This week in trucking: Tariff reruns, more English proficiency

Here are the headlines from this week in trucking:

Listen to the news on this week's episode of The Fleet Lead podcast here or search for The Fleet Lead on your favorite podcast app.

Summaries of the stories are below:

The Supreme Court strikes down IEEPA tariffs

Last Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the president lacked authority for his Liberation Day reciprocal tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). That same day, President Trump issued an executive order placing a new 10% ad valorem duty on all imports, under a different authority, effectively replacing the IEEPA tariffs.

The new fallback tariff follows Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which only authorizes this kind of duty for 150 days. President Trump has also threatened to raise the new baseline duty to 15% ad valorem, but that 15% has not yet been issued as an executive order.

FMCSA is continuing its driver qualification crackdown

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced new steps in its efforts to address unqualified drivers. FMCSA announced that it issued removal notices to over 550 CDL training schools.

The agency also outlined its next steps for English proficiency enforcement: FMCSA plans to pursue rulemakings requiring English-only CDL tests and to revoke CDLs from people who fail English Language Proficiency tests.

Daimler revealed its next heavy-duty engine

Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) unveiled its next-generation Detroit Diesel engines, which will power future Freightliner and Western Star powertrains. The company said that the Gen 6 Detroit engines will meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2027 NOx limits and deliver 3% better fuel efficiency. David Carson, a senior vice president at DTNA, also joined The Fleet Lead podcast earlier this week to talk about the three new engines.

Spot market rates increased over 2 cents

Last week’s spot rates increased 2.4 cents, according to FTR Transportation Intelligence. The average broker-posted linehaul rate was $2.57.

Diesel prices jumped 10 cents

The national average on-highway diesel price rose 10 cents to $3.81 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).