Trucking News Roundup: 16 Carrier Bankruptcies, EIA Diesel $6.529 Record, DAT Reefer Spot $3.59, FMCSA Motus Inactive Glitch

At least 16 carriers hit bankruptcy court in under a month

FreightWaves (Sept. 22, 2026): At least 16 trucking, delivery, and transportation companies entered Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 between late August and Sept. 21. Filings span Texas, Illinois, Florida, Arizona, California, Kansas, and Louisiana.

Texas names in the roundup include Hidalgo-area Xoco Transport (Chapter 11; more than 40 tractors, about 65 drivers, about 70 trailers), Somerset construction hauler Jett Transport & Materials, Garland's Blue Star Transports, McKinney's Jackdollars Transport, and Midland's T Yorkman Trucking. Other Chapter 11 cases include Globemaster Inc. in Bolingbrook, Illinois (51 power units), Amazon DSP CLJ Transporting in Florida, Mill Creek Logistics-Illinois, RP Hay Hauling in Arizona, Truckload LLC (Expedite Express) facing a scheduled authority suspension Sept. 30, and Pacer Transport in Louisiana. Several smaller fleets filed Chapter 7.

What it means: Financial stress is still flushing capacity. Serious CDL-A drivers who want a stable Melissa/DFW seat — company drivers / owner-operators. Shippers who need a live asset-based dry van or reefer out of DFW — get a quote.

• Source: FreightWaves — 16 trucking companies hit bankruptcy court in less than a month

EIA diesel hits another record at $6.529

FreightWaves (Sept. 22, 2026): The DOE/EIA on-highway diesel benchmark used for many fuel surcharges rose 24.4 cents per gallon to $6.529, another all-time high (published Tuesday, effective Monday).

At the same time, CME ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures reversed lower — about 47 cents off the Sept. 15 settlement high — on peace-hope and pipeline news, while Washington chatter about a U.S. diesel export ban continues.

What it means: Pump pain still leads the cost stack even if futures blink. OO and company drivers watching fuel math — owner-operators / company drivers. Lanes that need a truck this week — get a quote.

• Source: FreightWaves — Benchmark diesel sets new record; futures signaling relief

DAT Week 38: reefer all-in $3.59 as freight returns post–Labor Day

DAT Freight & Analytics coverage via The Trucker / Blue Book (Week of Sept. 13–19, 2026; published around Sept. 21): Broker-to-carrier all-in spot averages were van $2.96 (+4 cents), reefer $3.59 (+9 cents), and flatbed $3.55 (+6 cents). Dry van linehaul averaged $2.17 per mile (−3 cents) with a load-to-truck ratio of 11.2. Van load posts rose about 15% week over week as the first full post–Labor Day shipping week normalized.

The EIA diesel figure used in that week's surcharge math was $5.967 (week ending Sept. 7); EIA later printed $6.285 for the week ending Sept. 14 — the first weekly reading above $6 in EIA records back to 2007 — so the next surcharge pass will catch more of the fuel spike. Cass shipments turning positive was also noted in DAT's dry-van write-up as ending a long freight downturn.

What it means: Rates look firmer on paper, but diesel is eating the gain. Drivers who want OTR dry van or reefer out of Melissa — company drivers / owner-operators. Shippers — get a quote.

• Source: The Trucker — DAT reefer spot rate climbs 9 cents to $3.59 as diesel jumps 37 cents
• Source: DAT — Dry van report: Cass shipments turn positive, ending the longest freight downturn on record

FMCSA Motus “inactive” glitch strands small Texas carriers

CDL Life (Sept. 22, 2026): FMCSA's Motus transition is incorrectly marking some legitimate small carriers “inactive,” and brokers are rejecting their loads. Houston's Savoy Transportation says insurance and paperwork are in order, yet brokers keep turning them down; the accountant reports more than 20 FMCSA contacts and only a “known issue / working on it” reply.

Motus was sold as a fraud-fighting biometric/analytics upgrade, but scammers are already impersonating Motus outreach to steal carrier data.

What it means: Authority status is now a live freight risk. Verify SAFER/Motus status before you book or hire. Carriers and drivers who want transparent Melissa/DFW ops — company drivers / owner-operators / get a quote.

• Source: CDL Life — FMCSA offers no solutions for 'known issue' causing incorrect inactive markers

Brokers want trustworthy capacity, not just any truck

DC Velocity summarizing Triumph's Mile Marker report (Sept. 22, 2026): Amid tighter CDL, English-proficiency, and ELD enforcement, shippers and brokers are shifting from “is a truck available?” to “is this capacity trustworthy?”

Triumph says compliance and operational readiness are showing up in transaction data before they show up in the usual market narrative, and that the barrier to entry for new carriers is rising.

What it means: Clean authority and on-time asset capacity win more bids. Shippers who want a verified Melissa TX carrier — get a quote. CDL-A applicants — company drivers / owner-operators.

• Source: DC Velocity — Triumph: brokers seek trucking capacity that is trustworthy, not simply available

More news

• Trucking News Roundup: Texas I-30 Truck Parking Near DFW, J.B. Hunt $25M Driver Spend, Link Logistics DFW Warehouses, FleetCor $100M Fees, Intermodal Shift (Sept 19, 2026)
• Trucking News Roundup: Tender Rejections 14.32%, Capacity Exodus Early Innings, Diesel $6.29, Uber Freight Q4 Rate Warning (Sept 18, 2026)
• Trucking News Roundup: FMCSA Fuel HOS Waiver, Diesel ~$6.31, J.B. Hunt Q3 Warning, DAT Weekly Van $2.20, ICE CDL Fraud Tipline (Sept 17, 2026)