ATA's Women In Motion Advocates on Capitol Hill

This week, the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Women In Motion initiative made its presence felt on Capitol Hill, advocating for key industry priorities. The initiative aims to foster a stronger female workforce in trucking and to develop policies that advance the role of women in this essential sector. By addressing issues such as workforce development and safety, Women In Motion is actively working to ensure a more inclusive future for trucking.

These meetings on Capitol Hill are more than just symbolic gestures; they are strategic moves to shape legislation around critical industry challenges. By engaging directly with lawmakers, the ATA hopes to influence policies on infrastructure, driver safety, and economic stability that can support small carriers and women entrepreneurs in trucking. For those running smaller operations, these legislative engagements can potentially ease some industry pressures, creating safer and more inclusive environments for all drivers.

This kind of advocacy aligns with VAU0’s own commitment to improving industry standards and supporting a diverse workforce. By utilizing resources like VAU0’s [logistics technology](https://vau0.com/tms.html) platform, small carriers and owner-operators can keep pace with these evolving dynamics and ensure compliance with new regulations.

Trucking Rates Surge by 35% During Industry Rebound

Trucking rates have surged by 35% according to the latest report from the Commercial Carrier Journal, signifying a robust recovery after the volatility of previous years. This surge is attributed to increased demand in freight capacity and a rebound in economic activities post-2025. For small carriers and owner-operators, this is both an opportunity and a challenge: while higher rates can mean improved profitability, they also come with increased expectations and operational demands.

With costs also on the rise, as echoed in a related report by Overdrive Online, staying competitive means more than just higher rates. Carriers must also manage their operating expenses judiciously and leverage technology to optimize routes and reduce fuel consumption. Small carriers can benefit significantly by using advanced logistics platforms, like those offered by VAU0, to streamline operations and remain agile in this competitive landscape.

“The rate surge points to a healthier market environment but also underscores the importance of strategic management on the part of small carriers,” said Jane Miller, a trucking industry analyst.

Trucking Costs Reach Record Highs

With trucking costs hitting unprecedented highs in 2025, carriers are now faced with the challenge of rising expenses outpacing rate hikes. Key factors contributing to these cost increases include fuel prices, equipment costs, and labor shortages. This trend is particularly impactful for small carriers, who often operate on tighter margins and cannot absorb cost increases as efficiently as larger fleets.

Addressing these challenges demands a balanced approach to pricing and cost management. Carriers can mitigate some of these pressures by implementing robust cost-control practices and leveraging technology to achieve efficiencies. For instance, utilizing VAU0's compliance resources on [fuel management](https://vau0.com/compliance.html) and strategic planning can help carriers navigate these cost headwinds effectively.

FMCSA's 2026 Regulatory Agenda: Essential Updates

The FMCSA has outlined its 2026 regulatory agenda, highlighting several key rules that will impact trucking operations. These include new safety protocols, updates to hours-of-service regulations, and proposals aimed at improving environmental compliance within the industry. These regulatory changes are expected to present both challenges and opportunities for compliance-driven efficiency improvements.

For small carriers, staying informed and prepared is crucial. Understanding these regulations will help avoid compliance pitfalls and potential penalties. Leveraging resources like VAU0’s logistics technology platform can assist in maintaining compliance seamlessly, as the platform offers real-time updates and helps manage operational adjustments efficiently.

An ELD Reset: FMCSA Proposed Rule Revisions

The FMCSA is considering significant revisions to electronic logging device (ELD) regulations, potentially affecting how logging requirements are managed and enforced. While the specifics of the proposed changes are still being outlined, the aim is to simplify compliance procedures and reduce administrative burdens on carriers. This is a welcome development for small carriers who frequently bear the brunt of regulatory complexity.

Understanding the implications of these changes will be key. Small carriers will need to adapt their systems and processes to remain compliant while minimizing disruptions. Platforms that offer robust compliance support, such as those from VAU0, will be invaluable in managing the transition and ensuring that all ELD regulatory requirements are met without undue hassle.

What Carriers Should Do This Week

• Review your current contracts and rates to ensure they reflect the recent market surge. Negotiate where necessary to maintain profitability.
• Evaluate your cost structure to identify areas for potential savings, particularly in fuel and maintenance expenditures.
• Stay informed about FMCSA’s upcoming regulatory changes to ensure compliance and operational readiness.
• Consider leveraging logistics technology solutions like VAU0 to streamline operations and improve efficiency.
• Engage with industry advocacy groups to stay updated on legislative changes that may affect your operations.

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.