DOT Week 2026: What Shippers and Carriers Need to Know

From May 12-14, 2026, enforcement agencies across the United States, Canada and Mexico will conduct the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) International Roadcheck. Many people in the industry call this DOT Week or the DOT Blitz. During this 72-hour period, inspectors perform intensive roadside inspections on commercial drivers and vehicles across North America.

For shippers, carriers and brokers, this event creates a period of pressure on capacity, transit times and cost. When you understand what happens during DOT Blitz Week and how to plan for it, you can protect service and keep customer commitments on track.

What Is CVSA International Roadcheck?

International Roadcheck is the largest targeted commercial motor vehicle enforcement program in the world. During the 72-hour window, inspectors conduct tens of thousands of roadside inspections; in 2025, they completed more than 56,000 inspections and placed over 10,000 vehicles and 3,000 drivers out of service.

Most inspections follow the North American Standard inspection levels, a 37-step procedure that examines both driver and vehicle. Vehicles that pass without critical violations may receive a CVSA decal (valid for up to three months), signaling the vehicle was recently inspected and had no out-of-service defects at that time.

You can review 2025 results here: https://cvsa.org/news/2025-roadcheck-results/

Focus Areas in 2026: ELD Integrity and Cargo Securement

Each year, CVSA selects focus areas for International Roadcheck that receive extra attention from inspectors. In 2026, the focus is on electronic logging devices (ELD) and cargo securement.

Additional Info from the CVSA:

• Inspection Focus Area One-pager
• Vehicle Inspection Cheat Sheet
• Driver Inspection Cheat Sheet

ELD Integrity

On the driver side, inspectors will concentrate on ELD tampering, falsification or manipulation. They will review records of duty status and look for entries that hide hours of service violations or unlogged driving time. They will also be looking for the 9 devices that were added to the FMCSA’s Revoked Devices list from February 12, 2026 which include the following devices:

• GTS ELD – GTS18A
• UTRUCKIN – UTRUCK
• ELD365 ELOG – ELD365
• IRONMAN ELD – IRM881
• FACTOR ELD – FRELD1
• AirELD – ARELD1 ; ARELD2 ; ARELD3 ; ARELD4

Inaccurate records can create serious safety and compliance risk. During Roadcheck, drivers should expect more questions about edits, annotations, exemptions and any gaps in the data.

Cargo Securement

On the vehicle side, cargo securement is the main focus. Poor securement can reduce vehicle stability and control. It can also allow cargo to fall into the roadway. Both situations create danger for drivers and for the public.

Inspectors will look closely at tie downs, blocking, bracing and any dunnage or loose equipment. They want to confirm that the load will not leak, spill, blow or fall from the vehicle during normal operations.

How DOT Week Affects Capacity, Service and Cost

Even though most trucks keep running, International Roadcheck creates real pressure on the freight network:

• Fewer trucks in service – Some drivers choose vacation instead of inspections, and others are parked due to out-of-service violations until repairs are complete.
• Routing guide pressure – As capacity tightens, contracted carriers may turn back loads. Shippers are pushed deeper into routing guides or onto the spot market, especially on 600–800 mile lanes where inspections and hours-of-service constraints already make transit tight.
• Spot rate volatility – When truck supply drops while demand holds steady, spot rates often rise on high-volume and time-sensitive lanes, especially freight with fixed ship/delivery windows.
• Delays and rolled freight – A full Level I inspection takes time. Missed appointments can push deliveries into the next day and roll freight into late-week boards, adding pressure to already tight Thursday/Friday capacity.

International Roadcheck is a North America wide event. No single region can avoid the impact completely.

Safety First and Then Service

International Roadcheck reflects the core mission of CVSA. The alliance works to prevent crashes, injuries and fatalities that involve commercial motor vehicles. It does this through enforcement, education and cooperation between government and industry.

For the freight community, that mission shows up as three days of closer scrutiny. It is also a reminder that strong safety practices and smart planning are good business. Safer fleets face fewer violations, less downtime and better access to high quality freight.

At NTG, we work with shippers and carriers across North America to plan for events like DOT Week. We use data-driven planning, a broad carrier network and flexible solutions across modes and lanes. If you want to protect service on critical freight or position your fleet to take advantage of this period, the time to plan is now, before inspectors set up on May 12.