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Record High Operational Costs for Trucking in 2025

The trucking industry has seen its operational costs soar to unprecedented levels in 2025. A recent report from Commercial Carrier Journal outlines the various factors that have contributed to this surge. Fuel prices, labor costs, and maintenance expenses have all played a significant role in driving these costs to new heights. With fuel prices experiencing fluctuations and labor costs increasing due to a tighter labor market, the burden on trucking companies is substantial.

For small carriers and owner-operators, these cost increases can significantly impact profit margins. It is crucial to explore efficiency avenues to mitigate these rising expenses. Investing in fuel-efficient technologies and proactive maintenance can lead to considerable savings. VAU0 offers robust solutions like our TMS that help carriers efficiently manage operations and reduce unnecessary expenses on our TMS page.

Teamsters Sue Over California's Driverless Truck Regulations

The Teamsters union has filed a lawsuit against the California DMV over rules permitting autonomous trucks to operate without human drivers. This legal action highlights ongoing tensions between labor groups and tech companies pushing for autonomous vehicle integration. The Teamsters argue these regulations threaten jobs and safety, while proponents claim they enhance efficiency and growth.

California's rules are viewed as a precedent that could influence nationwide policies, impacting carriers of all sizes. Small carriers should monitor this situation as the outcome may shape the future landscape of trucking jobs and operational practices. It is essential to remain adaptable and informed on technological advancements in the industry.

"The legal battle over autonomous truck regulations in California represents more than just a fight over state policy; it's a showdown that could shape the future of labor and technology integration in trucking across the United States."

FMCSA Rule Challenges for H-2A Workers

The latest FMCSA regulations have left certain H-2A agricultural workers unable to obtain Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDLs). This rule restricts a segment of drivers critical to sectors reliant on seasonal and agricultural transportation. The decision impacts small carriers that depend on these workers during peak agricultural seasons.

Carriers employing H-2A workers should reevaluate their hiring strategies and consider the implications of this regulatory change on their operations. Explore alternative labor sources or adjust service offerings to align with available workforce capabilities. Visit our compliance page for guidance on adapting to these regulations.

FMCSA Revokes Non-Compliant ELDs

The FMCSA has recently revoked certification for five electronic logging devices (ELDs), giving truckers a 60-day window to adopt compliant alternatives. This decision affects thousands of drivers who rely on these devices to log hours of service and maintain compliance with federal regulations.

For small carriers and owner-operators, transitioning to new ELDs can be daunting. Proactively selecting a reliable and FMCSA-approved device is vital to avoid disruptions. VAU0 can assist carriers looking for efficient and compliant ELD solutions, ensuring seamless integration and compliance. More resources are available on our compliance page.

What Carriers Should Do This Week

• Review and manage operational expenses by leveraging technology like VAU0's TMS to improve efficiency.
• Stay informed on legal developments in autonomous trucking and prepare for potential changes impacting future operations.
• Assess current labor sourcing strategies in light of FMCSA restrictions on H-2A workers.
• Check the certification status of your ELD and begin transitioning to a compliant device if necessary.
• Engage with industry discussions to understand potential regulatory changes that may impact your business model.

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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.