FreightWaves Today

In this episode, we kick things off with a sobering snapshot of the freight industry's ongoing financial pain. Four companies are eliminating nearly 250 jobs at logistics and distribution facilities across New Jersey, North Carolina, Illinois, and California, while nine transportation and logistics-related companies have recently sought bankruptcy protection. The largest announced workforce reduction involves Fusion Transport, a New Jersey logistics provider planning to lay off seventy-nine employees at its Piscataway facility effective October first, while bankruptcy filings continue to pile up across multiple freight segments.

Next, we shift over to the agricultural freight sector, where a strategic acquisition is dramatically expanding access to specialized livestock hauling services. Springfield, Missouri-based BulkLoads announced Monday that it has acquired Livestock Network, an online load board and community serving the livestock transportation industry since 2000. Livestock Network members will now gain access to BulkLoads' broader ecosystem of products, including Smart Freight Funding for freight factoring, Bulk Insurance Group, BulkTMS transportation management software, and Bulk Freight Insights market intelligence.

Finally, we unpack a staggering shift in driver compensation as the Truck Driver Pay Index surged by 13.5 percent in just two months. Jointly calculated by AscendTMS and Superior Trucking Payroll Services, the index hit 170.04 in June, up from 150.83 in April — easily the highest two-month gain in the history of the index, which has been calculated since 2020. With a typical lag of four to six months between higher spot rates and driver pay, experts suggest more increases are likely in the coming weeks and months.

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In this episode, we kick things off by examining the massive strategic restructuring at project44 that splits the visibility giant into two distinct businesses. The company is separating into project44, which will serve enterprise shippers as a decision intelligence platform, and LSP44, a newly launched AI-native infrastructure business built exclusively for logistics service providers. LSP44 launches with day-one profitability and processes a staggering seven hundred six million carrier events daily across four continents.

Next, we explore a significant development in the legal arena as a driver misclassification lawsuit against Illinois-based Risinger Brothers Transfer gains class action status. The drivers allege that Risinger misclassified them as independent contractors rather than employees, and that wage deductions for truck payments, insurance, fuel, and maintenance left some drivers earning below minimum wage for all hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Finally, we break down a strategic infrastructure project in the Middle East as DP World plans a new UAE port near Fujairah to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The new container terminal would lessen dependence on the UAE's Port of Jebel Ali and route cargo through the Gulf of Oman instead. This move comes amid heightened regional tensions and President Trump's recent suggestion that the U.S. seize control of the critical chokepoint and charge vessels a toll for passage.

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Welcome to another Monday edition of FreightWaves Today! Hosts Craig Fuller and Julie Van de Kamp are back in the studio to break down a massive week for the logistics and transportation sectors. As the market continues its recovery, we tackle the latest geopolitical escalations impacting global shipping routes, preview the start of Q2 earnings season with JB Hunt, and look at how artificial intelligence is transforming truck financing and historical transactional standards like EDI.

Featured guests:

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In this episode, we kick things off with a major escalation in the Middle East that's sending shockwaves through global energy markets and ocean shipping. Iran on Saturday attacked a feeder container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz, setting the seven-thousand-TEU GFS Galaxy ablaze and forcing the crew to abandon ship. Iran over the weekend declared the strait closed to vessel traffic and expanded missile and drone attacks across the region, pushing Brent crude up about twelve percent, European natural gas up nearly seventy percent, and U.S. gasoline futures up roughly ten percent since late last week.

Next, we explore the automotive sector where Toyota is making a massive three-point-six-billion-dollar bet on Texas manufacturing with a stunning expansion in San Antonio. The Japanese automaker is shifting production of its popular Tacoma pickup from Baja California, Mexico, to San Antonio as part of an investment that will double the size of its Texas manufacturing campus and create two thousand new jobs over the next four years.

Finally, we break down how Wall Street is raising the bar for trucking carriers heading into second-quarter earnings season. Deutsche Bank analyst Richa Harnain is forecasting mainly beats across her transportation coverage, with less-than-truckload carriers leading the charge. She expects median earnings-per-share growth of fifteen percent year-over-year for the second quarter and twenty-one percent for the third quarter, marking a meaningful improvement from the three percent increase the group recorded in the first quarter.

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It’s Friday, and while the domestic spot market is hitting a bit of a post-holiday summer lull, the freight industry at large is facing massive structural, legislative, and tech shifts. In this episode of FreightWaves Today, hosts Craig Fuller and Julie Van de Kamp sit down with top industry analysts and experts to break down the biggest headlines moving the market this week.

We dive deep into a jaw-dropping $104 million nuclear jury verdict against Mesilla Valley Transportation, unpack the EPA’s newly finalized 470-page NOx emissions regulations, and discuss reports that tech giant Trimble is planning to sell off its transportation division. Plus, maintenance and legal expert Matt Loeffler stops by for Freight Expectations to sound the alarm on a sophisticated new type of trailer leasing fraud emerging on social media.

Featured guests:

Lee Klaskow (Senior Transportation Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence): Joins us to break down Wall Street's red-hot interest in truckload and LTL stocks, why the current capacity correction feels more structural than cyclical, and what to expect from the upcoming Q2 earnings season.

Bart De Muynck (Founder, Bart De Muynck LLC): Weighs in on reports that Trimble is looking to divest its transportation unit. We discuss why European software like Transporion often struggles to gain a foothold in North America, and how modern architecture and real-time AI solutions are shifting the enterprise software landscape.

Matt Leffler (The Armchair Attorney): Returns for Freight Expectations to dissect the legal mechanics of the massive $104M verdict, how cross-border carriers manage equipment safety, the heavy technical/cost burden of the EPA's new diesel aftertreatment regulations, and a dangerous new asset scam hitting independent truckers.

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In this episode, we kick things off by examining a strategic financial comeback landing at precisely the right moment for the intermodal sector. STG Logistics has emerged from Chapter 11 protection after slashing its funded debt by approximately ninety percent and securing one hundred fifty million dollars in fresh capital from Fortress, Fidelity and Invesco. The timing couldn't be better: intermodal is currently thirty-one percent cheaper than over-the-road truckload service, helping drive an eight percent year-over-year increase in total intermodal traffic on U.S. Class I railroads during the second quarter.

Next, we explore a major wrongful death verdict sending shockwaves through the truckload sector. An El Paso jury has awarded one hundred four million dollars against Mesilla Valley Transportation and one of its drivers following a fatal crash in twenty twenty where an MVT driver and company trainer fell asleep at the wheel, causing his tractor-trailer to drift onto the shoulder and strike a parked box truck, killing co-driver Orlando Robles who was asleep in the sleeper berth. The jury awarded Robles' son twenty million dollars in compensatory damages and seven point five million dollars in punitive damages, with the overall verdict totaling one hundred four million dollars for the surviving family.

Finally, we unpack a costly contractual bind forcing the U.S. Postal Service to fly mail it would rather send by truck. According to a report from the agency's Office of Inspector General, postal officials are spending more than intended because minimum volume commitments under its UPS air cargo contract prevent shifting more pieces to cheaper surface transportation. The percentage of First-Class mail traveling by air skyrocketed from two percent in October twenty twenty-four to fifty percent by March twenty twenty-five, directly contradicting the Postal Service's broader strategy to shift volume to trucking contractors and save money.

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Welcome back to FreightWaves Today! In this jam-packed episode, we break down why the freight market is showing intense resilience during a typical holiday lull and look ahead at what could be the next massive freight super cycle.

From massive rail network mergers to the latest macro-economic strains shifting supply chains, we’ve got the data, the insights, and the expert perspectives you need to stay ahead of the curve.

Anne Reinke, President & CEO of the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), joins the show to discuss why domestic intermodal is booming, tackling data fragmentation via AI, and battling the disturbing rise of mid-transit cargo theft.

Chris Wofford, Managing Partner of Wofford Advisors, weighs in on the return of private equity, capital deployment, asset vs. asset-light valuations, and whether structural changes are driving an industry consolidation "barbell."

Zach Strickland is joined by Dr. Zach Rogers to unpack the latest Logistics Managers' Index (LMI) data. Discover the widening divide between large and small firms, inventory stocking trends, and why transportation utilization has hit its highest rate expansion in eight years.

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In this episode, we kick things off with an exclusive look inside the massive rail merger that could reshape the U.S. economy. During the July Fourth weekend celebration in Philadelphia, FreightWaves spoke with Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena and Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George about their pending merger alongside the iconic Big Boy No. 4014 steam locomotive. As the Surface Transportation Board begins its formal review, the executives remain highly optimistic about approval despite extensive regulatory hurdles ahead.

Meanwhile, a potentially groundbreaking New York City law targeting Amazon and its Direct Service Providers has gone quiet for the summer, but sources say significant changes may be brewing. The proposed Delivery Protection Act shows no action since an April public hearing as amendment season unfolds behind closed doors. The legislation would prohibit subcontracting deliveries and require all last-mile workers to be directly employed by facility operators, though backers appear open to changes including a possible joint employer structure.

Finally, we explore Mexico's trucking industry as it faces a brutal driver shortage that's threatening cross-border trade and domestic freight movement. A new survey by the International Road Transport Union reveals that fourteen percent of commercial driver positions in Mexico are sitting vacant, the second highest rate among eighteen markets surveyed. With roughly ninety thousand trucks currently sitting idle due to the shortage, and that figure potentially climbing above one hundred eight thousand by 2028, the crisis poses a critical threat to manufacturers and exporters that depend on road transportation.

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Welcome to Freight Racing Day! It’s Wednesday, which means we are diving deep into the massive waves of data shaping the industrial economy. From the newly released Logistics Managers Index (LMI) to record-breaking rail reports, we are breaking down everything you need to know about the current, highly robust state of the freight market.

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