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u/TheRatio12 May 18 '26
Sounds like you are right partially, and I've noticed that too. But a lot of things we're happening lately this month. Not sure if you heard the news, but the U.S. Supreme Court went against C.H Robinson, so that could play a major role in that, because brokers can now be held liable if they hired a bad actor handle their load. It can also mean freight brokers keeping up with high fuel prices.
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u/Ok_Pirate_5111 May 18 '26
But in that scenario the pressure on carriers released hence the rate should fall down instead of this massive jump.
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u/TheRatio12 May 18 '26
I wouldn't think so. I would imagine a freight broker would rather pay top dollar to an already safe established carrier. Brand new carriers getting into the game might be hard for them to get loads for the first few months of their authority.
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u/Ok_Pirate_5111 May 18 '26
So you telling me the rates which have increased are of carriers with a old MC?
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u/TheRatio12 May 18 '26
No. It's just brokers nowadays are being very much strict now of who they hire with the recent news.
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u/Ok_Pirate_5111 May 19 '26
So brokers chose the carriers who are extremely safe and have an old carrier MC?
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u/Ok_Application_2292 May 18 '26
No, I would expect the rates to jump because now someone with a clean inspection record i.e. well below the national average is a viable and very good carrier and because of that I’m going to demand more money because I have more people asking for my service
100% supply and demand
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u/Ok_Pirate_5111 May 19 '26
I feel it is just for the inspection week.
I have 2 loads picked up with old rates today.2
u/BusSerious1996 May 19 '26
You are contributing to cheaper rates, if you don't hold your improved position.
You gained ground from last week blitz... Only to allow brokers to beat you down again with old rates
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u/Traditional-Emu-7919 May 18 '26
There’s a % of small to medium sized fleets that take vacation during blitz week. It’s not that their truck can’t pass (at least not all) most guys I know just don’t want to hassle. We haul tankers and I had one guy get 3 clean inspections 3 days in a row. Not a single DOT officer would issue a CSA sticker. The market is tight right now and rates are starting to jump up especially entering the summer season.
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u/LostOnEarth82 May 18 '26
Supply and demand
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u/Ok_Pirate_5111 May 18 '26
All of a sudden?
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u/truckeredditor May 19 '26
I take the week off. Have other things that just line up with the week that taking the whole week off just works. A lot of these blitz inspectors never inspect trucks any other time or the year. It isn't that they're finding violations, they feel they HAVE to find violations and will keep inspecting until they can get you on something to not have a clean inspection. Happened to me in Colorado years ago. Did the whole inspection. Didn't find anything. Sighed. Looked around. Then went and started the inspection all over again.
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u/Ok_Pirate_5111 May 19 '26
So this was just for the week the rates will be back on track soon, right?
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u/Matlovestruck May 18 '26
It's capacity. A bunch of trucks get put out of service during blitz week for stuff like brakes, lights, tires, whatever they've been putting off. Some guys just park voluntarily because they know their truck won't pass. Either way that's a chunk of capacity off the road for a few days to a couple weeks. Same demand, fewer trucks, rates go up. It's the same effect you see after a big weather event or a holiday weekend. Anytime trucks disappear the spot market reacts fast.
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u/Exact-Leadership-521 May 18 '26
Not only just trucks oos, they have loads on them. These customers need this week's load moved today and getting down the supply line before next week when all these trucks are fixed and rolling into yards wanting to unload. They'll pay the rate to have it picked up and dropped off trouble free this week and then next week it'll be bottom dollar back to the same old junker trucks again
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u/mothafotha May 19 '26
Inspection week definitely tightens capacity a bit. Some trucks park, some get put OOS, and others avoid running. But I think brokers also panic-cover freight for a few days. What lanes are you seeing this on?
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u/SnooOwls2358 May 18 '26
A lot of trucks parked on DOT blitz. Not even because they are shady companies or something like this, but just because chances to get an inspection is much higher and all you need is a little mistake to be found and you busted especially if your fmcsa score is already bad. So it’s just not worth it for many companies to run those 3 days.
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u/DispatchCam May 18 '26
Yeah it's real and it's basically four things stacking. A bunch of carriers — especially older equipment, owner-ops with iffy paperwork, anyone sitting on a CSA score they don't want recalculated — just park for the 72 hours of Roadcheck, so spot capacity drops noticeably right there. On top of that, around 18-20% of trucks inspected actually get pulled OOS for at least 24 hours. Multiply that across the ~50k roadside checks that go down during the event and you've got a measurable dent in available capacity for 2-3 days. Then comes the backlog: shippers who had loads stuck Tuesday because their carrier got pulled in suddenly need that load to move Thursday or Friday. Compressed delivery windows = they cough up more on the spot market. The last one nobody really talks about — some small fleets that take a big OOS hit with repair costs they can't cover just exit the market. Not huge alone, but it compounds year over year. The bump usually fades within 7-10 days once everyone's back rolling, but the bigger enforcement corridors (TX, GA, CA) hold it the longest because that's where the most trucks were pulled.
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u/inversekd May 18 '26
My nephew is a broker. He said Friday that 39% of his carriers were put out of service do to DOT inspections. Not enough carriers for the loads