Morning Minute | November 12, 2025

While the Port of Long Beach saw container volumes drop significantly—imports declined 17.6% and total TEUs fell 14.9% in October 2025 compared to the previous year's record-setting month—the hub remains ahead of its 2024 all-time annual cargo record pace through the first 10 months of 2025. Port officials are anticipating that American consumers will likely see ⁠price escalation⁠ on goods in the coming months as shippers are expected to pass along the costs of ongoing tariffs and trade policies. In trucking, a major regulatory shift has been halted as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ⁠temporarily stayed the FMCSA’s interim final rule⁠ heavily restricting non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses. This administrative stay, ordered pending a review of a lawsuit filed by an affected driver, means state agencies can presumably resume issuing and renewing these non-domiciled CDLs. Truckload carrier Werner Enterprises stated at an investor conference that it has hit a baseline capacity and sees "no retreat" from its current dedicated fleet size, despite calling the current downcycle the worst he has seen in 35 years in the industry. Werner's CEO asserted that the duration of the downturn and rising trucking accident rates across the industry may be linked to ⁠lower standards on CDL issuance and driver schools⁠, which have contributed to excess capacity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices