Fleets Should Brace for Sustained High Fuel Prices

It appears the trucking industry needs to prepare for a prolonged stretch of high fuel prices. According to industry experts, factors such as global geopolitics, supply chain constraints, and fluctuating oil demand are contributing to these inflated costs. This situation not only impacts operational expenses directly but also affects the cost of goods, impacting overall shipping rates.

For small carriers, this can mean tighter margins and increased pressure to improve operational efficiencies. As fuel costs continue to remain high, truckers and fleet operators need to keep a sharp eye on their bottom lines. Consider strategies like fuel hedging, investing in more fuel-efficient vehicles, or optimizing route planning to mitigate these costs. VAU0's transport management systems can offer insights into smarter route planning and fuel management to help alleviate some of this financial strain.

Key Insight: "Prepare for more than just a bump in the road—high fuel prices are set to stick around, demanding strategic changes from fleets of all sizes."

FedEx Freight's New Era as a Standalone Company

FedEx Freight is setting out on a new path as an independent entity. The move is part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at focusing more on core competencies and streamlining operations. This shift allows FedEx Freight to concentrate specifically on its competitive advantages in the less-than-truckload market.

For smaller operations, FedEx's strategy highlights the importance of honing your niche service offerings to competitive advantage. It illustrates the potential benefits of concentrated focus, which could lead to better service and possibly, improved profitability. As the market adapts to this change, leveraging efficient operations can be significantly advantageous. This might be a good time to review your own compliance procedures and operational strategies to ensure your fleet’s readiness for shifts in the industry landscape.

New York's Driver Shortage Woes

The trucking industry in New York is currently grappling with a significant shortage of drivers. This shortage impacts delivery schedules and capacity, causing disruptions and increased costs. The situation in New York is a snapshot of a broader national issue wherein many regions are struggling to attract and retain qualified drivers.

If you're operating in or near New York, now might be a good time to reassess your recruitment processes. Consider exploring partnerships with driver training schools or offering incentives for CDL holders who sign on. Effective management of your existing driver workforce is essential; make sure you're offering competitive packages and working conditions that appeal to drivers. At VAU0, we understand the critical role drivers play in your operations, and our tools can help you better manage these assets efficiently.

Non-Domiciled CDL Issuances Resuming for H-2A Workers in Texas

In Texas, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) has announced the resumption of non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) issuances for H-2A workers, opening doors for more agricultural workers to become licensed drivers. This decision is poised to provide some relief to trucking companies facing driver shortages, particularly those involved in agricultural hauling.

For carriers, this development could mean access to a new pool of drivers. It's important to understand the eligibility and requirements for these CDLs and how they can fit into your operational needs. Engaging with immigration and employment specialists can help ensure compliance and smooth onboarding processes. This expansion in potential workforce should be considered seriously by fleets, especially those involved in seasonal operations.

Anticipated Regulatory Changes in 2026

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has teased a series of regulatory changes slated for 2026. While the specifics are still under wraps, these regulations likely aim to tighten safety and compliance measures industry-wide. Such changes typically mean fleets must adapt their operations to stay within legal parameters.

Now is a prudent time for carriers to start preparing by staying informed about potential rule changes and assessing current compliance statuses. Updates in logging requirements, driver hours, or safety protocols can entail significant operational overhauls. A compliance system like the one offered by VAU0 can provide valuable assistance in navigating these upcoming changes efficiently.

What Carriers Should Do This Week

• Review and refine fuel strategies, using software solutions to manage consumption effectively.
• Evaluate your niche market services and consider strategic changes to sharpen competitive advantage.
• Reach out to driver recruitment agencies to explore innovative hiring solutions, including part-time or seasonal drivers.
• Get familiar with the reinstated CDL processes for non-domestic workers and how these might benefit your fleet.
• Monitor FMCSA updates closely and schedule a compliance audit to prepare for future regulatory changes.

In 2022, we were running a small fleet and spending approximately $400 per truck per month on software. TMS license, ELD subscription, e-sign service, separate accounting integration. Four different logins. Four different monthly invoices. Four different support teams to call when something didn't work.

None of it talked to each other without manual data entry.

The software evaluation that changed everything

We spent three months evaluating every major TMS and fleet management system on the market. AscendTMS, McLeod, Motive, EZLogz, KeepTruckin, TruckingOffice, Axon. We signed up for demos, trials, and in two cases, paid for actual subscriptions to test them properly.

What we found was consistent across almost all of them: the software was built by people who had never dispatched a truck. You could tell immediately. The terminology was slightly wrong. The workflows assumed steps that no real dispatcher would take. The ELD and TMS were always separate systems that "integrated" — meaning they sometimes shared data, if you configured things correctly, and the configuration broke whenever either vendor pushed an update.

"The best way to evaluate trucking software is to use it under real pressure. Not in a demo. Not in a test environment. On a real load, with a real deadline, when a broker is calling every 30 minutes for an update."

The specific things that were broken

Without naming specific vendors: one major TMS required five screen transitions to update a load status. Not five clicks — five full page navigations. On a mobile browser from a truck stop, that meant 45 seconds to tell a broker the truck was loaded. Another system had beautiful analytics dashboards but couldn't tell you, in real time, how many hours of drive time your driver had remaining without navigating to a separate compliance module.

The ELD market was worse. Most ELD systems were designed to satisfy FMCSA's technical requirements — which they did — while making the user experience as painful as possible. Drivers hated them. When drivers hate their tools, they find workarounds. Workarounds create compliance risk.

The moment we decided to build

The decision was made on a Tuesday afternoon when our dispatcher spent 40 minutes re-entering data from a rate confirmation PDF that our ELD had already captured in a different system. The information existed. It was digital. It lived in three different places that didn't talk to each other, and a human was manually transferring it between systems.

That's not a technology problem. That's a lack of ambition problem. Nobody had decided to solve it because the existing systems were profitable enough without solving it.

What we decided to build instead

One platform. ELD and TMS as the same system, not integrations. AI that reads rate confirmation PDFs so dispatchers don't have to. A dispatcher — eventually an AI dispatcher — that covers nights and weekends so loads don't get missed. E-sign built in, not bolted on.

And priced at zero through 2026, because the goal was to prove the product worked before asking carriers to pay for it.

Two years in: did it work?

The Rate Con AI has a 95%+ accuracy rate on standard broker formats. ERETH ELD passed FMCSA's technical certification. Our AI dispatchers book real loads for real carriers after hours. The carrier dashboard still occasionally has a minor bug — we fix them the same day they're reported.

Would we have been better off just using an existing system and focusing on freight? Financially, in the short term, probably yes. But we would have kept paying $400 per truck per month for software that we knew was mediocre. And we would have missed the opportunity to build something that actually works the way the industry needs it to work.

We don't regret it.