The English Language Proficiency (ELP) rule, now in effect, could significantly reduce trucking capacity.
For a decade, large truckload carriers have embraced regulations like the ELD mandate and Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to limit market capacity, but effects were typically short-lived. The ELP mandate, enforced by a DOT Executive Order, requires commercial drivers to demonstrate English proficiency or face out-of-service (OOS) violations. FreightWaves estimates 10% of CDL holders may lack sufficient proficiency, based on insurance executive insights.
Will carriers comply with enforcement? DOT and law enforcement officers can issue OOS violations to non-compliant drivers, a major deterrent. When DOT officers or law enforcement deem a commercial driver or vehicle unsafe, often due to hours-of-service breaches, vehicle defects, improper load securement, or driving under the influence, they issue OOS violations. The DOT now includes English language proficiency as grounds for placing a driver out of service. These violations appear on a driver’s Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) report for three years and affect a carrier’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) score for two years. Poor CSA scores raise insurance costs and lower shipper rankings, discouraging carriers from risking violations.
Although the ELP mandate did not create new laws, as English proficiency requirements preexisted, it empowers DOT and law enforcement to place non-compliant drivers out of service, reversing Obama Administration guidance to overlook such violations. Like a credit score, a CSA score influences insurance rates and shipper partnerships. Shippers often query CSA scores in RFPs and onboarding to assess reliability, deprioritizing carriers with eroding scores by shifting freight to safer alternatives, lowering them in routing guides, or excluding them from contracts.
Non-compliant carriers face severe consequences. A driver under a load placed out of service cannot move cargo until compliant, risking service failures and cargo theft from stranded loads. Brokers overlooking such carriers will face disruptions, prompting shippers to avoid them to protect cargo and ensure reliability
Capacity is close to being in balance with volume, with outbound tender rejection rates sitting at 6.77%, in spite of weak truckload demand.Â
