Regulatory whiplash in California as the state effectively held a funeral for the two largest components of the Advanced Clean Fleet Rules, including mandates for high-priority fleets and drayage trucks. Despite the official withdrawal of these mandates by CARB, zero-emission vehicle sales are surprisingly growing in the state, suggesting market momentum is now driven by factors beyond regulatory pressure.

The ongoing pricing standoff in the parcel sector, where UPS and FedEx are imposing significant peak season surcharges despite projections for muted demand growth, has heated up. Analysts warn that demanding these high fees in a soft market is short-sighted, leading to a major diversion of volume to alternative carriers like Amazon, Walmart, and independent services like OnTrac.

Our brief concludes with the tectonic plates shifting in corporate freight strategy, starting with the massive $85 billion UP-NS merger that is already forcing competitors like CSX to seek its own merger partner after a CEO change. Meanwhile, ArcBest unveiled an ambitious plan to double its adjusted earnings per share by 2028 by targeting a highly optimized, asset-based operating ratio of 87% to 90% through technology and cost controls.

Finally, we address the industry's perennial challenge of safety, noting that Wyoming currently tops the list for deadly truck crashes by death rate while Texas leads the nation in total fatalities by volume. These sobering statistics are fueling calls from victim advocates for mandatory safety technology, specifically demanding that all new commercial trucks be equipped with Automatic Emergency Braking.

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