U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is preparing to push trucking enforcement beyond drivers and carriers to the shipping docks themselves — a shift that could put shippers and receivers on the hook when they enable or ignore noncompliant operations. In remarks highlighted by FreightWaves, Duffy said the next phase of the crackdown will reach upstream to “the people who load up these rigs,” a clear indication that dock decisions — who gets loaded, under what conditions, and with which documents — are about to face much closer scrutiny.
The timing of Duffy’s message wasn’t accidental. Within the last 48 hours, the Department of Homeland Security showcased a high-profile enforcement blitz along northwest Indiana highways that netted 223 arrests, including 146 truck drivers. Local coverage from Indiana news outlets and a DHS press event in Gary detailed that more than 40 of those drivers held CDLs issued by states with so-called “sanctuary” policies, intensifying pressure on state licensing programs. DOT’s Duffy appeared alongside DHS and Indiana officials at the announcement, underscoring a coordinated federal-state campaign that now touches licensing, roadside enforcement — and, soon, shipping docks.
One day later, Duffy went further in a media round, vowing “serious consequences” not only for CDL mills and motor carriers but also for shippers who load and tender freight to drivers who don’t meet federal requirements. He framed shipper accountability as part of a broader effort to deter illegal or unqualified operation — including cases where drivers can’t communicate with law enforcement at inspections — and said DOT will work with federal partners to ensure compliance. For buyers of transportation, that means vetting won’t stop at the carrier’s MC number; gate and loading practices are in play.
What this means for shippers: dock decisions are now compliance decisions. Expect auditors and investigators to ask basic questions that used to live solely with carriers. Did your dock or yard staff verify the carrier actually arrived (not an impostor) and that the driver matched the paperwork presented? Did you or your 3PL load a unit after an obvious red flag — for example, a driver who cannot answer basic safety or destination questions in English, or a driver whose ID and unit credentials don’t line up? When the enforcement lens shifts to the facility, “we trusted the carrier” becomes a thinner defense.
Near term, shippers should be ready for more ID checks at gates, tighter paperwork controls, and occasional delays as carriers and yard teams adapt. But the bigger lift is procedural: updating tender terms and dock SOPs to reflect the new reality. Practical steps include:
– Add attestation language requiring carriers to send only drivers who meet English proficiency and licensing rules, and make that certification a condition of loading.
– Require pre-arrival credentials (driver name, CDL state/last four, truck/trailer plates) and verify them at the dock.
– Train dock leads on when to pause a load — for mismatched identities, communication barriers that pose safety concerns, or documents that don’t reconcile — and how to escalate without coercing the driver to proceed.
– Coordinate with brokers for real-time re-tendering if a driver is refused for compliance reasons to minimize dwell and detention exposure.
For carriers and brokers, Duffy’s stance raises the stakes on screening and coaching. Brokers will need to demonstrate robust carrier identity controls to shippers — and be ready to swap a driver who fails facility checks without blowing service windows. Carriers should expect more pre-arrival vetting, including requests for driver details they may not have been asked to provide previously. The message from Washington: if a driver or load can’t clear basic compliance questions at the dock, that freight should not roll.
The enforcement climate is also being shaped by immigration-focused actions. The Indiana operation, part of DHS’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” spotlighted the administration’s willingness to pull questionable drivers off the road at scale, with federal officials asserting that many arrestees held CDLs issued by other states. That backdrop helps explain why Duffy is now warning shippers: if government is sweeping ineligible drivers from the highway, facilities that keep loading them could be the next enforcement target.
Bottom line for the industry: the compliance perimeter is expanding. Driver qualifications, identity assurance, and language proficiency will increasingly be policed where freight changes hands, not just at roadside or in back-office audits. Shippers accustomed to treating these issues as the carrier’s problem should update contracts, workflows, and training now — before an inspector or investigator does it for them.
Sources: FreightWaves, Overdrive, WISH-TV, WNDU, Truck News
This article was prepared exclusively for TruckStopInsider.com. Republishing is permitted only with proper credit and a link back to the original source.
