Trucking Advocate: Illegal Cabotage Undercutting American Drivers

The Issue of Illegal Cabotage

• 🚚 Illegal cabotage is a practice where foreign drivers haul freight domestically within the U.S., which is against the law.
• 🇺🇸 By law, Mexican and Canadian drivers can bring freight across the border and back, but are not permitted to pick up deliveries within the U.S.
• 🚨 Trucking advocates argue that foreign drivers are breaking these rules, leading to American drivers losing jobs and pay.

How Cabotage Undercuts American Drivers

• 📉 This practice is undercutting U.S. drivers, stealing their jobs, and lowering pay and rates.
• 💰 Shady carriers exploit this by using foreign drivers (like those on B1 visas) for domestic loads, which are legally reserved for U.S. drivers.
• 📈 An example cited involved an Arizona carrier making over $2 million using B1 visa drivers for domestic hauls.

The Profit Motive Behind Illegal Cabotage

• 💸 American companies are willing to break the law because it is highly profitable.
• ⚖️ Foreign drivers are paid more than they would be in their home countries but significantly less than U.S. drivers would receive for the same domestic load.
• 🎯 This profit margin drives the illegal practice, creating an unfair competitive landscape.

Enforcement and Future Outlook

• 🏛️ There is a call for the administration to enforce existing laws and crack down on these illegal practices.
• 🤝 Trucking associations are communicating with the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Transportation to focus resources on identifying and targeting carriers using foreign drivers for domestic freight.
• ✅ The goal is to ensure fairness and protect jobs and fair rates for U.S. domestic drivers.