CDL schools shut in 20 states as most freight rates firm and diesel climbs

The FMCSA's emergency-removal action swept up commercial driving schools in 20 states, led by Texas, Pennsylvania, California, Florida and Utah, FreightWaves reports. If you trained recently or have coursework in progress, it is worth checking the named list against your provider before it costs you a testing slot.

Parking went two directions at once. Land Line reports one state pulling truck parking while another adds it -- a reminder to reconfirm your overnight stops on affected corridors rather than trusting last year's plan.

For owner-operators chasing paperwork, Land Line also covers the Pink Cheetah v. TQL fight over broker transparency, which now turns on whether a single FMCSA email can force a broker to hand over rate records. It is a narrow case with wide implications for anyone who has asked to see what a load actually paid.

The market backdrop is mostly good news, and it reads that way. Preliminary August producer price figures show dry van truckload up 1.9% to 207.6, less-than-truckload up 4.5% to 306.8, and all trucking up 1.9% to 213.3. Specialized long-distance freight -- the nearest public proxy for flatbed -- was the lone decliner, off 0.8% to 166.2. These are indices pinned to a 2003 base, not dollars per mile, and they blend contract with spot business, so they turn later and more gently than a spot rate would; the flatbed proxy is also broader than flatbed alone. Direction beats level here, and the direction is up for three segments out of four. Transport Topics has McLeod's Tom McLeod urging rate discipline as capacity that fed a four-year rate recession finally winnows out.

The cost side is the offset. The national on-highway diesel average was $5.967 a gallon in the week to September 7; FreightWaves reports the DOE/EIA benchmark used for most fuel surcharges is now at an all-time high. That pump average includes taxes, and fleets buying on contract pay less -- read it as direction, not as your receipt. Demand is at least holding the other end up: FreightWaves puts U.S. container imports up 3.8% in the month, the third-highest monthly level on record.

One to file away: Land Line reports the leader of a six-month, $1.5 million cargo-theft crew drew a ten-year sentence -- a rare hard number on the penalty side of a crime that keeps climbing.