Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026:
Southeastern Freight partners with Mexican LTL fleet
Southeastern Freight Lines (CCJ Top 250, No. 29) has announced a strategic business partnership with Fletes México Carga Express, an LTL provider in Mexico. The new service offering is aimed at meeting the growing demand for dependable cross-border freight solutions, SEFL said.
The companies said customers will benefit from real-time rate quoting and door-to-door shipment tracking, providing a seamless transportation experience.
“Our customers are looking for simplicity in today’s increasingly complex supply chain,” said Richard Slater, senior vice president of sales and marketing for SEFL. “This partnership with Fletes México Carga Express allows us to meet our customers’ growing demand for reliable service in and out of Mexico. We are excited about the synergies between our organizations; these synergies exist not only between our technologies, but also between our people.”
Dedicated associates in Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, carefully review documentation and work closely with customers’ designated freight forwarders to ensure timely clearance and smooth border crossings – providing complete visibility that allows customers to track shipments with confidence throughout the entire journey.
“The collaboration is designed to provide faster, more dependable freight movement between the U.S. and Mexico, supported by end-to-end visibility and tight coordination from origin to destination,” said Miguel Gomez Tapia, CEO of Fletes México Carga Express. “We’re looking forward to advancing this collaboration and delivering enhanced U.S.-Mexico freight solutions for Southeastern Freight Lines' customers.”
ATA requesting response to driver compensation survey
The American Trucking Associations has opened its survey for the 2026 ATA Driver Compensation Study, a comprehensive analysis of pay, benefits, and bonuses for a broad spectrum of trucking businesses across U.S. regions.
“In this difficult and prolonged freight recession, the companies with the greatest edge are the ones that have the best data,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “As a one-of-a-kind benchmarking tool, the Driver Compensation Study provides the crucial, actionable intelligence motor carriers need to recruit and retain their most valuable resource: professional truck drivers.”
Costello added that for an accurate view of industry trends, ATA relies “on input from a large cross-section of motor carriers to provide detailed information about their total compensation packages and supply a clear view of how – and how much – trucking companies pay their drivers.”
[Related: Carriers share insight into driver pay]
Last conducted in 2024, this survey produces a unique and vital source of timely data. Previous studies covered hundreds of fleets, including for-hire truckload carriers, for-hire less-than-truckload carriers, private carriers, and other commercial haulers.
The 2026 Driver Compensation Study will include detailed pay estimates broken down by carrier types, trailer types, and routes. It will also explore the wide variety of driver pay structures (hourly, per-mile, annual salary, percent of revenue), as well as various incentives. All proprietary information from individual carriers is kept confidential; only aggregate data is included in the final report.
Survey participants are eligible for a discounted copy of the 2026 ATA Driver Compensation Study for $100 – over 90% off the full price. Additional benefits for participants include a free executive summary prior to the release of the report and an exclusive invitation to a no-cost webinar with Costello to discuss the survey results and answer questions.
Carriers can participate in the study here through March 30.
[Related: Show me the money: Drivers report falling pay, shrinking miles and pay disputes with carriers]
FMCSA grants full renewal of Virginia SPE Certification waiver
After granting a provisional renewal last summer, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a notice of final disposition fully renewing an exemption for truck and bus drivers who are licensed in Virginia and need a Skill Performance Evaluation (SPE) Certificate to operate a commercial vehicle.
Commercial drivers who are otherwise qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle but are not physically qualified to drive under 49 CFR 391.49(b)(1) or (2) because of a loss or impairment of limbs can drive a CMV if FMCSA has granted an SPE certificate to that person.
A 2014 exemption granted to the Virginia DMV allows Virginia-licensed drivers subject to the federal SPE certificate requirements to fulfill the federal requirements with a state-issued SPE certificate. The exemption has been renewed several times since it was initially granted, and the most recent extension expired on July 7.
FMCSA said in its renewal that Virginia's SPE program is essentially identical to the current FMCSA SPE program and is subject to oversight by FMCSA to ensure that Virginia's processes are equivalent to FMCSA's SPE processes. Additionally, Virginia's personnel who conduct the SPEs complete the same training as FMCSA personnel conducting SPEs and follow the same procedures and testing criteria used by FMCSA.
With the renewal, the exemption is now effective through July 8, 2027.
[Related: FMCSA provisionally renews exemption for Virginia DMV]
