FreightCasts

In this packed Monday edition of WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, hosts Malcolm Harris and Michael Vincent dive into a fully loaded show breaking down the critical intersections of safety, compliance, and cutting-edge technology in the freight industry . The duo starts with a look at some of the latest headlines making waves across logistics, including a bizarre $1.7 million cargo theft case and a major geopolitical agreement opening up the vital Strait of Hormuz . Turning the focus to risk management, Kameron Sanchez and Samantha Leamon from the Marquee Insurance Group stop by to discuss how carrier expectations are shifting and why taking a proactive stance on safety and regulatory compliance is essential for controlling skyrocketing operating costs . Finally, Mark Miller (CEO of IntraVision) and John Verhaeghe (President of Wayland’s) join the show to explore how advanced dash cam technology, AI-driven video scoring via VisionScore, and rapid first notice of loss solutions are empowering fleets to take control of their data and protect themselves in a challenging legal environment.

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In this episode, we kick things off in Washington, where a renewed push to tax Chinese cargo ships has agricultural shippers warning of catastrophic consequences for U.S. crop exporters. Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Elizabeth Warren are pressing the Trump administration to reinstate port fees on Chinese vessels, charges that were suspended until November after China applied reciprocal fees. The Agriculture Transportation Coalition warns the proposals threaten the very existence of large segments of U.S. agriculture by denying them the ability to continue exporting.

Next, we head west to examine how the nation's busiest container gateway is bracing for a significant downturn while massively ramping up infrastructure spending. The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved a three point four billion dollar annual budget even as the port forecasts a seven percent decline in box volumes to nine point three million TEUs. Despite the volume decline driven by trade volatility and China's shrinking import share, the budget increase of six hundred sixty-five million dollars over the prior year is mostly driven by a thirty-one percent expansion for capital improvements.

Finally, we explore a bold vision for autonomous cross-border freight taking shape along the Texas-Mexico border as industry leaders debate the Green Corridors project at a major Laredo conference. The privately funded initiative proposes a one hundred sixty-five-mile elevated guideway linking Laredo and Monterrey through a network of autonomous freight shuttles. The system would feature secure terminals connected by a closed-loop automated corridor designed to bypass traditional border bottlenecks, with the capacity to handle as many as ten thousand trailers per day in each direction and a targeted twenty thirty launch.

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Amazon’s expansion into the LTL market is raising big questions across the transportation industry. In this episode, Craig Fuller, Tom Albrecht, and attorney Matt Leffler examine why Forward Air could be a strategic acquisition target for Amazon and what such a move would mean for carriers, brokers, and shippers.

The conversation explores Forward Air’s unique airport-to-airport network, the controversial Omni Logistics merger, and the legal battles that reshaped one of freight’s most closely watched companies. The panel also breaks down Amazon’s growing logistics ambitions and whether it can successfully build or buy its way into the LTL sector.

Beyond M&A, the discussion turns to trucking safety, insurance requirements, freight fraud, FMCSA reforms, and the industry's ongoing struggle with outdated regulations. The hosts analyze proposed safety initiatives from the Truckload Carriers Association, debate higher insurance minimums, and discuss why stronger oversight of CDL training, ELD certification, and carrier registration could reshape the trucking landscape.

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Welcome back to a Friday edition of What The Truck?!
Malcolm Harris and Michael Vincent kick off the show with their signature banter before diving into some of the biggest stories shaping freight, transportation, and supply chain today.
In this episode:
* Amazon’s latest move into the LTL market and what it could mean for established carriers
* Craig Fuller’s analysis of Amazon’s freight strategy and whether acquisitions like Forward Air make sense
* The Transportation Intermediaries Association’s (TIA) push for FMCSA guidance following the Montgomery case
* How rising liability concerns and insurance costs could impact brokers, carriers, and the future of the industry
* The growing role of technology, compliance, and risk management in modern trucking
Plus, Chief Business Development Officer Adam Kahn of Netradyne joins the show to discuss:
* How safety technology is transforming fleet operations
* Netradyne’s partnership with one of the nation’s largest Domino’s franchise operators
* The impressive 66% reduction in at-fault crashes following implementation
* Driver coaching, AI-powered safety insights, and building a stronger safety culture
The crew also talks freight fraud, cargo theft, supply chain AI, LNG export developments, entrepreneurship, and plenty of Friday fun along the way.

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In this episode, we kick things off with a massive milestone for autonomous trucking as ⁠Volvo Autonomous Solutions plans to remove safety drivers from its trucks in early 2027⁠ and begin fully driverless operations on U.S. highways. The company currently runs commercial freight daily in Texas with safety drivers aboard, but projects it will have over three hundred autonomous trucks operating by the end of 2027, with industrial scaling beginning in 2028 and revenue approaching three billion dollars within five years.

Over on the rails, ⁠agricultural retailers are raising serious alarm bells about the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern mega-merger⁠ and its impact on the agribusiness sector. The Agricultural Retailers Association, which represents more than five thousand retail locations nationwide, warns that freight rail rates have risen over forty percent in the past twenty years—seventy percent faster than truck rates—and that further consolidation among the four Class I carriers controlling ninety percent of rail traffic directly threatens supply chain reliability for moving fertilizer, chemicals, and fuel to America's farms.

Finally, we explore how ⁠the Transportation Intermediaries Association is pushing FMCSA for federal clarity on approved carrier selection standards⁠ following the landmark Montgomery versus Caribe Transport II Supreme Court decision. With more than ninety percent of authorized motor carriers currently operating without an FMCSA safety rating, the TIA is requesting a federal rulemaking that would establish objective criteria to help brokers and shippers determine whether the use of a given carrier is reasonable based on demonstrable safety performance.

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Fedex Freight spins off, Amazon announces its entry into the LTL carrier space, and Arcbest announces an early GRI. Is this the biggest news month LTL has seen?   

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Everybody says trucking is broken.

Rates are soft. Insurance costs are crushing carriers. Operating expenses keep climbing. Every week another trucking company shuts its doors, another owner-operator parks the truck, and another driver wonders if it's still worth it.

So here's the question:

If trucking is so bad right now, how are some fleets and owner-operators still finding a way to win?

On this episode of Brake Check, Charles Gracey sits down with two trucking leaders attacking that problem from completely different angles.

JR Elrod, President of BAR Transportation, a 30-year trucking veteran who spent more than two decades hauling heavy freight before building a specialized carrier focused on government, project, and niche freight.

Tyler Johnston, General Manager of Mercer Transportation, one of North America's most successful owner-operator carriers, with more than 2,200 contractors and nearly 50 years in business.

Topics include:

Owner-Operator Survival in 2026

Open Deck & Heavy Haul Freight Trends

Soft Freight Markets & Rising Costs

Driver Retention & Profitability

Insurance Costs Crushing Trucking

Carrier-Broker Relationships

Small Fleet Survival Strategies

The Future of Independent Trucking

Whether you're an owner-operator, fleet owner, company driver, broker, shipper, or simply trying to understand where trucking is headed next, this conversation delivers real-world strategies from people living it every day.

Question for the comments:

What's the biggest challenge facing trucking right now: rates, insurance, regulations, freight, or something else?

#Trucking #OwnerOperator #Freight #Logistics #TruckDriver #CDL #FreightWaves #BrakeCheck #Transportation #HeavyHaul #OpenDeck #TruckingIndustry #SupplyChain #OwnerOperators #Truckers

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Thousands of people enter trucking every year looking for a better future. Many are chasing freedom. Some are trying to build wealth. Others are leaving careers they have spent decades building in hopes of creating something of their own.

Some make it. Many don't.

In this episode, Adam sits down with Victor "Bigg Vic" Newton, founder of Bigg Vic TV and one of the most recognized voices in trucking entrepreneurship. Before trucking, Vic spent 28 years as a barber, building relationships, serving customers and mastering a trade. Then he made a decision many people only talk about — he bet on himself and started over.

Nearly six years later, he has experienced the highs of great-paying freight, the lows of expensive repairs, the challenges of building a small fleet and the reality of operating in one of the toughest industries in America.

But this conversation is not really about trucks.

It is about ownership. It is about accountability. It is about the decisions that separate the people who survive from the people who quit.

Over the years, Vic has built an audience of more than 100,000 subscribers by challenging some of the most common beliefs in trucking. From chasing load boards and buying trucks too early to blaming brokers, rates and market conditions, he argues that many of the problems carriers face start long before they ever book a load.

This is not the social media version of trucking.

This is the real version.

The version where cash flow matters, mistakes are expensive, discipline beats motivation and success often comes down to how you think when things are not going your way.

If you are an owner-operator, small fleet owner or entrepreneur trying to build something that lasts, this conversation will challenge the way you think about trucking, business and yourself. 

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In this episode, we kick things off by examining a historic first for American energy exports as federal regulators have approved construction of a five-billion-dollar floating platform to produce liquefied natural gas for export in U.S. waters. The controversial project, led by Delfin Midstream of Houston, will be located forty miles off the coast of Louisiana and is expected to begin production in 2030, with Samsung Heavy Industries constructing the platforms and MOL of Japan also connected to the venture.

Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant's full entry into the less-than-truckload market is sparking fierce debate over whether Amazon can truly disrupt the LTL space with its asset-light model of roughly thirty terminals. While the announcement sent shares of publicly traded LTL carriers modestly lower, analysts are largely skeptical, noting that Amazon's offering is more akin to what brokers provide and will likely compete primarily with the economy three-to-four-day sub-segment rather than premium service lanes.

Finally, we cover a potential lifeline for the embattled van trailer builder as the Commerce Department imposed preliminary countervailing duties on Chinese and Mexican trailer imports ranging from eighty-two to one hundred twenty-nine percent on Chinese products. The decision, which came as S&P Global Ratings downgraded Wabash to B-, will require importers to immediately begin posting cash deposits at the preliminary rates, providing relief to domestic manufacturers facing intense foreign competition.

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In Episode 6 of Fraud Watch, Phil Brink sits down with Malcolm Harris, host of What the Truck. The conversation focuses on trust, verification, and the future of freight. Malcolm shares his perspective on how the industry is changing and where transportation may be headed in the years ahead. They discuss the balance between relationships and technology, the impact of fraud on daily operations, and the challenges companies face as the industry evolves. The episode also includes a few thoughts on the NBA Finals and the importance of competition.

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