Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator Derek Barrs sat down with me and Matt Leffler in our Chattanooga studio this week for a live taping of Freight Expectations. What I came away with — beyond the hour of substantive policy conversation — was the clearest articulation yet of why this administration is having a measurable, real-time impact on freight markets that previous ones did not. To view the video: The thesis is simple. For the first time in years, the agency tasked with regulating the trucking industry is doing the job: enforcing rules already on the books, dismantling the self-certification regimes that incentivized fraud, and showing up in person where the industry actually operates. The market is responding accordingly. Spot rates as measured by SONAR’s National Truckload Index (NTI.USA) have moved above their COVID-era highs over the past several days. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot(‘/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1’, [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], ‘div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0’).defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0’); }); Truckload spot rates continue to surge upward, hitting a new all-time high on the daily chart. $3.73/mile +$.04/mile overnight. Today is the Friday before a major holiday, and spot rates always surge, as shippers scramble for last-minute loads set to deliver on Tuesday.… pic.twitter.com/DPBpw6de5m— Craig Fuller (@FreightAlley) May 22, 2026 That is not a coincidence. All time high records are a result of tight enforcement and a change in market direction at the hands of the regulators. Why this administrator resonates Barrs is the…
