FreightCasts

Everyone wants to own a truck.

Very few understand what comes after.

In this episode of The Long Haul Podcast, Adam sits down with Pamela Polyak — a third-generation transportation owner who took over her family’s asset-based operation at the start of 2020 and has spent years helping small carriers navigate compliance, operations, and growth

This conversation breaks down:

If you think owning a truck means you’re running a business… this episode will challenge that.

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No studio. No script. No safe answers.

This episode of Brake Check wasn’t filmed in a quiet room...it went down LIVE at the Broker Carrier Summit in Kansas City… where brokers, carriers, regulators, and tech companies all showed up in the same place… and finally had to face each other.

And when that happens?

Things get REAL.

We’re talking:

The growing divide between brokers and carriers

What the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is actually doing (and not doing)

The truth about enforcement, training, and pay

Tech companies promising solutions… but are they fixing anything?

And the one thing this industry STILL refuses to admit

This isn’t a panel.

This isn’t PR.

This is what happens when the walls come down and the conversations get uncomfortable.

If you’ve ever wondered:

- Why trust is completely broken in trucking
- Why the same problems keep getting worse
- And what it actually looks like when the industry tries to fix itself…

This is the episode you don’t skip.

Welcome to Brake Check

Real trucking talk for real trucking people.

No fluff. No spin. Just the truth.

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In this episode, we kick things off with a historic technological breakthrough as Houston-based Bot Auto has officially completed the first fully humanless, over-the-road commercial truckload in American history. The autonomous tractor hauled commercial freight 231 miles across Texas without a safety driver, remote operator, or in-cab observer, achieving a remarkably low cost per mile of just $1.89 compared to the industry average of $2.26. Bot Auto operates as a trucking carrier using its Transportation as a Service model with a fleet of 12 tractors and owned and leased trailers.

Next, we explore the less-than-truckload sector where XPO is absolutely crushing Wall Street expectations and aggressively winning profitable market share with first-quarter earnings that beat consensus by 13 cents. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based logistics giant reported consolidated revenue of $2.1 billion, up 7% year over year and significantly ahead of analyst forecasts. XPO's LTL unit posted an impressive 83.9% adjusted operating ratio, defying normal seasonal deterioration patterns and improving 200 basis points year over year.

Finally, we cover the regulatory battle over the proposed transcontinental rail mega-merger as Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern submitted an amended merger application to the Surface Transportation Board after their initial filing was rejected as incomplete in January. The revised application now projects the combined railroad will shift 2.1 million truckloads annually from highway to rail, saving shippers an estimated $3.5 billion per year, and will require 1,200 net new union jobs by the third year of the merger.

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Welcome back to another high-octane episode of What the Truck?!? with your host, Malcolm Harris, and the man with the plan, Michael Vincent. We’re diving deep into the headlines shaping the supply chain and sitting down with industry heavyweights to talk strategy and technology.

In This Episode:

Guests:

Matthew Darnell Caine | Caine Strategic Advisors

Dominic Hand | Thermo King

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In episode 4 of the Fraud Watch podcast, Phil Brink sits down with Dale Prax, Strategic Fraud Advisor for ⁠Truckstop.com⁠, to break down what’s happening behind the scenes as industry leaders head to Washington, DC to meet with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and members of Congress on May 14th. The conversation centers on a core issue driving cargo theft and freight fraud today: identity. It is not a lack of regulation, but a failure to verify who is actually operating inside the system.

They discuss how bad actors exploit gaps in onboarding and registration and why enforcement has fallen behind. They also cover what changes could actually make a difference. From stronger identity verification and TWIC requirements to better data sharing across vetting platforms, this episode outlines what real solutions could look like and why this moment matters. If you want to understand where freight fraud starts and what it will take to stop it, this is the conversation.

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In this episode, we kick things off by examining one of the industry's premier less-than-truckload carriers as Old Dominion Freight Line reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street consensus by 9 cents. Revenue of $1.33 billion came in $20 million ahead of consensus and above the top end of management's guidance range. Despite tonnage declining 8% year over year, the company delivered a remarkably strong 76.2% operating ratio, roughly 200 basis points better than implied guidance.

Next, we explore the escalating liability crisis that continues to plague the trucking industry. An $81 million jury award in Utah against Allied Building Products is being called the largest civil verdict ever awarded in that state. The case stemmed from a tragic December 2018 incident in which an Allied day cab struck and killed a 12-year-old boy in a crosswalk. Following the retrial verdict, the two sides reached a confidential settlement that was fully covered by insurance, but the award joins a growing body of massive nuclear verdicts that demonstrate just how severe trucking liability exposure has become.

Finally, we head to the East Coast to examine how the Port of Virginia is investing $1.4 billion to solidify its position as America's most modern container gateway. Interim CEO Sarah McCoy revealed that the facility has increased container volume 20% to 3.4 million TEUs since 2021, lifting it to sixth place among all American container hubs. The port's Gateway Investment Program includes channel deepening to 55 feet—the deepest in the country—and new ultra-large container vessel cranes that are expected to commence operations in June.

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We went LIVE from OOIDA headquarters in Grain Valley with Lewie Pugh for one of the realest trucking conversations you’ll hear all year.

How did OOIDA get started? Why are Hours of Service still broken? Have ELDs helped… or made things worse? Why are drivers still underpaid? And was the so-called “driver shortage” ever real… or was it used to flood the market and suppress wages?

This episode pulls no punches.

We break down:

The truth about HOS rules

Why ELD mandates still frustrate drivers

Driver pay vs industry profits

Training standards and CDL concerns

The “driver shortage” narrative

Why so many truckers feel the system is stacked against them

No fluff. No spin. Just real trucking talk from inside OOIDA HQ.Subscribe for more hard-hitting freight news, trucking truth, and voices that matter.

#Trucking #OOIDA #ELD #HOS #DriverPay #CDL #Freight #Truckers #CharlesGracey #BrakeCheck

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In this episode, we kick things off by examining a puzzling phenomenon in cross-border logistics where capacity appears plentiful on paper but remains brutally tight in practice. According to Uber Freight's senior vice president overseeing cross-border operations, the real constraint isn't a lack of drivers overall but rather a critical shortage of drivers who meet increasingly stringent compliance and security standards. With northbound demand into the U.S. running two to three times higher than southbound flows and uncertainty around the upcoming USMCA review slowing nearshoring investment, carriers are struggling to reposition equipment fast enough to keep pace with U.S.-bound freight.

Shifting gears to the rails, we examine how rail technology giant Wabtec delivered a powerful start to 2026 with solid execution across both its freight and transit divisions. First quarter revenue grew 13% to $2.95 billion while adjusted earnings per share surged 18.9% to $2.71, driven by a 52.5% jump in equipment sales from higher locomotive deliveries and a remarkable 75.7% increase in digital sales fueled by strategic acquisitions. On the strength of these results, Wabtec raised its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance by 20 cents at the midpoint, projecting growth of 16.5% for 2026.

Finally, we unpack the contrasting fortunes at a major Canadian transportation company where TFI International's Truckload sector improved while its LTL division struggled in the first quarter. TFI handily beat Wall Street expectations with non-GAAP earnings per share of 69 cents—8 cents above consensus—as its Truckload segment posted a 14.32% jump in operating income and adjusted EBITDA growth exceeding 4%. However, the less-than-truckload division saw its combined operating ratio deteriorate 220 basis points to 95.3% and operating income decline 35.12%. Despite the mixed performance, management issued strong second quarter guidance, projecting adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.50 to $1.60—more than double the first quarter result.

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In this Monday edition of What the Truck, hosts Malcolm Harris and Michael “The Dude” Vincent dive into the latest headlines shaking up the supply chain world, starting with the legal showdown between New York’s Attorney General and the federal government over CDL funding. The duo breaks down the sophisticated new “Trojan Driver” cargo theft scam and discusses the recent wave of trucking bankruptcies, debating whether these failures stem from a poor economy or irresponsible growth. They also explore the shifting landscape of marijuana scheduling and its complex implications for mandatory drug testing in safety-sensitive transportation roles.

Later in the show, the hosts are joined by Loki Cheema (Founder and CEO) and Alex Krutchten (Chief Growth Officer) of Hemut. Cheema shares his incredible journey from homelessness to industry leader, explaining how his gritty background inspired a technology firm dedicated to empowering truckers. The Hemut team discusses their hands-on approach to implementing AI and automation, emphasizing that technology should serve as a tool to help human operators succeed rather than a means to replace them.

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Did the freight industry establishment intentionally sell out the American truck driver? In this episode of Freight Expectations, FreightWaves Founder & CEO Craig Fuller and "The Armchair Attorney" Matthew Leffler dive into the harsh realities behind Craig’s recent New York Times op-ed. They break down how the "perpetual driver shortage" myth was engineered to lower barriers to entry, ultimately driving down wages and destroying the middle-class dream of trucking. Plus, Matt lays out his highly unpopular 3-step plan to fix highway safety, and the guys unpack a wild conspiracy theory regarding the C.H. Robinson Supreme Court case.

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