Trucking News Roundup: Texas-Border Spot Rates Climb 24% as Capacity Exits, Schneider Says Long-Haul Driver Supply Isn't Growing, a South Texas Flood Watch Hits the Laredo Corridor, CVSA Parks 1 in 7 Trucks for Brakes, and Houston Reefer Volume Jumps (Nov 8, 2026)

Texas-border spot rates up 24% as capacity, not demand, does the lifting

Transport Topics' Mindy Long (Nov. 7) lays out where cross-border trucking stands. On July 1 the U.S. passed on confirming a 16-year extension of USMCA, which puts the pact into yearly reviews that could stretch to its 2036 expiration. Freight hasn't stopped moving, though. DAT iQ principal analyst Dean Croke told Transport Topics that southern border volumes are running about 6.5% ahead of last year, while spot rates on lanes leaving the Texas border are up 24%.

Croke's point is that the rate jump is mostly about trucks leaving, not freight arriving. He tied it to enforcement of English-language proficiency, the non-domiciled CDL rules and cabotage restrictions. On the rail side, IANA's Anne Reinke said northbound intermodal out of Mexico is up 17% over 12 months. CDLWire's Nov. 7 newsletter adds a paperwork wrinkle at the crossings: driver names and plate numbers now have to be submitted ahead of time.

Yesterday's roundup covered the other half of the Texas picture, with shipper spending up 37% on fewer loads: https://maaslogistic.com/news/2026-11-07-texas-freight-spend-up-37-fmcsa-complaint-center-fuel-card-fraud.

What it means: What it means for Texas shippers: Laredo-to-DFW and other border-origin freight is getting more expensive because the pool of qualified trucks is smaller. Planning capacity ahead beats chasing the spot board every week — see the https://maaslogistic.com/lanes/dallas-to-laredo lane and request pricing at https://maaslogistic.com/quote. For CDL drivers: compliant, English-proficient CDL-A drivers are in demand. Company drivers: https://maaslogistic.com/drive-with-us/company-drivers. Owner-operators: https://maaslogistic.com/drive-with-us/owner-operators.

• Source: Transport Topics — Cross-border calculus (Nov. 7)
• Source: CDLWire — Newsletter (Nov. 7)

Schneider: long-haul driver supply still isn't growing

Commercial Carrier Journal (Nov. 6) reports Schneider's third-quarter revenue rose 9% to $1.59 billion and net income climbed 155% to $49.5 million. CEO Jim Filter said that even after close to a year of rising spot rates, the supply of long-haul drivers isn't growing. He pointed back to 2021–2022, when about 50,000 long-haul drivers came into the industry, many with less than a week of training; today's standards call for five to six weeks.

Schneider says it is using selective pay increases and sign-on bonuses in tight markets and keeping pay raises in step with rate recovery. Filter's view is that pay alone won't fix it: what freight a driver gets, how the job is set up and how drivers are treated all count. FleetOwner (Nov. 4) reports the same pressure at other big fleets: Werner expects its higher recruiting spend to run through Q4 and probably into Q1 2027, Knight-Swift is lining up more targeted measures, and J.B. Hunt put an extra $25 million into drivers in the third quarter.

What it means: What it means for CDL drivers: Carriers are competing for experienced CDL-A drivers, so compare them on things you can check — a clear CPM, the equipment and how dispatch works. Our Dallas OTR dry van guide walks through it: https://maaslogistic.com/blog/2026-11-07-otr-dry-van-cdl-jobs-dallas-dfw. At Maas, company drivers run 50+ CPM dry van and 60+ CPM reefer (https://maaslogistic.com/drive-with-us/company-drivers), and owner-operators keep 87–90% of gross with non-forced dispatch (https://maaslogistic.com/drive-with-us/owner-operators).

• Source: Commercial Carrier Journal — Schneider Q3: driver supply still limits the market (Nov. 6)
• Source: FleetOwner — Werner, Knight-Swift and J.B. Hunt boost driver pay and recruiting (Nov. 4)

South Texas flood watch on the Laredo corridor through Monday

KGNS in Laredo (Nov. 7) and KRIS 6 in Corpus Christi report a Flood Watch for South Texas running through Monday, with the Laredo area covered until noon Monday. Forecasters expect 2 to 4 inches of rain, with more in spots — KRIS 6 says isolated totals of 7 to 9 inches are possible in the Coastal Bend. The heaviest rain is expected today, Sunday, with gusts near 40 mph and storms hanging around into the Monday morning commute.

CDLWire flagged the Laredo and I-10 freight corridors as the ones to watch.

What it means: What it means for CDL drivers: If you're running Laredo, the Valley or Corpus Christi, build in extra time and check DriveTexas or 511 before you roll. Never drive into a flooded road — turn around, don't drown. For Texas shippers: Monday pickups from the border can run late, so keep receivers in the loop.

• Source: KGNS — Flood Watch in effect for Laredo area until noon Monday (Nov. 7)
• Source: KRIS 6 — Heavy showers and storms Sunday and Monday, monitoring flood risk
• Source: CDLWire — Newsletter (Nov. 7)

CVSA Brake Safety Week: about 1 in 7 trucks put out of service

CVSA released its Brake Safety Week numbers on Nov. 6. Over Aug. 23–29, inspectors in 51 jurisdictions ran 15,528 brake inspections and placed 2,369 vehicles out of service, or 15.3%. The U.S. rate was 15.1%, 2,134 out of 14,165.

Almost half of the out-of-service vehicles — 1,176, or 49.6% — hit the 20% defective-brake threshold. Brake hoses and tubing accounted for 600 out-of-service violations. This year's special focus on drums and rotors turned up 141 violations, 64 of them out-of-service. The next Brake Safety Week is April 18–24, 2027.

What it means: What it means for CDL drivers: Roughly one truck in seven that got inspected got parked. A real pre-trip — hoses, chambers, slack adjustment — is the cheapest way to keep your wheels turning. For Texas shippers: an out-of-service truck is a missed pickup, so favor carriers that run an actual maintenance program.

• Source: CVSA — 2026 Brake Safety Week results (Nov. 6)

Short: Houston reefer tender volume jumps 73% in a week

MegaCorp Logistics' Market Pulse for Nov. 2–8, built on SONAR data, shows Houston reefer tender volumes up 73.2% week over week. Nationally, reefer rejections eased 0.92 point to 20.49%, which is still about one load in five turned down. MegaCorp also warns that driver time off around Diwali and Thanksgiving, plus shorter receiving hours over the holidays, can tighten coverage on some lanes. These are third-party market figures, not Maas rates.

What it means: What it means for Texas shippers: If you have temperature-controlled freight moving Thanksgiving week, lock in appointments now. See the https://maaslogistic.com/lanes/dallas-to-houston lane and our https://maaslogistic.com/services/refrigerated-trucking service, then request pricing at https://maaslogistic.com/quote.

• Source: MegaCorp Logistics — Market Pulse, Nov. 2–8, 2026

Sunday note: shipping or driving out of DFW

Shipping dry van or reefer out of DFW? Get a quote from an asset-based carrier that never re-brokers: https://maaslogistic.com/quote. CDL-A drivers: 50+ CPM dry van / 60+ CPM reefer: https://maaslogistic.com/drive-with-us/company-drivers. Owner-operators: 87–90% of gross, non-forced dispatch: https://maaslogistic.com/drive-with-us/owner-operators.

What it means: Maas Logistics LLC | 1817 Miller Rd #5, Melissa, TX 75454 | (916) 770-7323 | dispatch@maaslogistic.com | Melissa, TX / DFW | USDOT 3179194. The Logistics Partner that Delivers. Read more at https://maaslogistic.com/news.

• Source: Transport Topics
• Source: CDLWire
• Source: Commercial Carrier Journal
• Source: FleetOwner
• Source: KGNS
• Source: KRIS 6
• Source: CVSA
• Source: MegaCorp Logistics