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US DOT has closed more than 110 driver schools and 160 more are on the chopping block. KingWu / Getty Images

Driver school shutdowns further tighten US truck capacity

By Dan Ronan

Federal agencies are working together to close unqualified commercial driver training schools, adding another capacity constraint to an already-tightening US truckload market. That effort supports higher freight rates and gives safety-focused carriers a competitive advantage, transportation analysts say.

The US Department of Transportation( DOT) in early September announced the“ emergency removal” of more than 110 entry-level driver training providers associated with more than 5,000 drivers who failed English language proficiency( ELP) tests. More than 160 other schools face proposed removal following nearly 400 investigations in 40 states.

The US Department of Homeland Security( DHS) simultaneously targeted more than 200 training schools in 23 states as part of a broader crackdown on alleged commercial driver’ s license( CDL) fraud and illegal activity in trucking. It’ s all part of a multi-agency crackdown on fraud.

The removal of the schools alone is unlikely to create a significant capacity shock, but analysts say the action is the latest in a series of federal enforcement initiatives reducing capacity and slowing the flow of drivers into trucking.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Trump administration intends to pursue problems throughout the driver licensing and training system.

“ From states failing to follow the law to shady training schools and illicit companies, together we will tackle every link in the chain,” Duffy said in an Aug. 31 statement.

Avery Vise, vice president of trucking at FTR Transportation Intelligence, cautioned against viewing the latest action in isolation.

“ In terms of a market mover, it is not a huge deal,” Vise said, adding driver availability was already tightening before the latest enforcement actions.

Vise said data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows truckload employment at its lowest level since 2014, while a preliminary revision released in late August indicates employment is actually at its lowest level since 2012.“ The underlying issue was already there,” he said. That contraction predates increased enforcement involving foreign drivers, ELP requirements and other trucking regulations, Vise said. But the resulting disruption is adding pressure to the market.

“ Certainly, one of the factors this year driving up rates is the disruption from all of the enforcement that’ s gone on,” he said.“ It is certainly adding to the pressure, but it’ s not the primary driver of that pressure.”

‘ Stacking effect’

The cumulative effect of the enforcement push is becoming increasingly important to carrier supply, said Dean Croke, principal analyst at DAT Freight & Analytics. He pointed to ELP enforcement, scrutiny of electronic logging devices and CDL training requirements as actions separating compliant carriers from operators unable or unwilling to meet federal standards.

“ If you stack all of these on top of each other...

22 Journal of Commerce | October 5, 2026 www. joc. com