Truckload rates not drastically affected by tougher enforcement of English proficiency for truck drivers
Summary
The Trump administration has stepped up enforcement of English Language Proficiency (ELP) rules for commercial truck drivers, including a pause on new H-2B visas for drivers and tighter enforcement by federal agencies. Industry groups such as the American Trucking Associations (ATA) supported the measures as safety and accountability actions. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) began placing more drivers out-of-service (OOS) for ELP violations and has petitioned for CDL exams to be English-only. FMCSA and industry analyses show inspection rates rose in 2025 and the share of drivers placed OOS for ELP increased sharply, but the overall national impact on available capacity is projected to be small (roughly 0.78% of the targeted for-hire driver population if OOS drivers do not return within a year). Localised disruptions – particularly in border regions such as Texas – are already apparent, but spot truckload rates remain depressed amid weak demand and tariff-driven shifts in import volumes.
Key Points
- The administration paused issuance of new H-2B visas for commercial truck drivers and directed agencies to enforce ELP requirements more strictly.
- ATA backed the move, saying ELP rules are essential for safety — reading signs, dealing with law enforcement and following instructions.
- CVSA revised guidance to allow placing drivers OOS for ELP violations and pushed for CDL tests to be English-only; enforcement began in late June 2025.
- Inspections rose from an average of 27,986 per week in 2024 to about 31,246 per week through Jan–July 2025 (an ~11.6% increase).
- The share of drivers placed OOS for ELP jumped from ~0.1% to ~25.7% of flagged violations; projected weekly OOS removals average ~325 drivers, annualising to ~16,901.
- Even if those drivers stayed out of service for a year, the hit would be about 0.78% of the targeted for-hire interstate CDL driver population — small relative to total capacity.
- Truckload spot rates remain in a trough (since Q1 2023) and are more influenced by demand drivers (tariffs, import volumes and seasonality) than this enforcement action alone.
Why should I read this?
Quick take: it’s not a market earthquake. If you move freight or run a fleet, this explains why tougher English rules look scary on paper but so far haven’t sent rates skyrocketing. There are local pain points (hello, border lanes), but nationally the numbers show only a tiny slice of capacity being removed — for now. Worth a skim if you care about routing, cross-border flows or near-term capacity risk.