May 2025 was a stressful month for small carriers. Freight demand was soft, tariff uncertainty was high, and several regulatory changes landed at once. None of that changes how factoring works, but it does change how carefully you should choose and monitor the company holding your receivables.
Layoff warnings and job cuts
At the end of April, Apollo warned that tariff-driven declines in imports from China would sharply slow domestic freight activity by mid-May, with mass layoffs in trucking likely to follow and job cuts in retail expected in June. It was a forecast, not a measurement, but it set the tone for the month.
The cuts that did arrive were concentrated at larger firms. UPS said on its first-quarter earnings call that it expected to cut about 20,000 jobs in 2025 and close 73 leased and owned buildings by the end of June, as it reduced the amount of Amazon freight it handles. In April, Volvo Group also announced manufacturing layoffs at its Volvo Trucks plant in Virginia, its Mack Trucks plant in Pennsylvania and its powertrain plant in Maryland, citing weak heavy-truck orders, uncertainty over freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes and tariffs.
For owner-operators and small fleets, large-shipper and large-carrier cutbacks matter in two ways. Freight that used to move through big networks can shift to brokers and smaller carriers, which can help load availability. But a softer market also strains brokers' and shippers' balance sheets, which raises the chance that an invoice is paid late or not at all.
Know who is holding your receivables
When you factor, your cash flow depends on the factor as well as on your customers. A factor that is short on capital can slow funding, tighten credit limits on your brokers, or change terms with little notice. Before signing or renewing, it is worth checking:
- How long the factor has been in business and who funds it.
- Whether the agreement is recourse or non-recourse, and exactly which nonpayment events non-recourse covers. Our guide to recourse vs non-recourse factoring walks through the exclusions.
- What it costs to leave: termination notice periods, minimum volume clauses and buyout terms. See how to switch factoring companies.
- Every fee beyond the headline rate. Our breakdown of hidden factoring fees lists the common ones.
Fuel
Diesel was not the problem in May 2025. The U.S. average retail price for on-highway diesel was $3.476 a gallon in the week of 12 May 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration, and it stayed close to that level through the rest of the month. Fuel advances still matter for cash flow on long runs, but they were not under unusual pressure.
Regulatory changes
Eight ELDs revoked
On 12 May 2025 the FMCSA removed eight electronic logging devices made by Gorilla Fleet Safety from its list of registered ELDs. Carriers using them had up to 60 days to switch to a registered device, meaning a replacement deadline of 11 July 2025. If you run an older or low-cost ELD, check that it is still on the FMCSA's registered list.
English proficiency enforcement returns
Following a presidential executive order, the FMCSA circulated a new enforcement policy on 20 May 2025 on the long-standing requirement that commercial drivers can read and speak English well enough to do the job. Starting 25 June 2025, state and federal inspectors were to place drivers who fail the English proficiency check out of service. An out-of-service order stops the load, which means a late delivery and a delayed invoice.
California clean-truck waivers
On 22 May 2025 the Senate voted to revoke the federal waivers that let California enforce its Advanced Clean Trucks rule and its heavy-duty low-NOx Omnibus rule. The President signed the resolutions on 12 June 2025. For carriers buying equipment, that removed the near-term pressure to buy zero-emission trucks to keep running California lanes, though state policy could still change.
What to do now
- Keep a few weeks of operating cash where you can, even if you factor every invoice.
- Check broker credit before you accept a load, not after.
- Read your factoring agreement again, especially the recourse period and termination terms. The factoring contract guide covers what to look for.
- Make sure your ELD is on the registered list and your drivers are ready for English proficiency checks at roadside.
For how these trends played out over the following year, see our freight factoring market trends roundup, or compare factors on our freight and trucking page.