A small fleet operator says compliant carriers are being pushed aside by ultra low cost labor and CDL questionable licensing practices, allowing freight to move at prices that no longer reflect real operating costs.
For more than three years, a family run trucking operation has struggled to stay competitive against carriers relying on low wage, non domiciled CDL drivers, a practice that has driven freight rates well below sustainable levels.
The owner describes the past several years as the most punishing period his company has ever faced, noting that since mid 2022, many loads have consistently paid less than the true cost to operate.
While downturns are a familiar part of the trucking business, he says the current environment stands apart for both its duration and intensity. Over much of the last three and a half years, brokered freight moving longer distances has frequently paid 25 to 75 cents per mile below operating costs, making profitability virtually impossible for compliant fleets.
“This kind of imbalance can’t continue indefinitely,” he explained. “Eventually, working capital dries up, equipment equity disappears, and carriers are forced into debt just to survive a devastating position after years of losses with no clear recovery in sight.”
His experience reflects a broader concern spreading across the trucking industry: that today’s freight recession is no longer just cyclical, but structural, fueled by labor arbitrage, fraudulent CDLs, and inconsistent enforcement.
Industry voices increasingly warn that non domiciled drivers and weak oversight are distorting freight pricing, rewarding noncompliance, and placing law abiding fleets at a severe disadvantage with consequences that extend beyond rates to safety, capacity stability, and the long term health of the industry.
Several industry leaders and former carriers have echoed these concerns, pointing to a growing segment of operators who rely on ultracheap labor and questionable licensing to undercut market pricing. These practices, they say, are reshaping trucking into a system where cutting corners is rewarded and compliance becomes a liability.
According to these warnings, transient drivers often cycle in and out of the market, run aggressively, accept unsustainable rates, and exit before accountability catches up, leaving compliant U.S. carriers unable to compete on price alone.
The result, the small fleet owner says, is an uneven marketplace where compliant carriers haul freight below cost year after year, steadily burning through capital while noncompliant operators survive on artificially low expenses.
A Cost Structure Driven by Labor, Not Efficiency
At the heart of the issue is a fundamental shift in labor costs. Changes tied to non domiciled commercial driver licensing have opened the door to tens of thousands of drivers willing or compelled to work for far less than prevailing U.S. wages.
“These carriers dramatically reduce labor costs while sidestepping regulations,” the owner said. “If compliant fleets could cut driver pay and administrative expenses in half and gain a 25 to 50 cent per mile advantage, they’d be profitable too, but that’s not how lawful businesses operate.”
Core expenses such as fuel, insurance, tires, and maintenance are largely uniform across the industry, leaving labor and compliance as the primary variables. Carriers that ignore regulations or exploit vulnerable labor pools can underbid responsible operators and still stay afloat.
“You simply can’t compete with companies that ignore the rules,” he said. “The industry depends on regulators to maintain fairness and right now, that balance is missing.”
He also pointed to fraudulent or improperly issued CDLs as a central factor, enabling unsafe and exploitative practices that further erode trust and safety on the road.
Reports of trucks rotating multiple drivers sometimes without proper credentials or operating under conditions likened to “rolling sweatshops” highlight both the human cost and the competitive distortion created by these practices.
“By exploiting people, they gain a pricing advantage,” he said. “Meanwhile, the operators doing things the right way are the ones being penalized.”
He also noted that federal data shows a significant rise in truck related fatalities since 2016, despite expectations that electronic logging devices would improve safety, a troubling sign that deeper enforcement issues remain unresolved.
Restoring Fair Competition in Trucking
According to the carrier owner, the solution isn’t additional regulation, but consistent and meaningful enforcement of existing laws.
“Whether it’s safety standards, labor practices, or licensing requirements enforce what’s already on the books,” he said. “Hold everyone to the same rules and let competition be fair.”
Without that commitment, he warned, the industry risks losing the compliant carriers that have reliably supported U.S. freight networks for decades.
“There are countless trucking companies operating ethically and responsibly,” he said. “But if they’re driven out of business, the industry will be left with a far bigger problem than low rates.”
