FreightCasts

Join hosts Malcolm Harris and Michael Vincent on this episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!? as they dive into the biggest stories shaping the freight, logistics, and supply chain landscape!
In this episode, we break down:

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In this episode, we kick things off in California, where organized labor is aggressively challenging the state's newly implemented autonomous truck framework. The California Teamsters filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court, arguing that the DMV improperly fast-tracked driverless truck testing regulations through an expedited process reserved for minor updates. Despite the legal challenge, the permit queue continues to move forward with Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI already holding drivered testing permits.

Meanwhile, two powerful trucking industry groups are sounding the alarm over a recent appellate court decision they say could fundamentally upend the entire carrier liability model. The American Trucking Associations and the Truckload Carriers of America filed a joint amicus brief requesting a full en banc hearing to reconsider a Fifth Circuit ruling that found Penske Logistics liable for a fatal crash involving a double-brokered driver the company knew nothing about. The associations warn that if the precedent stands, the entire trucking industry may have been violating federal leasing regulations for decades.

Finally, we cover a long-awaited federal transparency rule for freight brokers that has cleared a critical Washington checkpoint. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent its broker transparency rulemaking to the White House on August twenty-seventh, marking the first concrete movement since the comment period closed in March twenty twenty-five. The rule would require brokers to maintain transaction records electronically and provide copies to carriers or shippers within forty-eight hours of a request.

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Join host Craig Fuller and Matt Leffler on this episode of Freight Expectations as they break down the biggest stories reshaping the freight and logistics industry:

A look at the rising tide of organized rail and trucking theft, how Mexico is tackling cargo crime, and where the bipartisan CORCA legislation stands in Congress.

Analyzing Chris Spear's early departure from the American Trucking Associations and the long-standing debate surrounding the "driver shortage" narrative.

Two tech giants clash over ELD data access and API fees—what this means for small fleets, freight brokers, and load availability.

How the AI-driven data center boom is driving industrial freight demand, and why NIMBYism and political battles are heating up.

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Labor Day is just around the corner, but is the freight market ready for the traditional fall surge? On this episode of FreightWaves Today, we break down the latest signals across trucking, rail, freight technology and the broader supply chain.

We cover the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern mega-merger, a wave of freight and logistics bankruptcies, and new federal pilot programs that could give truck drivers more flexibility with hours of service.Then, we dive into the growing battle between Highway and Motive over ELD data access — and what the dispute could mean for small carriers, brokers, fraud prevention and access to freight.

AVRide Chief Commercial Officer Sergei Kirillov joins the show to discuss autonomous vehicles, delivery robots, robotaxis, college-campus deliveries and what it will take for autonomous delivery to expand into more cities and suburban markets.

We also examine the latest SONAR freight data heading into Labor Day, including tender rejection rates, spot rates and whether the anticipated peak-season surge is finally beginning to emerge.

Plus, Trains Editor Bill Stephens joins from the North Carolina Transportation Museum to discuss Mexico's growing rail market, Grupo México's innovative rail-ferry operations and the technology and security measures being used to combat cargo theft.

And in Freight Expectations with Matt Leffler, we tackle organized cargo crime, the push for the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (COCA), the legal risks surrounding double brokering, and how massive AI data-center construction is creating new demand for industrial freight.

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In this episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, hosts Malcolm Harris and Michael Vincent dive into top headlines and industry insights, featuring expert commentary on logistics expansion, high-stakes supply chain technology, and freight consolidation strategies.

The guys discuss Arrive Logistics’ plans to expand its workforce by 1,000 team members following a major capital agreement with Mubadala, alongside a look at a massive 1,800-pound marijuana interception by Georgia law enforcement.

Michael Schramm, CEO and Co-Founder of Nordian, shares his journey from managing electric scooter fleets to solving connectivity and centimeter-level positioning challenges for autonomous machinery in harsh, remote environments.

Phil Schmidbauer, Vice President of Solution Design at ODW Logistics, breaks down how poorly designed consolidation plans create hidden supply chain costs and offers actionable advice for shippers aiming to drive out waste.

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In this episode, we kick things off by examining the heated regulatory battle over the proposed mega-merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. The Class I railroads are aggressively defending their application, telling the Surface Transportation Board that ⁠their filing contains extensive evidence demonstrating benefits for employees, customers and the broader economy⁠. The combined company promises new single-line service across more than eighty-eight thousand county-to-county lanes and the diversion of two point one million truckloads from highway to rail.

Meanwhile, a brutal wave of financial distress is hitting the freight and logistics sector as ⁠at least twenty-one transportation companies filed for bankruptcy protection between late July and August twenty-fifth⁠. The filings range from single-truck carriers to massive national distributors with hundreds of millions in assets and liabilities, underscoring how financial hardship remains uneven across the freight economy as small trucking companies struggle alongside larger logistics businesses confronting debt loads and restructuring challenges.

Finally, we explore how federal regulators are moving ahead with pilot programs that could fundamentally reshape how truck drivers manage their workdays. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Thursday that ⁠it has completed pre-tests for its Flexible Sleeper Berth and Split Duty Period pilot programs⁠ and is reviewing results ahead of a planned full launch in twenty twenty-seven. The Split Duty Period pilot would allow participating drivers to pause the critical fourteen-hour driving window for up to three hours per day, effectively giving drivers more ability to wait out heavy traffic or severe weather.

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Ben Peterson comes on to discuss budgeting strategies for shippers heading into budget season, plus a slough of economic data to cover. 

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Welcome back to FreightWaves Today! Host Malcolm Harris and Zach Strickland kick off today's show breaking down the latest supply chain headlines, market data, and major industry developments.

Morning Minute Headlines: Kenco successfully deploys six supply chain AI agents in just three months with Deep Fabric; Canadian authorities seize nearly 850 lbs of cocaine at the Bluewater Bridge; and a deep dive into the massive global container ship order book pressuring ocean rates.

State of Freight Fraud: Danielle Spinelli (Director of Partnerships at Gen Logs & "The Fraud Girl") breaks down Q2 cargo theft trends, high-value target risks, and how Gen Logs' nationwide sensor network helps catch criminals and assist law enforcement.

$100M Tech Acquisition: Andrew Wimer and Mitch Mitchell join the show to discuss Descartes acquiring Ty Software. Learn how combining AI-powered brokerage workflows with global visibility tools like MacroPoint aims to streamline broker operations into a single execution layer.

Driver-Led Innovation: 20-year veteran professional truck driver James Boyce, founder of Bubba Lee LLC, introduces the "Trucker Tote"—a modular console designed to eliminate cab distractions, improve safety, and help fleets prevent thermonuclear verdicts.

SONAR & Freightnomics Update: Lead Economist DJ Donahue and Ben Peterson (Head of Shipper Solutions) join Zach for a deep dive into tender rejections, Q2 GDP revisions, PCE inflation figures, and strategic shipper advice for the upcoming bid season.

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Trucking says young people don't want to drive trucks. BULLSH*T. They're showing up. The real question is why we keep losing them....

With driver turnover still hammering parts of the industry, trucking keeps searching for the next generation while arguing about recruiting, CDL training, driver pay and a supposed lack of young people willing to work.

What if the pipeline isn't actually the biggest problem? What if it's what happens AFTER they enter it?

On this episode of Brake Check, Charles sits down with Lindsey Trent, President and Co-Founder of Next Generation in Trucking, and Tim Crawford, Co-Founder and CEO of Tenstreet, to dig into what it will actually take to recruit ... and KEEP .... trucking's next generation.

We break down young truck drivers, Gen Z in trucking, CDL training, Workforce Pell, high-school CDL programs, apprenticeships, driver recruiting, onboarding, mentorship, home time and driver retention.

Can small trucking companies realistically build relationships with high schools and CDL programs? Who pays the training bill? What happens to 18-to-20-year-old CDL holders who can't run interstate? What does the next generation actually expect from a carrier? And are fleets building careers young people want — or just feeding more drivers into the same turnover machine?

Then we turn to the technology side.

Tenstreet CEO Tim Crawford joins us to discuss small-fleet technology, carrier verification, fraud prevention, compliance, broker trust and Driver Pulse Fleet — including why legitimate carriers increasingly feel like they're being treated as guilty until proven innocent and what small fleets can do to better prove who they are.

We also tackle one uncomfortable question trucking can't avoid:If changing jobs can cost a driver thousands of dollars and they're STILL willing to pay it just to leave your company...what does that say about YOU?

The next generation isn't some future trucking problem.

THEY'RE ALREADY HERE.

Now trucking has to give them a reason to stay.

#Trucking #TruckDrivers #GenZ #CDL #CDLTraining #DriverRecruiting #DriverRetention #OwnerOperator #TruckingIndustry #Freight

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Greg Feary runs the most powerful transportation law firm in America. Scopelitis represents the nation's largest trucking companies — when a mega-fleet gets sued, there's a good chance his firm answers the phone. He's spent four decades watching carriers get dismantled in deposition rooms, and prepping them to survive it.

So I asked him to do something no guest has done on this show.Depose me.

Mid-episode, we run it live. I play the owner of a nine-truck fleet after a serious crash — a fictional company, built from every real carrier I've ever coached. The 1099 drivers in company trucks. The driver files that got started and never finished. The dash cams nobody watches. The dispatch text that says push through. Greg does what the other side's lawyer would do with all of it, and I sit there and take it, so you can hear exactly what that room sounds like before you're ever in it.

Then we break down where I died, what would have saved me, and the truth his four words on our intake form captured better than any regulation ever has — carrier vetting is fluid. The safety bar isn't set by the FMCSA anymore. It's set by juries, after the crash, and most small carriers are being measured against a standard they've never seen.

We close with the misclassification time bomb sitting under half the small fleets in this country, and what the biggest carriers in America are doing right now that you can't see from the driver's seat.

You've been told your paperwork will be used against you. Today you hear it happen.

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