Chameleon Carriers Spark Congressional Push for Trucking Crackdown

Washington's uneasy truce with the trucking industry frayed further this week, as lawmakers signaled fresh appetite for regulatory overhaul following a "60 Minutes" exposé that pulled back the curtain on the industry's most stubborn safety problem.

The CBS segment spotlighted so-called "chameleon carriers," operations that routinely dissolve and re-register under new Department of Transportation numbers to evade enforcement. The 13-minute feature zeroed in on Super Ego, a sprawling foreign-owned network of brokers, lessors and carriers that has become a case study in how rogue operators slip through federal cracks.

The fallout was immediate. Members of Congress floated proposals to raise the federal minimum liability insurance threshold for motor carriers, a cap frozen at $750,000 since 1980 despite decades of inflation and ballooning settlement awards. Industry trade groups, long divided on the issue, found themselves boxed in by the weekend coverage.

The American Trucking Associations pushed back on what it called a network of loopholes enabling unsafe operations to evade regulatory responsibilities. But the group also continues to warn that higher insurance floors could crush small carriers already battered by a prolonged freight recession.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration added fuel to the debate. The agency this week allowed more states to resume issuing non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses, partially lifting a six-month freeze imposed as part of the Trump administration's broader immigration crackdown. Texas, Iowa, Minnesota and New Jersey are among those cleared to restart.

The administration's English-proficiency enforcement drive, meanwhile, is beginning to reach drayage operators at major ports.

What comes next is less clear. With Congress divided and the industry split internally, legislation remains a long shot. But political pressure is mounting, and the White House shows no sign of backing off.