FreightCasts

Some carriers are surviving 2026.

Others are quietly disappearing.

The difference isn't luck. It isn't fleet size. And it isn't who has the newest trucks

It's who has better information.

On this episode of Brake Check, we pull back the curtain on what the data is really saying about today's freight market—and the hidden operational mistakes quietly costing carriers money every single day.

Joining us:

Sean Dehan – VP of Corporate Strategy & Development at Truckstop, breaks down what Truckstop's data is revealing about freight demand, rates, fraud, heavy haul, and the market trends every carrier should be watching.

Robert Bain – Director of Partnerships & Senior Consultant at GLCS, exposes the hidden technology gaps, broken processes, cybersecurity risks, and operational blind spots that keep carriers from reaching their full potential.

We cover:

If you're an owner-operator, fleet owner, dispatcher, operations manager, or anyone serious about building a stronger trucking business, this is an episode you don't want to miss.

Which challenge is costing carriers the most right now—freight, fraud, technology, or operations? Drop your answer in the comments.

Like, subscribe, and share with another carrier who needs to hear this.

#Trucking #OwnerOperator #Freight #Logistics #Truckstop #FreightMarket #LoadBoards #SmallBusiness #SupplyChain #BrakeCheck

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In this episode, we kick things off by examining a massive shift in how freight contract pricing is getting done as Triumph debuts a powerful new RFP management tool designed to help brokers keep pace with drastically compressed pricing cycles. In today's supply-constrained market, some shippers are now repricing contracts as frequently as every thirty days, a brutal acceleration from the traditional annual cycles. The platform draws on real transaction and carrier payment data tied to more than one hundred seventy thousand carriers, providing visibility into approximately seventy percent of North American brokered freight transactions.

Next, we explore a major legal battle that could reshape broker disclosure requirements across the entire industry. The case involving Pink Cheetah and Total Quality Logistics heads to oral arguments before the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia on September eleventh. The dispute centers on documents revealing that the carrier received only fifty-six percent of payment for a load, with TQL extracting approximately forty percent commission rather than the customary fourteen to sixteen percent.

Finally, we unpack the critical developments surrounding North America's signature trade pact after the U.S. rejected automatic renewal of USMCA in its current form, triggering annual reviews until issues are resolved or the agreement expires in twenty thirty-six. Despite North American trade reaching historic highs last year, this decision creates uncertainty for the trucking industry and the hundreds of billions of dollars in cross-border freight moving annually through major gateways like Laredo, Detroit-Windsor, and Otay Mesa.

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It is hump day, which means it’s the best day of the week—the release of the weekly American Association of Railroads (AAR) tonnage index! In this packed episode, we dive deep into the legal and insurance crises gripping the freight industry, analyze how extreme heatwaves are altering refrigerated shipping, track global energy volatility, and break down the massive intermodal surge redefining logistics.

Featured Guests:

Ted Bassett – Head of the Personal Injury Law Firm Group at Merrick  

Niles Openheimer – Chief Revenue Officer at CoverWell  

Matt Munster – Chief Economist at Breakthrough  

Bill Stevens – Editor and Writer at Trains Magazine / Trains Pro

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On this episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, hosts Malcolm Harris and Michael Vincent kick off July with a packed show covering some of the biggest stories shaping transportation and logistics.

First, they break down the latest headlines, including the surprising rise in containers lost at sea, the dismissal of C.H. Robinson from a high-profile Florida trucking lawsuit, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ veto of legislation that would have allowed certain nonviolent inmates to receive CDL training before release. The conversation dives into liability, workforce development, public safety, and second chances in the trucking industry.

Then, Brett Suma, President and Chief Operating Officer of Bot Auto, joins the show to discuss the future of autonomous trucking. Brett shares why he joined Bot Auto, the state of AI in transportation, why Texas has become the epicenter of autonomous freight operations, and how physical AI could transform the supply chain in the years ahead. He also reflects on leadership, innovation, and building the next generation of logistics companies.

Later, Danny Ramon, Subject Matter Expert for Cargo Theft at Overhaul, returns to the show to analyze a massive $2.1 million cargo theft involving women’s apparel in Southern California. Danny breaks down how organized cargo theft operations work, why cross-docking schemes are becoming more common, what criminals are targeting today, and how shippers can better protect their freight during one of the busiest shipping seasons of the year.

Topics covered:

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In this episode, we kick things off in Washington with a blockbuster Supreme Court ruling that dramatically expands presidential authority over independent regulatory agencies. The six-three decision in Trump v. Slaughter overturns nearly a century of precedent and is likely to decide the fate of STB member Robert Primus, whom President Trump fired without cause last August. With the Surface Transportation Board now short-handed and facing the largest rail merger in history, the president can more easily install policy-aligned replacements at a critical moment for freight rail regulation.

Next, we shift over to the ocean shipping sector where Israel's flag carrier officially transitions to new leadership today. Chen Lichtenstein takes the helm at ZIM Integrated Shipping Services following the departure of Eli Glickman, who resigned in April after Hapag-Lloyd's four point two billion dollar acquisition. Glickman is credited with an astounding turnaround that reshaped ZIM into an agile, digitally-focused global player ranked tenth in the world by capacity.

Finally, we explore how the freight industry's transition to electric trucks is revealing that intelligent charging strategy may matter even more than the hardware itself. BetterFleet CEO Dan Hilson explains that managing dense electric fleets requires abandoning the diesel fueling playbook entirely due to brutal demand charges and time-of-use pricing penalties. The company's machine learning platform staggers charging across networks of slower chargers, throttling power to avoid costly spikes while capturing off-peak pricing to deliver enormous savings.

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The freight market is changing fast—and this episode of FreightWaves Today breaks down the biggest legal, technology, energy, and market developments shaping transportation.

We kick off the show with breaking news on the Florida U-turn lawsuit and discuss why CH Robinson was named in litigation despite having no involvement in the crash. We also debate broker liability, the post-Montgomery legal landscape, Florida's CDL policy, and whether the industry should rethink barriers to entry for new drivers.

In this episode, we feature interviews with:

Jonah McIntire, Chief Platform Officer at Trimble

John Kingston, FreightWaves Editor-At-Large

David Spencer, Arrive Logistics

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In Episode 8 of Fraud Watch, Phil Brink sits down with Scott Cornell, Chair of TAPA Americas and Chief Risk Officer at SPG Cargo & Logistics, to discuss the latest cargo theft and freight fraud trends impacting the supply chain. Scott shares what has changed in the last 30 days, the emerging tactics that have his attention, and why organized theft continues to evolve faster than most companies realize. The conversation also explores high-risk freight markets, intelligence sharing, and why verification is becoming one of the most important functions in modern freight operations. This is a conversation every broker, carrier, and shipper should hear.

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There are plenty of people telling you what trucking looks like from a boardroom.

We decided to ask the people actually living it.

Live from Shell Rotella SuperRigs at Bristol Motor Speedway, Brake Check handed the microphone to America's truck drivers for an unfiltered reality check on freight, regulations, pay, parking, respect, technology, and where this industry is really headed.

No talking points.

No corporate spin.

No pie charts.

Just honest conversations with the men and women keeping America moving.

Joining Charles are trucking voices with decades of experience:

Together, they tackle the biggest issues facing trucking today while hearing directly from drivers walking the show grounds.

If you want to know what trucking really looks like in 2026, don't ask an analyst.

Ask a trucker.

Topics include:

If you believe trucking deserves a voice that comes from the road...not the boardroom.

Like, subscribe, hit the notification bell, and join the conversation.

Because the people doing the job deserve to be heard.

#ShellRotella #superrigs #shellsuperrigs #truckshow #Bristolmotorspeedway #Bristol #truckerstellall

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In this episode, we kick things off in South Texas, where developers are building a massive new rail infrastructure project designed to transform Laredo from purely a trucking gateway into a true multimodal freight hub. Following authorization from the Surface Transportation Board, Kraus Development and Ironhorse Resources plan to construct the two point six-mile Laredo Gateway Industrial Railway, connecting Gateway International Rail Park directly to Union Pacific's Laredo Subdivision. With capacity for more than twelve thousand railcars annually—potentially representing the equivalent of roughly sixty-two thousand truckloads—this short-line railroad will serve a sprawling industrial park in a border crossing that already processes between fourteen thousand and eighteen thousand commercial trucks every day and accounts for nearly thirty-nine percent of all U.S.-Mexico trade by value.

Next, we explore the technology sector, where Trimble is aggressively expanding its product lineup with a brand-new transportation management system built directly from its massive European acquisition. The company has officially launched Trimble TMS for Shippers, a product that grew out of its twenty twenty-two acquisition of Europe's Transporeon for just under two billion dollars. Rather than forcing shippers to rip out existing systems, the new TMS offering uses a modular, cafeteria-style approach where customers can bolt on specific features like freight procurement, rate management, or carrier tendering to their current infrastructure and only pay for what they need.

Finally, we cover a workforce development proposal in Florida that has hit a major roadblock as Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have allowed CDL training for certain state prisoners. The bill, which passed both houses of the Florida legislature with no opposition, was part of a larger vocational training measure targeting nonviolent inmates with two years or less remaining on their sentence. In his veto letter, DeSantis cited the program would be unnecessarily burdensome to the Department of Corrections and raised significant public safety concerns about authorizing incarcerated individuals to operate commercial vehicles in public thoroughfares.

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The freight market is heating up—and this week's episode breaks down why.

We kick off the show with a look at record-setting trucking spot rates, why the July 4 holiday is the freight industry's "Super Bowl," and what tightening capacity means for carriers, brokers, and shippers heading into the second half of the year.

Then we dive into the day's biggest logistics headlines, including:

Our featured guests include:

Plus, Craig Fuller delivers a SONAR market deep dive covering:

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