FreightWaves Today

In this episode, we kick things off by examining a massive milestone in cross-border commerce as US-Mexico trade smashed the monthly record at nearly $95 billion in July. Two-way trade surged 27.5% year over year, with Mexico now firmly holding its position as America's number one trading partner ahead of Canada and China. Laredo, Texas, retained its crown as the nation's busiest international trade gateway, handling nearly $37 billion in commerce while experiencing tight trucking capacity.

Meanwhile, federal regulators are giving carriers some breathing room during a major technology transition. We discuss how FMCSA suspended enforcement of biennial update requirements and stopped deactivating USDOT numbers for missed filings. The relief covers deadlines on or after June 1, 2026, and remains in place while registrants transition to the agency's new MOTUS system, which launched in May.

Finally, we unpack the federal government's aggressive crackdown on alleged CDL fraud as ICE launched a tip line for reporting suspected commercial driver's license fraud in partnership with the Department of Transportation. The tip line comes shortly after federal officials removed over 110 commercial driver training schools from a federal registry, with HSI already receiving more than 1,000 leads involving CDL-related businesses suspected of unsafe practices and potential connections to human smuggling, drug trafficking, and cartel activity.

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On this episode of FreightWaves Today, Malcolm Harris and Julie Van de Kamp break down the latest developments shaping freight, transportation and global supply chains.

The show leads with escalating trade tensions as Canada imposes retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on nearly $20 billion of U.S. goods, while President Donald Trump raises the possibility of further changes to trade with Mexico, Canada and the European Union. The hosts examine what the uncertainty could mean for cross-border freight, manufacturers, shippers and transportation costs.

Then, Jason Murray, CEO and co-founder of Shipium, and Penny Allen, SVP of AI Product and Engineering, join the show to discuss Shipium's new "Always-On Audit." They explain how AI-powered, continuous auditing can track shipments in real time, identify billing and data issues, catch problems before they become costly and automate freight-payment reconciliation.

The team also digs into the deadly Amazon cargo jet crash at Miami International Airport with FreightWaves air and parcel expert Eric Kulisch. Eric provides an update on the NTSB investigation, the sequence of events surrounding the Boeing 767 freighter's runway overrun and the potential implications for air cargo operations at one of the country's key international gateways.

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In this episode, we kick things off by examining the massive trade escalation adding serious costs and uncertainty across North American supply chains. Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs of up to fifty percent on nearly twenty billion dollars worth of U.S. goods following the collapse of bilateral trade negotiations in August. These duties target hundreds of American products, from steel and aluminum to dairy, clothing, furniture, and industrial equipment, impacting one of the world's largest bilateral trading relationships.

Meanwhile, investigators are piecing together critical details from Sunday's deadly cargo jet crash at Miami International Airport. National Transportation Safety Board officials revealed that the Amazon Boeing 767 freighter was carrying over thirty-two thousand pounds of contact lenses and failed to deploy critical systems meant to slow the aircraft upon landing. The plane hovered well past the normal runway zone, ran off the runway at one hundred eighty-one miles per hour, and plowed into vehicles and fences, leaving five people dead.

Finally, we unpack President Trump's dramatic escalation of trade rhetoric against America's largest trading partners. During a September fourth Oval Office news conference, Trump suggested the U.S. could stop trading with Mexico and other countries where it runs large trade deficits, claiming America could prosper by reducing its dependence on foreign trade. Trump singled out Mexico, Canada, and the European Union, arguing the U.S. could eliminate trade deficits simply by refusing to trade with those markets.

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On this episode of FreightWaves Today, the team breaks down the latest freight market developments as the industry heads into fall peak season. Topics include the deadly cargo plane accident at Miami International Airport, rising truckload tender rejections, spot and contract rate trends, strong intermodal demand and what the latest SONAR data signals for the weeks ahead.

The episode also explores record-high diesel prices and their impact on carriers and brokers, along with the evolving legal and regulatory landscape facing the trucking industry. Plus, the team looks at autonomous trucking, automation and the potential for consolidation across freight and logistics.

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In this episode, we kick things off with a tragic cargo jet accident that has crippled half of Miami International Airport's operations. An Amazon Air Boeing 767 freighter operated by 21 Air overran a runway during landing, struck multiple vehicles on a nearby road, and caught fire, leaving five people dead and five seriously injured. Listen in to learn how two of Miami's four runways remain closed following the deadly Amazon cargo jet accident, causing massive flight disruptions while the National Transportation Safety Board investigates the runway excursion that occurred at one hundred thirty miles per hour.

Shifting gears to the rails, we examine a rare display of Democratic Party unity just weeks before crucial midterm elections. More than one hundred House Democrats are demanding that railroad workers come first in the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern mega-merger review by the Surface Transportation Board. The eighty-five billion dollar deal would create the first transcontinental freight railroad and the largest rail network in U.S. history, but union leaders warn that Union Pacific's lifetime employment offer does not fully protect some critical positions.

Finally, we cover a critical visa enforcement dispute threatening to disrupt cross-border freight flows between Mexico and the United States. Mexican trucking industry leaders are intensifying calls for clarity after a trucker protest raised the stakes in the escalating Mexico-U.S. B-1 visa dispute with drivers blocking the Mexicali-Calexico East border crossing. Mexico's National Chamber of Freight Transportation estimates more than twenty-five thousand visas have been revoked from commercial drivers, potentially disrupting time-sensitive shipments including medical products, technology, food, and perishables.

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FreightWaves Today takes a look back at some of the biggest conversations shaping freight and transportation in this special edition featuring a collection of standout interviews from the summer.

Malcolm Harris and the FreightWaves team dig into the real-world performance of the Tesla Semi with Inter-coastal Trucking’s Bob Lewis, including driver feedback, range, charging infrastructure, maintenance savings and where electric trucks make the most sense in a fleet.

The show also explores the state of the rail freight market with Telegraph’s David Correll, including rail volume forecasts, coal exports, tank car availability, AI data center construction and the growing gap between truck and intermodal pricing.

Freight market strategy takes center stage with RXO Chief Strategy Officer Jared Weisfeld, who discusses the ongoing capacity correction, tightening freight markets, shipper concerns, routing guide failures, spot versus contract rates and why he believes the industry could be entering a multi-year freight recovery.

Mitsubishi HC Capital America’s Kirk Mann joins the conversation to examine the equipment financing market, the impact of the freight recession on small carriers, truck values, lending conditions and what fleets are doing as the market begins to recover.

Finally, Ken Adamo of EASE Logistics weighs in on current freight volumes, seasonality, intermodal growth, contract repricing and the question of whether new capacity is actually entering the trucking market.

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On this episode of FreightWaves Today, Malcolm Harris and Zach Strickland break down the latest developments shaping freight, logistics and the broader economy.

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In this episode, we kick things off in Washington, where the public comment period has just closed on a major Environmental Protection Agency proposal that could fundamentally reshape how diesel engine systems operate. Listen in to learn how the EPA's controversial plan to replace engine deratement with warning signals has drawn nearly two hundred submissions spanning industry praise and sharp environmental criticism, while the proposal also includes nonconformance penalties allowing manufacturers to pay fines and continue selling current products.

Next, we explore the results of a sweeping series of state enforcement blitzes where inspectors uncovered thousands of safety violations and placed ninety-nine drivers out of service across six states. Texas authorities led with a brutal operation in the Permian Basin that posted a staggering forty-seven point six percent vehicle out-of-service rate, averaging five point five violations per inspection and signaling dramatically heightened enforcement exposure for carriers operating through major freight corridors.

Finally, we examine the ocean freight market as trans-Pacific container rates climb to fresh highs on resilient peak-season demand and severe port congestion caused by typhoons hammering Chinese and regional Asian facilities since mid-July. Asia-to-U.S. West Coast spot rates increased to seven thousand six hundred twenty-one dollars per forty-foot unit, while a succession of disruptions at Shanghai and Ningbo has forced carriers to omit port calls and adjust vessel rotations, creating significant capacity constraints supporting freight rates across multiple trade lanes.

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AI is transforming freight operations, but how far can automation go — and what happens when location intelligence, rail networks and energy markets collide?

On this episode of FreightWaves Today, Malcolm Harris and Julie Van de Kamp break down the biggest stories and trends shaping transportation and logistics.

The show opens with three major headlines: an alleged Texas grain theft ring involving more than 170 loads, a federal crackdown on 110 commercial driver training schools, and the latest developments in Yellow Corp.’s bankruptcy and pension settlements.

Then, EAIGLE CEO and founder Amir Hoss joins the show to explain how AI-powered computer vision is automating truck gates and yards. The discussion covers unmanned and paperless facilities, real-time yard visibility, fraud prevention, data accuracy and the path toward fully autonomous yards.

HERE Technologies’ Bart Coppelmans discusses the next phase of AI in logistics, including spatial reasoning, location intelligence and the importance of connecting planning, execution and analytics. He explains how AI can help fleets make better routing decisions while keeping humans in control of critical decisions.

For the weekly rail segment, Trains Magazine editor Bill Stephens and Trinity Rail Chief Commercial Officer Charlie Moore break down the latest rail traffic numbers, railcar demand, intermodal growth, coal shipments, tariffs and steel costs. They also discuss the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, rail service reliability and what could drive railcar demand into 2027.

Finally, FreightWaves editor-at-large John Kingston takes a deep dive into surging diesel prices, refinery constraints, Russia-Ukraine disruptions, the Strait of Hormuz and what historically high diesel costs could mean for trucking and the broader economy.

Plus, Julie breaks down the latest manufacturing and logistics data, including the August PMI and Logistics Managers’ Index, with a look at transportation capacity, utilization, pricing and what the numbers could mean heading into peak season.

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In this episode, we kick things off with a massive organized crime investigation that has rocked the agricultural sector across Texas. Authorities have linked three men to an alleged theft ring involving one hundred seventy-six grain loads valued at over eight hundred thousand dollars, spanning more than nine million pounds of stolen agricultural product. The inquiry now covers over two hundred confirmed or potentially stolen shipments, with additional arrests remaining possible as investigators unravel this elaborate network.

Next, we explore a sweeping federal crackdown on substandard driver training facilities as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy orders the emergency shutdown of one hundred ten commercial driving schools nationwide. These schools collectively certified more than five thousand drivers who were later cited for failing to meet federal English-language proficiency requirements during roadside inspections, raising serious questions about the quality and integrity of commercial driver training across the country.

Finally, we cover the winding down of one of trucking's most significant bankruptcies as defunct Yellow Corporation reaches settlement agreements totaling up to five hundred twenty-six million dollars to resolve remaining withdrawal liability claims with four multiemployer pension plans. If approved by the federal bankruptcy court in Delaware, the liquidating trust would finally be able to make distributions to creditors, bringing an end to a legal battle that began when the carrier filed for bankruptcy in August twenty twenty-three.

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