromex and Ferrosur railroads — as the fastest-growing Class 1 railroad year to date, gaining share not only from barge operators but also from highway carriers. The company is part of the broader Grupo México conglomerate, one of the world’s largest mining companies, and has largely avoided the industry spotlight despite its scale.
Stephens also detailed Grupo México’s cargo security operation, which underwent a strategic overhaul in 2016 when the railroad moved away from armed guards aboard trains toward a proactive, technology-driven model. The railroad’s security monitoring center tracks every train’s speed and air brake line pressure in real time, deploys drones to surveil track corridors ahead of high-value intermodal and automotive trains, and embeds a Mexican National Guard liaison on-site. In its most recent weekly snapshot, the railroad logged 72 incidents out of 30,000 total shipments, with most incidents involving nothing more than open container seals.
To suppress theft hotspots — which Stephens said tend to be local in nature, sometimes involving gang-instigated derailments followed by community looting — Grupo México deploys 30 mobile trailers that house National Guard members near problem areas, covering their food and lodging costs in exchange for rapid response to criminal activity along the right-of-way.
The cargo theft contrast with the U.S. was notable, Stephens said. While organized international crime syndicates drive rail theft in the U.S. Southwest, Mexico’s challenge is more localized gangs operating within roughly a 30-mile radius. Back in the U.S., the Association of American Railroads and major retailers are backing federal legislation that would create a coordinated federal, state, and local response to cargo theft — a proposal that drew an enthusiastic reaction on the broadcast from advocates of the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act.
- Grupo México Transportes has ordered 2 new rail ferries, each with 150-car capacity, as Gulf of Mexico ferry demand outstrips supply.
- The railroad shifted its cargo security strategy in 2016 from armed train guards to drones, real-time monitoring, and embedded National Guard units, logging just 72 incidents out of 30,000 weekly shipments.
- Grupo México is the fastest-growing Class 1 railroad year to date, gaining share from highway carriers, barges, and competing rail operators.
This Summary is generated thanks to a transcription of the interview, for the full interview please enjoy the video above.
The post Inside The Railroad Security Operation Taking On Cargo Theft appeared first on FreightWaves.
Peak season is upon us, but SONAR data reveals a surprising trend: tender rejection rates aren’t surging into Labor Day like previous years. While spot rates remain elevated year-over-year, the expected pre-holiday peak isn’t materializing. Is this the new normal for a supply-driven market, or a sign of deeper shifts with intermodal rail siphoning long-haul freight? Tune in for expert analysis on what’s driving this orderly market behavior and what it means for your operations.
Truckload tender rejections have stalled near 13.5% heading into Labor Day weekend, a notable departure from prior years when rejection rates began climbing earlier in August — a signal that the current freight cycle remains orderly rather than supply-constrained.
FreightWaves SONAR data reviewed on air shows the 2026 rejection rate peaked above 17.5% earlier this cycle, but has since consolidated. Julie Van de Kamp said she had expected rejection rates to reach the 18% range ahead of Labor Day but no longer believes that is likely. Craig Fuller put his informal forecast even lower.
“I’m not a forecaster, but if I had to bet, I would think we’re in the 15s,” Fuller said.
Comparing the current year to SONAR’s historical overlays — magenta for 2023, green for 2024, yellow for 2025 — prior cycles all showed a slow, steady August uptick culminating in a small Labor Day peak. The 2026 line, shown in blue, has not yet replicated that pattern, though Van de Kamp said she still expects some firming through the holiday weekend and in the typically busy week that follows.
A key structural factor suppressing the usual seasonal surge is rail. Both hosts pointed to railroads absorbing a significant share of long-haul freight that would otherwise move by truckload, keeping trucking volumes steady but not tight. Fuller noted the broader dynamic: “We haven’t seen demand pick up. It’s been pretty steady. And as we’ve talked about over and over again, this cycle is supply-driven.”
Van spot rates tell a similar story. At $3.29 per mile, rates are down roughly 2.5% month over month from a cycle peak above $3.80 per mile. Even so, Fuller emphasized that context matters: spot rates remain up 44% year over year. Contract rates, meanwhile, are up 17% year over year, and the gap between spot and contract continues to narrow as shippers adjust routing guides upward to keep them intact.
Fuller said he will be watching volume data market by market as Labor Day passes and the freight calendar moves closer to peak season, with particular attention on whether coastal markets begin to accelerate. Van de Kamp added that weekly AAR rail freight data — published every Wednesday — remains robust, reinforcing why trucking has not seen the kind of demand-driven tightening that characterized earlier cycles.
- Tender rejections are holding near 13.5% with no pre-Labor Day surge, below the cycle peak of 17.5% and well short of the 18% some had anticipated.
- Van spot rates sit at $3.29 per mile, down ~2.5% month over month but still up 44% year over year; contract rates are up 17% year over year.
- Rail is absorbing significant long-haul freight volume, a key reason truckload markets feel orderly rather than tight heading into peak season.
This Summary is generated thanks to a transcription of the interview, for the full interview please enjoy the video above.
The post Peak Season Is Coming – But Where Is The Freight Surge? appeared first on FreightWaves.
