Freight market update and latest trucking news (May 20)
FMCSA Announces $217 Million Initiative to Strengthen Trucking Industry Safety and CDL Integrity
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation have announced a major $217 million funding initiative aimed at improving safety, strengthening CDL enforcement, and removing fraudulent activity from the trucking industry.
According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the initiative focuses on “restoring integrity” to the trucking industry by targeting unsafe operators, modernizing CDL systems, and supporting qualified American drivers
FMCSA says new Motus system will use biometrics to fight chameleon carriers and freight fraud
On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator (FMCSA) announced the rollout of Motus, a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) registration system that will replace the legacy registration systems.
FMCSA says the old trucking registration system was easy for fraudsters to exploit due to weak verification and disconnected databases. This allowed unsafe “chameleon” carriers to hide poor safety records, create new identities, and avoid oversight. Officials identified thousands of suspicious registrations linked to fraudulent carriers. The new Motus system aims to improve security, data accuracy, oversight, and user experience.
ACT Research: Trailer Orders Continue Upward Surprise in April
Preliminary net trailer orders rose 3% from March and jumped 126% year over year, signaling stronger-than-expected demand despite typical seasonal softness
Dry Van Report: Manufacturing remains stable, but challenges are starting to increase.
U.S. manufacturing grew for the fourth month in a row in April. Demand stayed strong, with new orders increasing, while production continued to grow but slowed slightly. Overall results look stable, but there are still some concerns behind the numbers.
Even though the annual Commercial Vehicle Safety Roadcheck week has ended, spot truckload rates are still rising. Rates increased about 10.6% in one week, reaching $3.45 per mile, and are now 49% higher than the same time last year. The increase happened because many trucks stayed off the road during inspections, reducing available capacity.
The 2026 Freight Fraud Symposium kicks off May 20 at 9 a.m. ET at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
Key focus areas include:
• Cargo theft trends, methods, and prevention
• Fighting cyber-enabled fraud, digital security, and fuel card scams
• Training staff to identify theft and strengthen vetting methods
• And much more
HUNTME TRUCKIN News is going to highlight all latest news once conference starts tomorrow. Stay tuned!
New trucking tool for everyone: The CEO of Genlogs has developed a feature that allows users to pull up detailed information about a trucking company simply by taking a photo of the truck.
The tool can quickly identify carrier details and company information in seconds.
Below is the X post demonstrating how this feature works:
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