FreightCasts

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We begin with news of a ⁠Houthi attack on the Liberian-flagged bulk tanker, Magic Seas⁠, in the Red Sea, marking the first such incident on commercial shipping since December of last year. This attack, which occurred 51 nautical miles southwest of Hudaydah, Yemen, led to the vessel being set on fire and sinking, with its 23-person crew abandoning ship. 

UPS plans to offer ⁠voluntary buyouts to unionized drivers⁠ for the first time in their history, as part of an effort to eliminate approximately 20,000 frontline positions and increase profits. While drivers taking the buyout would receive a generous financial package and earned retirement benefits, the Teamsters union strongly opposes this plan, viewing it as an illegal violation of their contract's commitment to creating new jobs. 

In other news, DP World, a global ports and logistics operator, is seizing ⁠significant opportunities across Latin America⁠, having recently opened a freight forwarding hub in Mexico City to support rising demand in US-Mexico cross-border logistics. The company has expanded aggressively in the Americas over the last two years, establishing 35 freight forwarding offices, including locations in Brazil and Toronto.

Finally, don't miss out on upcoming Freight Waves events, including a new episode of ⁠What The Truck?!?⁠ today at noon, with a replay on Road Dog Trucking at 6 p.m.. Also, remember to sign up for the ⁠Enterprise Fleet Summit⁠ on July 23rd and the ⁠Supply Chain AI Symposium⁠ on July 30th in Washington DC, both accessible for registration at ⁠live.freightwaves.com⁠.

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Welcome back to Fuller Speed Ahead: Generation Grit! In Part 2 of our captivating interview, Craig Fuller continues his conversation with his father, Max Fuller, unraveling more incredible stories from the family's deep roots in the trucking industry.

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Charles Yang tells JP Hampstead about his contribution to the Techno-Industrial Playbook, which explains the levers that the government can pull to expand financing for domestic critical mineral processing. Charles and JP discuss the economics of minerals commodity markets and the risks that domestic processors take on by entering a market whose prices can be manipulated by China.

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In this episode of The Long Haul, Adam sits down with Clay and Nick from FreshX to talk about one of the biggest shifts happening in the freight market right now—reefer LTL. They break down how food and beverage shippers are rethinking distribution, why reefer LTL is gaining momentum, and how tech is finally making it accessible to small carriers.If you’ve got a reefer unit and you’re tired of chasing one-off loads, this episode shows you how to build smarter weeks, tap into higher-paying opportunities, and position yourself for the new direction the market is heading. Clay and Nick don’t just talk theory—they’ve built the tech that’s actually changing the game.

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Uncertainty surrounds U.S. and China trade relations as the July 9th tariff pause deadline approaches. President Donald Trump has announced an agreement for China to resume rare earth minerals trade in exchange for some U.S. tariff relief, with negotiations to be finalized after the Fourth of July holiday.

The U.S. Postal Service has rolled out the second phase of its new delivery standards nationwide, aiming to improve operational efficiency and reduce transportation costs. These initiatives involve expanding reduced surface transportation schedules from regional processing centers to more distant post offices, intending to eliminate inefficient trucking trips and potentially save $36 billion over 10 years.

A new LA-to-New York passenger train proposal by AmeriStarRail is set to carry long-haul trucks and their drivers. This coast-to-coast service, in partnership with Amtrak, promises to complete the journey in less than 72 hours, offering truck drivers drive-aboard service with access to Amtrak's coach, sleeper, and dining cars. The operation could potentially begin as early as May of next year.

Listeners are also invited to explore new content on FreightWaves TV. Upcoming episodes include The Long Haul with Adam Wingfield and Bring It Home with JP Hamstead, offering further insights into the freight industry.

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Join Thomas Wasson on this episode of Truck Tech as he delves into the complex world of emerging autonomous vehicle (AV) regulations with expert Adam Raviv. Adam, Global Co-Chair of Sidley's Automotive and Mobility Practice and former Chief Counsel at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), provides unparalleled insights into the current regulatory landscape for autonomous trucks and robotaxis.

Discover why there's a "Wild West" of state and local rules, the implications of existing federal motor vehicle safety standards, and the critical role of safety cases in AV development. Adam breaks down how agencies like NHTSA and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) interact, creating a multi-headed regulatory challenge for companies.

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This is a must-watch for anyone in the trucking industry, autonomous technology sector, or simply interested in the future of transportation and its legal framework.

#TruckTech #AutonomousVehicles #AVRegulation #SelfDrivingTrucks #Robotaxis #NHTSA #FMCSA #AutonomousDriving #TruckingIndustry #FutureOfFreight #LegalFramework #SafetyCase #AVSTEP #SidleyAustin #Mobility #CleanTransportation #Innovation #TransportationPolicy #RegulatoryAffairs #AutonomousTech

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On episode 857 of WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Dooner is talking about a big draw down in driver wages and earnings. ATRI calls it, “The highest costs ever recorded by ATRI for non-fuel operating costs.” Is it going to be a summer of struggle for truckers and fleets?

Shell’s Supertruck 3.0 is off to the races. Shell’s Scott Burian tells us all about the truck and its role on the race circuit pulling the Pennzoil Tech Inspection Trailer for the rest of the 2025 season.

Secretary Duffy joined the show last week to break news about $275 million going towards truck parking. Truck Parking Club’s Reed Loustalot drops by the studio to talk about how it will help drivers park safely. We’ll also learn about his move to Chattanooga and how they’re putting the club in Truck Parking Club. 

Catch new shows live at noon EDT Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on FreightWaves LinkedIn, Facebook, X or YouTube, or on demand by looking up WHAT THE TRUCK?!? on your favorite podcast player and at 6 p.m. Eastern on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Trucking Channel 146.

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One of the largest food shipper bankruptcies in recent years involves Del Monte Foods filing for Chapter 11, impacting logistics providers like Uber Freight, which is owed $9 million. While pre-bankruptcy amounts are unsecured and repayment remains uncertain, there's hope that post-filing services may be paid more promptly under tighter court oversight and credit restraints.

The U.S. Postal Service has expanded new delivery standards nationwide in its second phase, aiming to boost efficiency and slash costs by an estimated $36 billion over the next decade. This revamp involves consolidating facilities, eliminating redundant trucking trips, and streamlining mail processing, adapting to a dramatic shift in mail volume.

On a more alarming note, recent weeks have seen over $31 million worth of illegal drugs seized at U.S. and Canadian border ports from commercial shipments. Supply chain risk firm Overhaul also assisted in recovering stolen rail freight cargo in California and Illinois, highlighting ongoing challenges of cargo theft.

Let's turn to fuel prices, where benchmark diesel prices have cooled off after a spike linked to geopolitical fears, declining by nearly 5 cents per gallon to $3.727/gallon. Interestingly, diesel is trading in backwardation, where the front-month price is higher than later months, indicating tight inventory conditions and making its prices more sensitive than crude oil.

Moving to the workforce, new data reveals truck driver wage growth is slowing in 2025 after strong increases in 2021 and 2022, projected to slow further to less than 1% during early 2025. This cooling is driven by reduced demand for drivers and a broader slowdown in national wage growth, despite non-fuel operational costs for trucking hitting record highs.

Finally, experts agree that constant, overlapping disruptions have reshaped the global trade environment into a new normal, termed "compound disruptions". Building resilient supply chains in this era requires foresight, agility, a digital-first mindset, and enhanced collaboration between shippers and carriers.

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Del Monte Foods has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, marking one of the largest food shipper bankruptcies in recent years, with over $1 billion in liabilities. This event profoundly impacts transportation and logistics companies, including Uber Freight (listed as Transplace in the filing), which is owed over $9 million, as detailed in the article "Uber Freight faces $9M hit in Del Monte Bankruptcy".

A new report from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), indicates a continuing downward trend in driver wage growth from 2024 through the first quarter of 2025. This deceleration, attributed to reduced driver demand, saw the rate of growth drop significantly from 7.6% in 2023 to 2.4% in 2024, and only 0.9% in the first two months of 2025, as further explained in "Truck driver wages downshifting in 2025".

There is growing speculation around the next Class One railroad merger in the United States, fueled by a surge of investor interest from a UK investor. While major mergers were once considered a thing of the past due to strict regulatory oversight, the industry's desire for structural changes and improvements could drive new east-west merger possibilities, a topic explored in "UK investor sees not one, but two, pathways to rail mergers".

Finally, tune in to FreightWaves TV for What The Truck?!? live at noon. Also, mark your calendars for the Enterprise Fleet Summit on July 23rd and the Supply Chain AI Symposium in Washington D.C. at the end of this month.

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