FreightCasts

August saw an ⁠accelerated decline in freight shipments⁠, particularly in less-than-truckload (LTL) volumes, marking the largest year-over-year drop since October 2023. Meanwhile, the Port of Los Angeles experienced record container traffic in July and August due to early holiday stocking, but anticipates a ⁠significant slowdown through the end of 2025⁠ as economic caution grows and new ship fees are implemented.

In a move to enhance infrastructure,⁠ Outpost has secured $1 billion in funding to double its truck terminal network⁠, expanding its national footprint across key logistics hubs. Their proprietary gate automation platform, leveraging AI and computer vision, provides customers with comprehensive asset visibility and flexible service options.

The U.S. Postal Service is also modernizing, investing in ⁠next-generation package sorting machines⁠ like the PILS and MEWS systems to significantly boost processing capacity and reduce operating costs. On the rails, ⁠Watco has signed an agreement with Intramotev to deploy its TugVolt autonomous battery-electric railcars⁠, marking the first commercial deployment of such innovative freight rail technology by a railroad operator.

Despite these advancements, the industry faces ongoing challenges, as evidenced by a federal appeals court upholding a ruling that requires the defunct ⁠Yellow Corp. to pay over $6.5 billion in pension withdrawal liabilities⁠. This decision rejects Yellow Corp.'s argument that federal bailout funds absolved it of this significant debt.

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In this episode of The Long Haul, Adam sits down with tire expert Kamard Johnson to talk about one of the most overlooked — and most expensive — parts of a small fleet’s operation: tires.
From hidden fuel losses to downtime disasters, Kamard breaks down the real cost of running the wrong tires, buying from the wrong places, and ignoring what’s right in front of your truck. This episode is packed with tactical advice for owner-operators who want to stop bleeding margin and start treating tires like a business decision, not an afterthought.
You’ll learn when cheap is smart, when it’s not, how to inspect like a pro, and what a tire buying strategy looks like for fleets trying to stay in the game long-term.
This isn’t just about rubber — it’s about money, uptime, and survival.

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CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs challenges the long-standing obsession with operating ratios and pushes for volume growth, especially in high-potential areas like intermodal. He believes railroads can achieve both high profit margins and volume growth, emphasizing interline partnerships as a critical strategy to access new markets and improve service.

Global trade winds are literally shifting freight patterns, with China drastically reducing its U.S. soybean imports due to trade tensions and retaliatory tariffs. This significant decrease in exports is creating a substantial drop in freight demand, particularly affecting Midwest states and potentially leading to job losses across trucking, rail, and port operations.

High-stakes trade negotiations between the U.S. and South Korea, involving a proposed $350 billion South Korean investment fund aimed at underwriting U.S. shipbuilding, manufacturing, and other critical development. Despite reported stalls in discussions over foreign exchange markets and recent tensions, strategic commitments like Hanwha Group's $5 billion investment in a Philadelphia shipyard highlight re-industrialization efforts.

At home, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are showing positive trends, reporting improved truck and rail dwell times in August 2025. This reflects strong coordination between terminals, trucking partners, and railroads, ensuring supply chains remain reliable during peak shipping season despite high cargo volumes.

Uber Freight has launched its Dedicated EV Fleet Accelerator Program in partnership with Tesla. This program aims to overcome major adoption barriers for electric trucks by offering subsidized access to Tesla Semi-trucks, guaranteed freight demand, and direct operational support.

We also address recent operational realities, including the temporary outage of critical FMCSA public data, which underscored the absolute importance of timely and accessible information for trucking safety and compliance. Finally, the ongoing liquidation of Yellow Corp. continues to reshape the LTL landscape, with over 200 service centers sold for nearly $2.4 billion, significantly realigning physical assets and market capacity.

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Major carriers like DHL Express and FedEx Express are making significant, strategically expanded, and sustainability-focused moves. ⁠DHL recently inaugurated a new $94 million international hub at Barcelona International Airport⁠, which boasts a seven-fold capacity increase, processing over 20,000 pieces per hour, and features a full solar array and 37 electric chargers for its vans. Similarly, ⁠FedEx opened a new 19,000-square-foot dedicated freight facility at East Midlands Airport in the UK⁠, operating separately from parcel sorting to boost cross-border air shipments and improve asset utilization.

Next, we shift stateside to US ports, specifically the ⁠LA-Long Beach complex, which is showing surprisingly strong efficiency numbers for August 2025⁠. Truck dwell time averaged just 2.73 days, while rail dwell time significantly improved to 4.98 days, demonstrating effective coordination between terminals, truckers, and railroads even with high cargo volumes.

⁠Diesel is currently presenting a "tale of two prices" with retail stability contrasting with surging futures⁠. The weekly average retail price remained stable around $3.739 a gallon, but ultra low sulfur diesel futures surged over 10 cents in two days, reaching its highest settlement since late July due to geopolitical factors and attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.

Supreme Court's upcoming review of two important broker liability cases, ⁠TQL v. Cox and Montgomery v. Caribe II⁠, on September 29th. These cases will determine the interpretation of the FAAAA safety exception regarding whether it covers brokers or just carriers, a critical point that has led to conflicting circuit court decisions. Additionally, we note the recent, thankfully quick, ⁠resolution of a brief outage of public FMCSA data⁠, which highlighted the industry's reliance on this information for critical safety checks.

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Large chunks of publicly available data on carriers have vanished from the FMCSA's website, impacting transparency for safety scrutiny efforts. Neither the FMCSA nor the Department of Transportation has yet offered an explanation for this significant data disappearance.

Yellow Corp. is selling a Baltimore service center for $4.7 million, with only 11 terminals now remaining from its original 325-plus locations. Yellow has successfully sold over 200 service centers for nearly $2.4 billion since beginning its liquidation process.

The surprising boost in container rates, influenced by positive trade negotiations between China and the US, include a potential TikTok deal. Rates from China to the US West Coast surged 7% week-over-week and 34% since late August, with East Coast prices also rising due to general rate increases and demand before China's Golden Week. 

Finally, don't miss Malcolm Harris and Adam Wingfield on FreightWaves TV today at noon, discussing Truck Driver Appreciation Week. Remember to grab your last-chance tickets for the Future of Freight Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on October 21st and 22nd.

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In this episode, we dive into what peak season might look like this year. Our guest, Karl Fillhouer, VP of Sales and Operations at Circle Logistics, breaks down why this peak season looks a little different than anticipated and how to prepare for anything and everything. For more information, subscribe to ⁠Check Call the newsletter⁠ or the podcast.

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The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) is sounding the alarm over broker liability. The Supreme Court is currently weighing requests to hear two cases, Total Quality Logistics v. Cox and Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, which highlight conflicting circuit court rulings that create an "acute existential threat" for small brokers.

A significant victory against cargo theft, as California authorities recovered over $1.4 million in stolen consumer electronics. This bust was made possible with the assistance of cargo security platform Overhaul, whose real-time tracking capabilities enabled law enforcement to pinpoint the cargo and arrest eight suspects.

Michigan-based Kalitta Air prepares to operate the world’s first Boeing 777-300 aircraft converted from passenger to cargo configuration. These "Big Twin" jets, modified by Israel Aerospace Industries, boast a 110-ton payload and will replace aging 747s, significantly boosting long-haul capacity for e-commerce shipments despite earlier certification delays.

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WHAT THE TRUCK?!? kicks off a brand-new chapter as Kaylee Nix welcomes the show’s new host, Malcolm Harris. From his early days at Coyote to his journey through Steam Logistics, Axle Logistics, and beyond, Malcolm shares how freight shaped his career and why Chattanooga feels like home. He talks about his passion for storytelling, his vision for connecting the freight community, and what listeners can expect as he takes the reins of this iconic show.

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