Trucking Laws · Nationwide · November 8, 2026

Freight CEO Predicts Lasting Enforcement Pressure on Carriers

Illustration: A generic semi outside a trucking conference venue in Texas; no speaker likeness, branded signage or invented official announcement. — Illustration for this story. Not a photo of a specific location.

Trucking businesses should read Craig Fuller's enforcement comments as a forecast from a freight executive, not as an agency announcement. FreightWaves' Nov. 7 coverage describes remarks at a Nov. 2 conference in Texas. Fuller argued that major carriers' support for tighter standards would make enforcement pressure last.

Fuller predicted that asset carriers would win this round. That conclusion is his view of the market and its incentives, rather than a finding that every fleet will benefit or that a particular policy cannot change.

The argument about carrier incentives

According to the account, Fuller said large motor carriers increasingly see tougher hiring standards as necessary for survival. He discussed how carriers that cover per-mile costs can keep operating for extended periods, and he blamed work outside the rules, often at lower pay, for much of the downturn.

Those explanations should remain attached to the speaker. They do not establish that every small carrier operates outside the rules or that a particular truck driver is responsible for weak freight conditions.

The question posed to Fuller concerned whether another administration might ease enforcement. His answer was no. That is a political and business prediction, not an FMCSA statement committing future administrations to a particular program.

Broker liability and pickup checks

The coverage also discusses a Supreme Court ruling and a $604 million Dallas County jury verdict against a broker. It reports the broker's intention to appeal. A jury verdict and a proposed appeal are different procedural steps; the amount should not be described as an uncontested final payment.

Fuller estimated that at least 20% to 30% of loads leave warehouses without someone checking that the truck belongs to the assigned carrier. It is an attributed estimate, not a published census of every warehouse pickup.

For truckers, the remarks connect enforcement, freight pricing and identification at the dock. That does not turn the conference speech into a new compliance checklist. The date, speaker and nature of each claim belong alongside the headline prediction.