Government it creates this big chasm between the haves and the havenots,” he said.

If training schools are forced out or required to meet existing standards,“ the driver pool that comes into the industry slows right down compared to the last five or six years,” Croke said.“ The net is that capacity becomes tighter [ and ] driver supply becomes tighter.”

“ Capacity is going to be impacted. It absolutely tightens the rope a little more.”

The greater impact could emerge when freight demand strengthens. A market with fewer marginal carriers and a slower influx of new drivers would have less capacity available to absorb freight.“ Eventually, demand improves, and then this market really accelerates,” Croke said, noting that higher rates would help attract qualified drivers into trucking, but driver pay would also have to increase.

For carriers, enforcement could change the economics of compliance. Carriers investing in safety and compliance

have competed against operators with lower costs that did not meet the same standards, Croke said.“ Compliance becomes your competitive advantage, not a line item on a [ profit and loss statement ],” he said.

Mike Regan, chief relationship officer at TranzAct Technologies, likewise expects the federal enforcement push to tighten capacity and ultimately increase transportation costs for shippers.

“ Capacity is going to be impacted by this,” Regan said.“ It absolutely tightens the rope a little more.”

Regan noted that federal English language proficiency requirements for commercial drivers date to 1936 and said the administration’ s actions demonstrate a greater willingness to enforce long-standing safety requirements.“ The message that they ought to be receiving is that we are serious about safety, and we have the capacity to be more aggressive and hold more people accountable,” he said.

Regan expects the crackdown to accelerate what he called shippers’ existing“ flight to the quality carriers,” even if that means paying higher freight rates.

“ Everyone has been talking about the flight to the quality carriers,” he said.“ This is going to accelerate that move even more.”

email: contactdanronan @ gmail. com

Port Houston is investing in infrastructure. We have added capacity at our Bayport Container Terminal with the addition of a new wharf and cranes, and we’ ve expanded the Houston Ship Channel through the Galveston Bay Reach, allowing for larger vessels and improving efficiency along the nation ' s number one waterway. Get your cargo to your customers faster by choosing Port Houston.

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www. joc. com October 5, 2026 | Journal of Commerce 23