By the Connect Express Team, Glendale, AZ. Published October 31, 2026.
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when most of the country sets its clocks back one hour. Arizona does not. Under state law, Arizona rejects daylight saving time and stays on Mountain Standard Time all year. For Phoenix and Glendale shippers, the clock on the dock wall will not move this weekend, but the time gap to California, Texas and the other states you ship to will.
What Changes on November 1
The National Institute of Standards and Technology lists 2026 daylight saving time as running from March 8 to November 1, with the change at 2 a.m. local time. That schedule comes from the federal Uniform Time Act, 15 U.S.C. 260a, which sets daylight saving time from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. The same law lets a state that lies entirely within one time zone exempt itself.
Arizona uses that option. A.R.S. 1-242 sets the state’s standard time as Mountain Standard Time and says Arizona “elects to reject” daylight saving time. One exception matters for northern routes: the Navajo Nation does observe daylight saving time, so it falls back on Sunday too.
How the Gap Changes for Phoenix Lanes
From November 1 until daylight saving time returns in the spring, the clock gap from Phoenix works like this:
- California: Phoenix and California share the same clock time all summer. From Sunday, California is one hour behind Phoenix. A 9:00 a.m. receiving appointment in the Inland Empire is 10:00 a.m. in Phoenix.
- Central Texas cities: Dallas, Houston and San Antonio go from two hours ahead of Phoenix to one hour ahead. El Paso, which is on Mountain time, will match Phoenix.
- New Mexico, Utah and Colorado: these Mountain time states move from one hour ahead of Phoenix to the same time.
If you ship west, our Phoenix to Southern California trucking guide covers the lane in more detail. For eastbound freight, see our notes on Texas Arizona freight lanes.
Why It Matters for Appointments and Driver Logs
Receivers set appointments in their own local time. A confirmation that just says “10:00” can mean two different hours from one week to the next, and that kind of mix-up is a common cause of missed delivery appointments.
Driver logs add a second clock. Under 49 CFR 395.8, a driver’s record of duty status uses the time standard in effect at the driver’s home terminal. A driver based in Arizona can be logging Arizona time while delivering to a dock that runs on Pacific or Central time. If you want to know how those records are kept, read what an ELD is and what it records.
What Shippers Can Check This Week
- Recheck standing appointments for Monday, November 2 and later with receivers outside Arizona.
- Write the time zone next to every appointment on rate confirmations and bills of lading, for example “10:00 PT.”
- Make sure any scheduling software uses Arizona time, not a generic Mountain time setting that follows daylight saving time.
- Ask your carrier which clock its dispatch uses when it confirms pickup and delivery times.
Questions about a lane or a load? Call Connect Express at 480-401-1998, email admin@connectexpressllc.com, or visit us at 5701 W Maryland Ave, Glendale, AZ 85301.
Sources
- NIST, Daylight Saving Time (DST): 2026 dates
- 15 U.S.C. 260a, Advancement of time or changeover dates (Cornell LII)
- Arizona Revised Statutes 1-242, Standard time; rejection of daylight saving time
- Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President, “Daylight Savings Times” (March 7, 2026)
- 49 CFR 395.8, Driver’s record of duty status (Cornell LII)
