Schneider (NYSE: SNDR) reported adjusted earnings per share of 12 cents in the period, which was 2 cents above consensus but 4 cents lower year over year. Consolidated revenue of $1.4 billion was in line with the prior year and just below the $1.42 billion consensus estimate.

Truckload revenue increased 1% y/y to $618 million, excluding fuel surcharges. A 1% decline in average trucks in service was more than offset by a 3% increase in revenue per truck per week (productivity). The company noted productivity gains across both its network (one-way) and dedicated fleets.

Productivity increased 7.3% y/y at its one-way fleet. The increase was mostly driven by improved truck utilization, with better pricing helping to a lesser degree. The company said price renewals are currently at the highest levels since 2021, noting an expectation for mid- to high-single-digit one-way contract rate increases through bid season. It will also seek double-digit rate increases with transactional shippers, as pricing at those accounts fell the most during the downturn.

The company said that some dedicated customers are looking to grow truck counts, with a focus on carrier partners providing high tender acceptance. It sold dedicated service on 150 trucks in the quarter but noted some near-term churn.

The TL unit reported a 96.7% adjusted operating ratio (inverse of operating margin), which was 80 basis points worse y/y.

Intermodal revenue declined 3% y/y to $254 million (excluding fuel), as a slight increase in load count was offset by a 4% decline in revenue per load. A shorter length of haul led to the yield decline. Schneider is seeing incremental intermodal conversion opportunities and said it has enough containers to accommodate double-digit volume growth.

Intermodal reported a 95.7% OR, which was 100 bps worse y/y. Lower yields and higher maintenance costs were headwinds. Container turns improved 1% in the period.

Logistics revenue (excluding fuel) fell 6% y/y to $312 million, as lower volumes were only partially offset by higher revenue per load. Even with a net revenue margin squeeze due to surging spot rates (higher purchased transportation costs), OR was only 30 bps worse y/y at 97.9%.

2026 outlook reiterated

Schneider reiterated its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance range of 70 cents to $1, noting “macro uncertainty has grown” in recent weeks. The outlook bracketed an 85-cent consensus estimate at the time of the print. (The company reported full-year 2025 adjusted EPS of 63 cents.)

Net debt leverage ended the quarter at 0.3x, flat with year-end 2025. Schneider reiterated net capex guidance of $400 million to $450 million for the year. Net capex totaled $289 million in 2025. It plans to use free cash flow to fund share repurchases, dividends and M&A.

Schneider previously announced President and CEO Mark Rourke will become executive chairman of the board on July 1. At that time, Jim Filter, Schneider executive vice president and president of transportation and logistics, will succeed Rourke as the company’s president and CEO. Filter is also expected to be appointed to the board at a later date.

Shares of SNDR were up 4.9% at 11:07 a.m. EDT on Friday compared to the S&P 500, which was up 0.5%.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

• XPO could soon see sub-80% ORs
• Saia eyes margin turnaround amid improving demand
• Old Dominion eyeing y/y margin improvement in Q2

The post Schneider targeting significant rate recovery in bid season appeared first on FreightWaves.

The funding, awarded through the U.S. Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program, will support construction of a new container yard and a new exit gate at Bayport. Port Houston will also contribute roughly $56 million in matching funds for the project.

Port officials said the improvements are designed to handle growing cargo volumes while improving truck flow and safety. The project is expected to increase capacity by about 440,000 TEUs and reduce congestion by cutting truck turn times, saving millions of hours over the life of the project.

Port Houston is continuing to handle strong cargo volumes and heavy truck traffic across its terminals, underscoring the scale of activity moving through the gateway.

Chief Port Operations Officer Ryan Mariacher said the port handled nearly 14 million tons of cargo through the first quarter, with container terminals rebounding to a monthly record of about 180,000 loaded containers and surpassing 1 million TEUs for the quarter. 

“We’re seeing about 10,000 trucks a day going through both terminals, and that is held pretty steady,” Mariacher said at the port’s commission meeting on Tuesday. He added that vessel calls are up 9% year to date, with 523 ships calls.

Related: Port Houston March rebound pushes Q1 volumes past 1M TEUs

70 years of containerization

The announcement also comes as Port Houston marked a major milestone in maritime history. Tuesday marked the 70th anniversary of containerization at the port, when the SS Ideal X arrived in 1956 carrying 58 converted containers from Port Newark, New Jersey.

That voyage, pioneered by trucking entrepreneur Malcolm McLean, is widely credited with launching modern container shipping. The ship’s arrival in Houston demonstrated how standardized containers could dramatically speed up cargo handling—cutting loading times from days to hours and laying the foundation for today’s global supply chains.

The post Port Houston lands $48M federal grant for Bayport expansion  appeared first on FreightWaves.

“Families have lost loved ones, communities have suffered overwhelming sadness, and the nation has witnessed yet another catastrophic disaster involving an aircraft with a long-documented history of mechanical problems,”Rep. Morgan McGarvey said in a letter to the FAA last Friday. “We have a collective responsibility to ensure that no additional lives are put at risk by an aircraft whose design and operational history have repeatedly demonstrated an unacceptable level of danger.”

UPS Flight 2976 crashed during take off from Louisville International Airport as the left engine and a structural pylon detached from the wing shortly after the front landing gear lifted, igniting a fire. The cargo jet never got higher than 30 feet off the ground before striking a warehouse just beyond the Louisville airport’s perimeter and slamming into a storage yard and other buildings. Fourteen people died in the crash, including the three pilots.

Within days, the FAA banned MD-11s from flying until the entire fleet is thoroughly inspected and any necessary repairs are completed. The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary investigation found fatigue cracks in a structural section that held the engine to the left wing. 

The letter asserts the tragedy in Louisville was the result of a broader pattern of structural deficiencies, citing a long-documented history of mechanical problems as cause for the FAA to permanently ground the model of aircraft from service.

The MD-11 has experienced at least ten hull loss accidents since entering service in 1990 – the highest hull loss rate (per million departures) of any widebody commercial jet airliner still flying within the U.S. – according to Boeing. The manufacturer acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997 and is responsible for supporting airlines that fly the MD-11. 

“Investigators, pilots, and operators have continuously documented the aircraft’s tendencies toward instability on landing, center-of-gravity sensitivity, and structural stress around the engine pylons. Multiple cargo carriers have already decided that the aircraft poses unacceptable risk and have since retired the aircraft from their fleets voluntarily…. With a clear trend of users phasing out the MD-11, the FAA is one of the last major entities to have taken no action on removing this aircraft from commercial service,” wrote McGarvey, a Democrat. “Given the MD-11’s safety record, the NTSB’s preliminary report on the Louisville crash, and the FAA’s statutory obligations, I urge the FAA to take immediate steps to permanently ground the MD-11,” wrote McGarvey.

Only three U.S. airlines operate the aging MD-11. UPS (NYSE: UPS) in January decided to retire the 28 remaining MD-11s it owns. Western Global Airlines has not publicly commented on the MD-11’s future. FedEx (NYSE: FDX), however, is ramping up preparations to operate the plane again as soon as the FAA gives the okay. 

According to internal FedEx communiqués obtained by FreightWaves, FedEx is planning for the return to service of two MD-11s in May and the subsequent reactivation of all 27 freighters it owns. FedEx told air operations employees that Boeing has developed a part that will correct the MD-11’s structural problem and make the plane safe to operate. Pilots have been told to take refresher classes for the MD-11 and a town hall meeting is scheduled for next week to update airline personnel on how the planes will be reincorporated into the fleet and explain the Boeing fix.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

RELATED STORIES:

FedEx prepares to reactivate grounded MD-11 fleet in May

NTSB links fatigue cracks to fatal crash of UPS cargo jet

The post Kentucky congressman urges FAA to permanently shut down MD-11 aircraft appeared first on FreightWaves.

Traffix, the Ontario-based $1 billion gross revenue freight brokerage, paints a clear picture in its April 2026 report: demand is recovering while reduced capacity is driving a more reactive and volatile market. 

“It’s pretty clear we’re heading into a new cycle,” said Alex Fuller, Senior Director of Revenue Management and Solutions at Traffix, in an interview with FreightWaves. “People might have thought that January was a hangover from peak and February [volatility] was [caused by] weather. But in March and April, we’re clearly moving into a new cycle.”

The cycle Traffix describes is the classic freight-market rhythm, only this time the upswing arrives against a backdrop of structurally lower capacity. During the prolonged low-rate period of 2023-2025, a meaningful amount of truckload capacity left the industry. Regulatory enforcement, including English-language requirements for drivers and heightened scrutiny of non-domiciled CDLs, has further constrained the driver pool. Class 8 truck orders were strong in Q1 2026, but much of that activity reflects fleet replacement rather than net expansion.

On the demand side, freight volumes have snapped back into growth mode. March 2026 volumes were up approximately 8% year-over-year and reached multi-year highs, according to SONAR data cited in the report. Lean inventories, stronger manufacturing orders, and rising imports are all contributing. The ISM Manufacturing PMI has returned to expansion territory for multiple consecutive months, with new orders, production growth, and imports feeding increased freight demand. Meanwhile, the Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) Transportation Price Index has surged to its highest level since 2022, while the capacity index has dropped below 40—signaling a widening gap that is shifting pricing power back to carriers.

Fuel is adding accelerant to the fire. Diesel prices have increased sharply, up roughly 50% since early Q1 2026. Those costs are flowing through to transportation rates with minimal lag, amplifying an already tightening market. Yet Traffix and Fuller emphasize that fuel is not the primary driver. Linehaul rates (excluding fuel) are up approximately 30% year-over-year, confirming a genuine supply-demand imbalance.

Tender rejection rates have remained above 10% for more than two months, a level that reinforces the structurally tight market. “Higher rates should attract new capacity,” the report notes, “but this process will take time.” Fuller echoed that timeline: “Moving into a year or two of a normal freight cycle…for the next 6-12 months rates will continue to stay high and potentially get higher. We expect at least 12 months of higher rates before capacity can catch up.”

Mode-specific outlooks in the Traffix report underscore the breadth of the tightening. Dry-van rates are expected to remain elevated through mid-2026, supported by strong demand and tight capacity; contract increases will continue as shippers adjust to spot-market pressure. Flatbed markets are tightening rapidly due to construction, infrastructure, and industrial demand. Reefer capacity is tightening ahead of produce season, with seasonal volatility and elevated rates expected through summer. Intermodal volumes are projected to grow 10% year-over-year as shippers seek cost and capacity relief. Cross-border lanes show nuanced dynamics: Canada-U.S. capacity remains available with rates tracking broader truckload trends, while U.S.-Mexico lanes face localized constraints, especially in high-demand corridors like Laredo-Bajio, pushing rates gradually higher.

For shippers, the implications are immediate and budgetary. Traffix outlines three planning scenarios for the remainder of 2026:

1. Base Case (Volumes Stabilize, Capacity Tightens): Spot rates stay well above 2025 levels and contract rates continue rising. Expect freight costs 10-15% higher than 2025, particularly for spot-exposed shipments.

2. Tightening Case (Demand + Fuel Accelerate): Manufacturing recovery broadens, inventories stay lean, and diesel remains elevated. Plan for 15-20% cost inflation, with spot-exposed and shorter-haul lanes under the greatest pressure.

3. Softer Case (Demand Moderates): Economic growth cools and volumes flatten, but reduced carrier capacity prevents a return to loose-market conditions. Rates stabilize rather than fall meaningfully; budget 7-12% inflation versus 2025.

“Current market levels should be treated as a new floor, not a temporary spike,” the report stresses. For most shippers, a practical budgeting range is low-double-digit transportation inflation versus 2025, with meaningful upside risk in truckload, spot-heavy networks, temperature-controlled freight, and shorter-haul lanes.

Fuller’s on-the-ground perspective aligns closely. He notes that shipper reactions have evolved quickly. “In January and February there was a lot of denial,” he said. “By March and April, transportation managers have convinced their CFO to give them a bigger budget. Fuel helped accelerate that process.” Large CPG and food-and-beverage companies with their own fleets have been slower to accept increases, leveraging purchasing power to resist. Industrial and machinery shippers, facing expensive customer orders, have been far more open. “In some lanes, we’re up 30%,” Fuller added. “Broadly, 20% is a good number to think about for 2026 and that’s been a big shock for some shippers.”

Broader economic and policy factors are also in play. Tariffs, though quieter in headlines, continue rippling through supply chains. Some companies that built inventory ahead of potential duties are now shifting toward just-in-time strategies or accelerating nearshoring to Mexico, trends that Fuller says are gaining momentum and could further influence domestic trucking demand. Consumer uncertainty and the possibility of rising unemployment remain watch items, but Fuller sees 2026 as “going to be great, with the asterisk that unemployment could jump and take it off the rails.”

Traffix’s recommendations for shippers are pragmatic. First, budget for a higher baseline and treat current rates as the new normal. Second, lock in capacity strategically: contract rates are still catching up to spot; use bid cycles and mini-bids to secure space in core lanes before further resets. Third, reduce spot-market exposure by shifting toward contracted and diversified carrier networks. Finally, take a total-cost view, which means balancing transportation, inventory, and import expenses, because low freight rates are no longer the default lever for controlling landed costs.

After years of carrier exits and regulatory friction, the market has entered the phase where even modest demand growth produces outsized rate increases. Spot rates have already surged, contract rates are resetting upward, and linehaul rates have reached multi-year highs independent of fuel. For carriers, the environment offers relief and pricing power not seen since the pandemic peak. For shippers, the message is clear: the soft-market era is over. Those who adapt quickly by securing capacity, updating budgets, and rethinking network strategy will be best positioned to navigate the tighter, more volatile freight market ahead.

The post Traffix expects double-digit rate increases to hold through 2026 appeared first on FreightWaves.

So..how did we get here? I want to highlight a few real cases that illustrate exactly what this administration has spent a year trying to prevent.

The first involves a load that was quadruple-brokered before it found a chameleon carrier and a Russian CDL-licensed driver. One of the oldest and most reputable manufacturers in American industrial history gave the load to a freight broker. That broker could not find a carrier. He passed it to someone else. That person passed it to a friend. That friend passed it to a foreign-operated carrier. By the time the load found a driver, it had passed through four sets of hands, and no one along the way appears to have asked the basic questions: whether the driver held a valid commercial license, whether the carrier had operating authority, or whether the equipment met federal safety standards. The driver ran out of fuel on a busy interstate at night. He stopped in a live center lane of travel. The flashlights he had mounted as truck lights did not comply with federal regulations designed precisely to prevent what happened next. A father of three died. He was a commercial driver himself, a working man heading home, who encountered flashlights mounted to the rear of a trailer on a dark highway, with no meaningful warning that the vehicle ahead of him was at a standstill.

The second case involves a Romanian national who built a trucking company in the Chicago suburbs. He employed foreign drivers, many of them non-domiciled, many holding temporary credentials. His fleet grew to hundreds of trucks. His crash record grew with it. By the time FMCSA placed him out of service, his operation had been connected to twelve deaths, hundreds of crashes, and federal civil penalties approaching $900,000. FMCSA issued two separate out-of-service orders. The carrier dissolved and restarted under successor entities with overlapping equipment and operational infrastructure and continued putting trucks on American highways. One of those trucks killed a man named Brandon Rogers in Beaumont, Texas, in April 2023 while hauling freight dispatched by a Moldovan broker. His family is in litigation. I have written extensively about this case on FreightWaves. It is not isolated. It is the operating model of a specific class of carrier that the regulatory environment before April 28, 2025, was entirely inadequate to prevent.

Both of these cases exist because of gaps this administration is focused on closing.

On April 28, 2025, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced steps to rescind a dangerous Obama-era policy that had dismissed English language proficiency requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers. At the direction of Secretary Duffy, FMCSA took immediate actions to strengthen English language enforcement, with Duffy stating that federal law is clear and that a driver who cannot sufficiently read or speak English and understand road signs is unqualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle in America and that this commonsense standard should never have been abandoned. 

Beginning June 25, 2025, ELP violations were once again included in the out-of-service criteria, ensuring consistent nationwide enforcement and reaffirming the Department’s commitment to roadway safety. That is the inspection standard that puts trucks out of service. It took less than two months from the date of the executive order to implement it operationally across all 50 states through the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. 

In June 2025, Secretary Duffy announced a nationwide audit of state non-domiciled CDL issuance alongside a pro-trucker package that included millions to expand truck parking, removal of one-size-fits-all mandates, and modernization of driver resources. The audit findings were wild. In California alone, more than 25 percent of non-domiciled CDLs reviewed were improperly issued. In one case, California issued a CDL to a driver from Brazil with endorsements to drive a passenger bus and a school bus, valid for months after his legal presence had expired. More than 30 states were found to have been systematically issuing non-domiciled CDLs improperly. Twenty-eight states and jurisdictions were placed under special enforcement orders.

On September 29, 2025, FMCSA issued an emergency interim final rule closing the Employment Authorization Document pathway that had allowed unverified foreign nationals to obtain commercial driver’s licenses without consular screening. At least 17 fatal crashes and 30 deaths in 2025 alone were caused by non-domiciled drivers who will now be ineligible to get a license. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on February 13, 2026, and took effect on March 16, 2026. Non-domiciled CDL eligibility is now limited to H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 visa holders who have undergone interagency vetting. SAVE database verification is now mandatory before any state can issue a non-domiciled credential. Credentials expire at the end of the driver’s authorized period of stay, rather than for four-year terms, regardless of immigration status. This week a State Department spokesperson confirmed on background that commercial truck driver visa processing has resumed under strict new standards including verified English language skills, a prior history of safe commercial truck operation, and a valid or obtainable United States commercial driver’s license. 

On October 7, 2025, the Senate confirmed Derek Barrs as FMCSA Administrator. Barrs brings nearly 35 years of experience in law enforcement and roadway safety, including more than 25 years focused on commercial motor vehicle safety, having served as a Deputy Sheriff in Madison County, Florida, a Florida State Trooper, Florida Highway Patrol Chief, and five years in the private sector at HNTB Corporation before returning to federal service. He arrived at FMCSA with a law enforcement chief’s mindset and has applied it without hesitation.

More than 7,000 entry-level driver training providers have been removed from the ELDT registry to crack down on CDL mills. Over 80 electronic logging devices have been removed from the approved list and more than 400 recent ELD applications were denied due to intensified internal vetting. Fifteen hundred training providers were audited over one week by 300 FMCSA inspectors, resulting in a failure rate of more than 30 percent. The mills that had been producing paper credentials instead of qualified drivers are being removed from the system at a pace this agency has never operated at before. 

Barrs has put himself on the road. Barrs recently joined Georgia enforcement officials during Operation SafeDRIVE, working alongside CVE officers during traffic stops, inspections, and a K-9 program demonstration at Monroe County Inspection Stations. That is the FMCSA administrator doing roadside inspections alongside state officers. That is not something that happens at agencies run by career administrators who measure tenure in press releases.

At the Truckload Carriers Association convention in February 2026, Barrs told carrier executives that the agency is going to bite off more than it can chew but the team is going to keep chewing, and that the work done over the prior few months is just the beginning of what is planned to clean up the mess inside this industry. Outgoing TCA President Jim Ward told Barrs on stage at the same convention that when he had asked Barrs during his confirmation process what he could do for the truckload industry, Barrs answered enforce regulations, and that he was doing a great job at it. 

The administration has been deliberate in recruiting private-sector tools into the enforcement effort. Three hundred fifty FMCSA investigators cannot cover 700,000 trucking companies without a robust commercial intelligence infrastructure. The FMCSA has made efforts to integrate commercial data tools into its federal enforcement workflows. Those kinds of partnerships recognize what the industry has long known. The data to identify dangerous carriers, chameleon operators, fraudulent process agents, and unqualified drivers exists in real time in commercial databases. Enforcement agencies that leave those tools on the table are choosing to be less effective than they could be. This administration is not making that choice.

Monday on FreightWaves, we are releasing our full interview with FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs discussing the year in review. The conversation covers what the administration built in twelve months, what he found when he stepped inside the agency after 35 years watching it from the outside, what implementing these reforms across 50 states and 700,000 carriers actually looked like on the ground, where the personnel and resource gaps still are, and where the agenda goes from here. If you operate in this industry, employ drivers, underwrite trucking risk, or litigate crashes, you should read it.

The cases still in litigation represent people who died before these reforms took effect. Their families deserve the accountability the system owes them and that work is proceeding in courtrooms across the country. The regulatory infrastructure that produced those deaths is being rebuilt in real time by the most active and aggressive administration in the history of American commercial motor vehicle safety policy.

Three days ago marked the one-year anniversary of the executive order that started it. On Monday, we hear from the man running the FMCSA about what year two looks like.

The post How an Executive Order reshaped highway safety appeared first on FreightWaves.

The change began around 2021. That is when fraud moved into the transaction itself. Loads were no longer being taken from yards or truck stops. They were being redirected before pickup ever happened. Identities were copied. Emails were manipulated. Legitimate companies were used as cover. The freight still moved, but control changed hands early.

This was not caused by a single tactic. It came from a system built for speed. Digital onboarding increased. Remote communication replaced in-person checks calls. Processes stayed the same while exposure increased. When the market slowed, the pressure to move quickly remained. That imbalance created an opening that continues to be exploited.

this started years ago, not weeks ago

What we are seeing now is not a new wave. It is the result of steady expansion. Early cases showed what was possible. Over time, those methods were repeated, tested, and refined. The activity spread across lanes, commodities, and regions without needing to change much at the surface level.

Groups behind these thefts are not relying on force. They are relying on consistency. The same patterns continue to work because they fit inside normal workflows. That is what makes them effective. They do not disrupt operations. They blend into them.

By the time attention reaches a national level, these methods are established. They have moved volume, created losses, and done most of the damage before they are formally recognized.

the risk is no longer physical

The supply chain was designed to keep freight moving with minimal friction. That design does not account for someone entering the process under false identity. Once access is gained, the rest of the system functions as expected. That is where control is lost.

This type of exposure does not show up the way traditional theft does. There is no immediate signal that something is wrong. The issue is only visible after the handoff has already taken place. At that point, options are limited and recovery becomes unlikely.

Parts of the industry have already adjusted to this reality. Verification is being applied at more than one point in the shipment. Identity is being confirmed closer to execution, not just at onboarding. The focus has shifted from appearance to proof.

The FBI raising concern brings attention, but it does not change the timeline. This has already been in motion. The gap is between when the problem began and when it became widely acknowledged.

Closing that gap is what matters now.

Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phillip Brink.

The post The FBI is late to cargo theft, the industry isn’t appeared first on FreightWaves.

A MOU and the path to 500 Autonomous Trucks

The first step involves a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU outlines the path to autonomous scale. The final commercial terms and timing for a binding agreement are expected to close later this year. Once finalized, the deal will help Hirschbach scale a nationwide network estimated to create 500 million driverless miles. For Aurora, this establishes a multi-year revenue stream, valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“When early adopters see the benefits the Aurora Driver delivers for their business and their drivers, they don’t just stay the course – they scale quickly,” said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora. “We’ve been lucky to have such a thoughtful and innovative partner since our early days and we look forward to growing with them. The industry is primed for this product, and our momentum toward meaningful commercial revenue is hitting a new gear.”

Driver as a Service Model Powers the Hybrid Network

Hirschbach is a leader in the refrigerated space and has 2,948 power units according to FMCSA SAFER data. The carrier will subscribe to Aurora’s Driver as a Service (DaaS) model, where Hirschbach owns the assets while Aurora supplies the virtual driver.

The release notes, “Customers have control and ownership over assets in DaaS, allowing them to maximize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) savings while Aurora benefits from an expected high-margin and capital-efficient business.”

“The Aurora Driver will provide consistent 24/7 service to our customers, making it an important growth lever for our business,” said Richard Stocking, CEO of Hirschbach Motor Lines. “But autonomy isn’t just a business move – it’s a quality-of-life investment for our people. The Aurora Driver will handle the lengthier, less desirable routes, providing our drivers with greater flexibility. It’s a win-win.”

Hirschbach is an important customer for Aurora’s 1,000-mile route between Fort Worth and Phoenix. Aurora has delivered over 2,000 loads for Hirschbach totaling over 800,000 miles to date.

The expansion strategy is part of a hybrid network, with autonomous trucks handling long-haul Sun Belt routes, allowing Hirschbach drivers more focus on shorter routes and getting them home daily.

Hirschbach enlisted the help of its million-mile drivers in evaluating Aurora’s virtual driver performance before the launch of Aurora’s driverless operations along its inaugural Dallas-to-Houston route.

“We’re proud to deploy a hybrid network with our drivers and autonomous trucks as we move toward a safer, more efficient future for refrigerated freight,” added Stocking.

The post Aurora and Hirschbach expand partnership for 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks appeared first on FreightWaves.

From geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East to upcoming enforcement events and summer demand patterns, the discussion highlighted a market transitioning from recovery into a more durable tightening cycle. Here are five key takeaways:

Iran conflict driving fuel volatility, but not derailing demand

Fuller said the ongoing conflict in Iran is having a clear impact on fuel markets, though the broader freight economy remains resilient.

“All of it is tied to Iran… high oil prices are a factor at Iran… but there’s nothing in any of the data that says that higher fuel costs… is sapping the U.S. economy,” Fuller said

Strickland noted that diesel volatility has been reactive to geopolitical developments, especially around the Strait of Hormuz.

“We saw this pretty significant spike in retail diesel… and then as we started to see the end of the military conflict… the price of diesel came down,” Strickland said.

Fuller, emphasizing that fuel costs alone are not dictating freight pricing power, said the “tightness in capacity enables motor carriers to have pricing power… not necessarily diesel.”

Strickland added that carriers are still recovering fuel costs through rates in a tightening environment. “If you look at what the rates are… you’ve been able to recover all of that and potentially more,” he said

April: inflection point or seasonal “speed bump”?

Both executives pushed back on the idea that April’s softer trends signal a reversal.

“April has been… just kind of a sideline,” Strickland said. “It’s not up and to the right the way we saw it in March.”

Fuller countered that the market remains far stronger than year-ago levels.

“We’re talking about rejection rates… at 12.7%… these are levels that we haven’t seen in years,” Fuller said.

He also pointed to stronger macro signals underpinning freight. “You’re starting to see broader economic data… indicating much stronger activity than most people expected.”

Strickland framed April as a typical seasonal trough rather than a turning point.

“April is historically a weak month… you end up in May with a massive acceleration,” Strickland said.

Roadcheck could tighten already constrained capacity

Looking ahead, both warned that the upcoming CVSA International Roadcheck could meaningfully disrupt capacity.

“We’re going to see capacity come off the roads… more than usual,” Fuller said.

He added that stricter enforcement and compliance scrutiny are already influencing driver behavior.

“Drivers know that the DOT is getting directives to really crack down… so I think we’re going to see more capacity taken off the road,” Fuller said.

Strickland said the impact could be amplified by an already tight market, adding “there is very little excess capacity… so the market is much more sensitive.”

Fuller expects rejection rates to spike during the enforcement period.

“We will get into the 16%–17% range for a week,” he said.

Summer demand signals point to stronger freight cycle

Both executives highlighted strong indicators heading into peak summer shipping.

“Demand has gotten stronger… and we’re seasonally about to go into a much stronger demand cycle,” Strickland said.

Fuller pointed to structural drivers beyond traditional retail.

“June is the biggest month of the year… you have produce, construction, industrial production—all coming together,” Fuller said.

He also emphasized that industrial activity—not consumer retail—is driving the current cycle. “What’s been driving this market is not consumer retail… it is largely industrial,” Fuller said.

Strickland added that volumes are already showing strength — “volumes are up 11% year over year… probably 12% to 13% now.”

Risks and opportunities shaping the road ahead

The webinar closed with a look at structural shifts that could reshape the freight market.

Fuller pointed to regulatory and legal risks, including broker liability and compliance crackdowns.

“This is going to be probably the biggest story of the summer… it will completely change the way brokers operate,” Fuller said.

He also highlighted capacity constraints tied to regulation, adding “you’re talking about the net impact… as much as 600,000 to 800,000 drivers.” 

Strickland noted that rate pressure is already building.

“We’re already at about a 10% increase… and we’re going to see that grow throughout the year,” Strickland said.

Fuller said the market has clearly moved past the downturn.

“There is no freight recession right now… we are clearly done with it,” he said.

The post State of Freight: Freight recession ‘over’ as demand builds into summer  appeared first on FreightWaves.

Schneider (NYSE: SNDR) reported adjusted earnings per share of 12 cents, 2 cents above the consensus estimate but 4 cents lower year over year. Consolidated revenue of $1.4 billion was flat y/y and just shy of the $1.42 billion consensus estimate.

Truckload revenue increased 1% y/y (excluding fuel surcharges) to $618 million as average trucks in service dipped 1% and revenue per truck per week increased 3%. The company noted utilization gains across both its network and dedicated fleets.

The TL unit reported a 96.7% adjusted operating ratio, which was 80 basis points worse y/y.

“In the first quarter, we saw the impact of structural supply rationalization which is driving the market toward more normal conditions,” said President and CEO Mark Rourke in a news release. “Strong execution on our cost and productivity actions, as well as the benefits of operating a diverse, nimble portfolio, allowed us to capitalize on opportunities and effectively navigate a quarter marked by disruptive weather and fuel volatility.”

Schneider reiterated 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of 70 cents to $1. The range bracketed an 85-cent consensus estimate at the time of the print. (The company reported full-year 2025 adjusted EPS of 63 cents.)

Shares of SNDR were up 1.8% in afterhours trading on Thursday.

The company will host a call to discuss first-quarter results at 4:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

• XPO could soon see sub-80% ORs
• Saia eyes margin turnaround amid improving demand
• Old Dominion eyeing y/y margin improvement in Q2

The post First look: Schneider National Q1 results appeared first on FreightWaves.

DHL Express (XETRA: DHL) revenues slumped 1.9% to 6 billion euros, equivalent to $7 billion, but earnings before taxes and interest jumped 20.6% due to aggressive capacity management, cost discipline and yield management, according to financial results released on Thursday. Adjusted revenue was up 2%. Express has recorded seven consecutive quarters of operating profit as it ramps up its Fit for Growth campaign, which aims to take out more than $1.2 billion in structural costs over three years.

The revenue and profit increase was achieved even as average daily shipment volume for the time-definite international air product fell 6%, thanks to increased weight per shipment. Weight is a core metric for assessing asset utilization and network profitability because sales are substantially based on weight and yield. TDI weight per shipment is up 4.4% since 2019 and 2.9% year over year, excluding U.S. destinations — a big improvement from recent quarters.  

“This higher profitability, despite lower shipments, is not a coincidence, but the result of how we steer sales, pricing, and network cost in close alignment,” said Chief Financial Officer Melanie Kreis during an earnings briefing with analysts.

DHL’s investment in more modern, fuel-efficient Boeing 777 freighter aircraft since 2019, including the addition of several new 777-300 converted freighters in recent months, also played a role in margin expansion, CEO Tobias Meyer added. And the company is using artificial intelligence to better judge which vehicles need ad hoc repairs, as well as regular maintenance and tire renewal, which reduces repair shop visits and costs.

The Iran war, which began on Feb. 28, had little impact on DHL’s overall earnings during the quarter, he said.

By rerouting freighter aircraft and making other network adjustments, the division was able to respond to Iran war impacts and maintain service for customers. DHL , for example, was forced to temporarily suspend operations at its regional hub in Bahrain, but shifted the dedicated fleet to airports in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Muscat, Oman, several days after the conflict started. Some long-range aircraft were relocated to Europe so they could be better utilized. The parcel and logistics titan also heavily leaned on its road network to move shipments from those airports to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. 

DHL made a similar pivot for container shipments managed by the Global Forwarding division. As ocean carriers diverted to ports in Oman and on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast to offload import traffic, DHL secured extra trucking capacity to distribute goods around the Gulf region. 

Weak jet-fuel availability, especially in Asia, is a growing concern as the war cuts off tanker shipments to many parts of the world. DHL has to buy fuel in the commercial market at Asian airports, unlike in Europe where it has direct supply contracts with energy providers. DHL has the option to fuel up planes at origin destinations so there is enough fuel for the outbound leg, but that is only possible for regional and short-haul flights, Meyer explained. Tankering doesn’t work for intercontinental flights because it would reduce too much payload.

Established pricing and surcharge mechanisms will allow DHL to pass on conflict-related costs to customers as recovery charges kick in over time, the company said. 

Global Forwarding revenue declined 5% due to lower freight rates. Capacity shortages, including at Middle East airlines, and higher oil prices resulting from the conflict in the Middle East caused freight rates to rise again significantly at the end of the quarter.  Airfreight volumes increased 3.8% to 438,000 metric tons, driven primarily by the Asia-Europe trade lane and exports from Latin America. Air freight revenues decreased 2.2%.

Ocean freight demand moved up 2% year over year to 804,000 standard shipping units, with growth particularly strong from Asia to Europe. Ocean freight revenue and gross profit decreased by 16.5% and 17.5%, respectively, during the quarter, reflecting the normalization of market freight rates underway since 2025. 

Supply Chain revenue grew 5.7% thanks to new customers, contract renewals and continued expansion of e-commerce activities, led by the Americas region, DHL said. 

DHL eCommerce, which provides parcel delivery, returns and international shipping customized for online merchants, generated 11% less revenue than in the prior year period due to negative currency effects and not including UK contributions so the Evri merger in September doesn’t skew comparisons. Absent those factors, revenue increased by 4.9%. 

Group adjusted revenue, excluding currency impacts, has gradually improved over the past year and was up 2% year over year during the first quarter. The company reaffirmed full-year guidance of $7.25 billion of operating profit.

Meyer said U.S group revenue could grow the remainder of the year as the effects of frontloaded shipments to avoid U.S. tariffs in 2025 subside.

DHL Group’s capital expenditure during the quarter totaled $605.75 million, up 12.4% y/y, with most of the investments directed to the Supply Chain and Post & Parcel Germany divisions. An ongoing modernization program in the mail and parcel operations in Germanyhelped Deutsche Post handle a spike in mail and parcel shipments during the Easter and spring season. The capex growth stands in contrast to rival integrators FedEx and UPS, which are reducing investment in assets to reduce costs and increase profitability. DHL continues to invest as part of its 2030 growth strategy in efficiency and fast-growth sectors and regions, such as  life science & healthcare, data centers and the Middle East. By the end of 2025, for example, the share of electric vehicles used for pickup and delivery in Germany reached nearly 60%.

European trucking

Earlier this month, DHL Freight rolled out a more differentiated trucking product to give customers better choice. Road Freight Standard is the default option for less-than-truckload shipments and covers the majority of routine transport needs with DHL’s European freight network. Road Freight Priority is a premium product for time-critical international LTL shipments that combines prioritized handling, enhanced pick-up and delivery options and defined transit time commitments. Road Freight Direct provides customized partial truckload and full truckload point-to-point service for dedicated shipments. 

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

RELATED STORIES:

How DHL tackled mail and parcel boom during peak Easter season

DHL prioritizes own cargo jets for pharmaceuticals transport 

The post DHL Group boosts profit despite lower shipment volumes, revenue appeared first on FreightWaves.

While global competitors in Europe and Asia are grappling with surging gas prices and heavy war-risk premiums, the United States is emerging as a structural winner in heavy manufacturing. 

The catalyst? The unique mechanics of “associated gas” – natural gas produced as a byproduct of oil drilling.

As elevated global crude oil (WTI) prices incentivize more domestic oil drilling, natural gas is flooding U.S. pipelines. With limited export relief valves, Henry Hub gas prices are actually dropping, giving American manufacturers a massive energy cost advantage over their global peers.

This industrial boom is already showing up in domestic freight market data. High-frequency SONAR indices confirm a sharp industrial mix shift favoring open-deck transport over consumer goods. 

Flatbed volumes (STVIF.USA) have skyrocketed 42% compared to their 6-month average, radically outpacing the 12% growth seen in dry van volumes (STVI.USA). This divergence is mirrored in pricing power: flatbed rates (FTI.USA) have surged 45% to an average of $3.97/mi, leaving van rate growth in the rearview mirror. 

The U.S. is rapidly capturing global market share in chemicals, fertilizers, plastics, metals and defense manufacturing – and flatbed carriers are reaping the immediate benefits. 

Want to understand how this geopolitical shift will reshape domestic supply chains and your routing guides? Read the full sitrep by signing up for SONAR or request a demo here.

The full report includes deeper dives into:

• The Associated Gas Feedback Loop: The physics and supply surge mechanics keeping U.S. energy costs suppressed while global benchmarks spike.
• Sector-by-Sector Cost Advantage Analysis: A breakdown of the specific manufacturing sectors positioned for the most explosive growth. 
• Shifting Manufacturing Postures: How the structural divergence in energy costs is permanently altering long-term industrial strategies.
• Actionable Freight Forecasting: Deeper analysis on the widening gap between flatbed and van metrics, and what it means for capacity planning in the coming quarters.

Sign up for SONAR today to access the full Freight Intelligence Report and keep your supply chain ahead of the curve.

The post SONAR Sitrep: US industrials, freight unexpected winners in Iran war appeared first on FreightWaves.

While there has been little diplomatic progress between Washington and Tehran toward ending the conflict, the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by United States forces has been fueling (pun intended) higher ocean prices during a traditional lull prior to the start of the peak shipping season. 

Asia-U.S. West Coast spot rates increased 1% to $2,675 per forty foot equivalent unit (FEU), according to the Freightos Baltic Index. Asia-U.S. East Coast prices rose 3% to $3,939 per FEU.

The SONAR Ocean Booking Index shows a gradual climb from the start of the war Feb. 28, just after the conclusion of Lunar New Year, from 16,166 to 22,951. 

“Increased fuel costs from the Strait of Hormuz closure continues to keep container rates elevated during the post-Lunar New Year, pre-peak season, low demand season for ocean freight when prices normally reach their floor for the year,” said Freightos (NASDAQ: CRGO) Research Head Judah Levine, in a note to clients. “Even with this pressure, however, rates are well below spikes caused by recent disruptions like the Red Sea crisis and trade war frontloading.” 

That contrasts with Asia-Europe rates that eased 3% to both North Europe and the Mediterranean. While prices on both lanes climbed by several hundred dollars in the first weeks of the war, North Europe rates of $2,668 per FEU are just 8% higher than before the war and Mediterranean prices at $3,527 per FEU are 3% lower than in late February, Levine said. 

He noted that Maersk (OTC: AMKBY) recently cancelled an upcoming general rate increase (GRI) for Asia-Europe, and carriers have started to announce more blanked sailings, to manage capacity. 

“War-related rate increase attempts have not succeeded in keeping prices on these lanes much above their pre-war baselines,” said Levine, “but upward pressure from the conflict is likely keeping rates higher than they otherwise would be.”

Asia-Europe rates are more than 15% higher year-on-year for both lanes, and more than 50% above October levels, the most recent low-demand period. 

Slowly improving demand has helped carriers steadily push up rates on the trans-Pacific and prevent backsliding since late February. The current West Coast price is 45% higher than at the start of the war, and almost 90% higher than post-peak season levels back in October. East Coast prices are 30% higher than pre-war, and 30% better than October.

“Nonetheless, even with these increases, the low demand and high capacity environment – and possibly the moderate easing of oil and bunker rates compared to earlier highs since the start of the war in Iran  – has not allowed rates to rise to the full announced GRI or various surcharge levels,” he said. 

At the same time, the Persian Gulf crisis this week sent oil prices to new record highs as Brent crude increased to $121 a barrel for June contracts. The volatile market has in turn pushed up prices at U.S. pumps, to well over $5 a gallon for diesel.

Levine said that the next significant rate increases across these lanes could come in June or July with the start of peak season. But, he added, war-related rising costs for consumers could damp shipper expectations and depress peak season volumes. 

Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

Uncertainty the new baseline, as the Port of Virginia plans to meet the moment

Trump extends Jones Act waiver for 90 days

The Iran conflict sent Asia-US shipping rates soaring thousands of miles away. Here’s why.

Why ‘grossly inefficient’ U.S. ports need automation, and the danger in a new Arctic sea route

The post Make it make sense: Low demand, rising rates on the trans-Pacific appeared first on FreightWaves.

Share gains in local accounts (SMBs), more customers using premium services and several AI-led efficiency initiatives are moving the needle for the Greenwich, Connecticut-based company. XPO is “hearing more positivity” from customers around capacity needs, which could propel operating ratios below 80%. 

XPO (NYSE: XPO) reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.01, which was 13 cents ahead of the consensus estimate and 28 cents higher year over year. The adjusted EPS number excluded transaction and restructuring costs. A lower tax rate was roughly a 5-cent tailwind in the period.

Consolidated revenue of $2.1 billion was 7% higher y/y and better than the $2.04 billion consensus estimate.

XPO’s LTL revenue increased 5% y/y to $1.23 billion. Revenue was 6% higher on a per-day comparison. Tonnage came in flat y/y with revenue per hundredweight (yield) moving 5% higher. (Yield was up 4% y/y excluding fuel surcharges.) A 3% decline in weight per shipment and a 1% increase in length of haul were tailwinds to the yield metric.

Revenue per shipment (excluding fuel) increased 1% y/y, however, a mix shift to local accounts weighed on the calculation. These customers typically have smaller shipments sizes (lower revenue per bill), but pricing among the group is very accretive to margins. Further, management noted on a Thursday quarterly call that contract rate renewals were up by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage in the quarter.

The company is forecasting no y/y change to tonnage in the second quarter. April tonnage was down 1% y/y but tracked ahead of normal sequential patterns. Weight per shipment was up in the month and also ahead of normal seasonality.

Yield and revenue per shipment (excluding fuel) are expected to improve sequentially and y/y for the rest of the year. Management expects second-quarter yield to be “comfortably ahead” of the mid-single-digit increase seen in the first quarter. XPO’s improved service offering along with better freight selection are driving above-market pricing.

Something starting with a 7?

The LTL segment reported an 83.9% adjusted operating ratio (inverse of operating margin), which was 200 basis points better y/y and 50 bps better than the seasonally stronger fourth quarter. (The unit normally registers 50 bps of sequential margin deterioration in the first quarter.)

Revenue per shipment outpaced adjusted cost per shipment by 230 bps in the quarter. As a percentage of revenue, wages and benefits expenses declined 20 bps y/y, purchased transportation expenses moved 70 bps lower, and insurance and claims costs fell 60 bps.

Management noted a “clear line of sight” to an OR in the 70s.

It normally sees 250 to 300 bps of sequential margin improvement in the second quarter, but it expects “to comfortably outperform the high end of that range [80.9%]” this year. The outperformance would likely bring about a positive revision to its full-year margin outlook, which calls for only 100 to 150 bps of y/y improvement.

XPO’s European transportation segment reported an 11% y/y increase in revenue to $868 million. Adjusted EBITDA of $33 million was 3% higher y/y.

Shares of XPO were up 0.4% at 2:14 p.m. EDT on Thursday compared to the S&P 500, which was up 0.9%. The stock is up 57% year-to-date.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

• Saia eyes margin turnaround amid improving demand
• Old Dominion eyeing y/y margin improvement in Q2
• Landstar says April yields ‘significantly’ outpacing seasonality

The post XPO could soon see sub-80% ORs appeared first on FreightWaves.

The closures and layoffs are tied to the sale of RNDC key assets to Reyes Beverage Group, according to WARN filings and company documents.

Texas-based RNDC, a major wine and spirits distributor, said the moves could impact thousands of workers nationwide, as it exits multiple markets and transfers operations to Reyes, one of the largest beverage distributors in the country.

RNDC has issued conditional Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices affecting employees across multiple states, with total job cuts expected to reach as high as 4,677 positions, according to documents reviewed by FreightWaves.

Asset sale reshapes national footprint

The transaction spans at least seven markets, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, significantly shrinking RNDC’s geographic footprint while expanding Reyes’ presence in wine and spirits distribution .

Company filings indicate that while some employees may receive job offers from Reyes, there is no guarantee of continued employment, prompting WARN notices across affected facilities.

In Texas alone, RNDC plans to cut 1,903 jobs across five cities, including:

• Grand Prairie: 689
• Houston: 588
• San Antonio: 372
• Austin: 164
• Corpus Christi: 90

In South Carolina, the company will permanently close its Lexington-area facility, affecting 451 employees.

Florida filings show potential layoffs across four major facilities, including Deerfield Beach, Jacksonville, Pensacola and Tampa, totaling more than 1,000 impacted workers.

In Virginia, RNDC plans to shut down its Ashland distribution facility, affecting 428 employees.

Data box: RNDC facility closures and layoffs

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Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA) reported first-quarter earnings per share of $1.86 on Thursday before the market opened. The result was flat year over year and 4 cents ahead of the consensus estimate. A lower tax rate was a 2-cent tailwind.

Revenue increased 2% y/y to $806 million, which was $18 million better than analysts’ expectations. Executives said on a quarterly call that customers are “getting more positive” and that many of its legacy service centers are again seeing growth given the optionality a national footprint provides.

Tonnage fell 2% y/y in the quarter as a 1% increase in shipments was offset by a 3% decline in weight per shipment. Revenue per hundredweight (yield) increased 4% (2% higher excluding fuel surcharges). The lower average shipment weight was a tailwind to the yield metric.

The first quarter contended with a tough prior-year tonnage comp (plus-12.8%). On a y/y comparison, tonnage fell by 7% in January and 2.7% in February. Tonnage was up 2.8% in March. Management said volume improvement in late-March helped offset some of the weather disruptions in January and February. Saia’s terminal network has a high concentration across the South, which was significantly impacted by the storms.

The March strength continued into April as tonnage increased 6.5% y/y. The prior-year comps eased in April (plus-4.4%) and turn negative in May. Weight per shipment improved throughout the quarter.

Contractual renewals averaged 6.7% in the quarter (up 12.8% on a two-year-stacked comp). Revenue per shipment (excluding fuel) was down 1% y/y, but improved sequentially through the quarter.

Q2 guide implies 87.5% OR

The company reported a 91.7% first-quarter operating ratio (inverse of operating margin), which was 60 basis points worse y/y and 40 bps worse than the adjusted fourth-quarter OR of 91.3% (excludes a one-time insurance item). The company previously said it hoped to outperform normal sequential OR deterioration of 30 to 50 bps.

The spread in cost per shipment and revenue per shipment was negative by 130 bps in the quarter. However, that was much smaller than the 560-bp negative spread booked in the fourth quarter.

Salaries, wages and benefits expenses (as a percentage of revenue) were 60 bps lower y/y even as health insurance costs and workers’ comp claims moved higher. Improved productivity (shipment touches down 2.5%) allowed for a 6.3% y/y reduction in headcount (7.9% lower excluding linehaul drivers). Salaries and wages costs moved 1.8% lower y/y due to the productivity improvements.

Depreciation and amortization expenses were 20 bps higher y/y given previous terminal and equipment additions. The company’s roughly 40 new facilities are operating at upper-90s ORs.

Saia normally sees 250 to 300 bps of sequential margin improvement in the second quarter. However, it’s calling for 400 to 450 bps of improvement this year (assuming normal seasonal demand trends). Firming volumes and a lower starting point are behind the outlook. The guide implies an 87.5% OR at the midpoint, which would be slightly better y/y.  

A full-year net capex range of $350 million to $400 million was reiterated. Net capex was $544 million in 2025 and $1.05 billion in 2024.

Shares of SAIA were up 5.7% at noon EDT on Thursday compared to the S&P 500, which was up 0.5%. The stock is up over 30% year-to-date.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

• Old Dominion eyeing y/y margin improvement in Q2
• Landstar says April yields ‘significantly’ outpacing seasonality
• ArcBest seeing positive trends amid market inflection

The post Saia eyes margin turnaround amid improving demand appeared first on FreightWaves.

REGISTER NOW: Secure your seat for the Future of Rail Symposium

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – FreightWaves and TrainsPRO have announced the Future of Rail Symposium: The Decade Ahead, an exclusive one-day summit for rail industry executives, stakeholders, and regulators. The event will take place on July 28, 2026, at The Signal at the Chattanooga Choo Choo.

As the North American rail industry reaches a critical inflection point driven by reshoring trends and rapid technological advancement, the symposium serves as a high-level forum to discuss the strategy, policy, and execution required for rail networks to compete and win over the next decade.

Keynote and Featured Sessions

The program will be headlined by Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick Fuchs, who will deliver the opening keynote on the federal regulatory outlook for rail.

The agenda features deep-dive sessions tailored for industry professionals, including:

• Merger Insights: A look at how the proposed Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern transcontinental merger aims to break structural barriers to growth.
• Manufacturing Renaissance: CSX will discuss the railroad’s industrial development pipeline and the impact of reshoring in the Southeast and elsewhere on its system.
• Regulatory Friction: A panel featuring Ian Jefferies (AAR) and Karl Alexy (FRA) on how modern technology—from autonomous vehicles to track inspection—clashes with legacy regulations.
• The Operating Ratio Debate: Trains Magazine Editor Bill Stephens and analyst Rick Paterson will explore how Wall Street’s focus on the operating ratio limits Class I railroad service. Cando Rail & Terminals will explain how its first- and last-mile business model is one way to solve the carload growth problem.

Why Attend?

Designed specifically for C-suite leadership, government officials, and rail shippers, the symposium offers a unique “working forum” environment. Attendees will gain access to SONAR market intelligence regarding intermodal trends and witness rapid-fire demos of the latest rail technologies.

Event Logistics

Registration includes the full one-day symposium program, access to all keynote sessions, and a concluding Networking Happy Hour with speakers, sponsors, and rail executives.

Click here for more information and to view the full agenda.

The post STB chairman, industry leaders to headline Future of Rail Symposium appeared first on FreightWaves.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company is now testing camera samples from Bosch. It has also completed early prototype integrations into its SensorPods. Those are the proprietary modules that house the company’s autonomous driving sensors. Kodiak is further evaluating vehicle actuation components from the supplier.

Hardware Work Accelerates

The partnership aims to create a production-ready autonomous platform. It will also support high-volume deployment of trucks running the Kodiak Driver. Two key factors needed for commercialization and scaling ambitions.

“The quick transition to tangible engineering progress underscores the velocity behind this collaboration,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak AI. “By validating Bosch’s sensors and components, we are deep into the ‘how’ of high-volume production. Our rapid progress is proving we have the shared ability to execute on the roadmap to industrialize the Kodiak Driver at scale.”

Bosch ranks as the world’s largest automotive supplier. It brings a broad portfolio that includes automotive-grade sensors and other components. Such partnerships are critical for self-driving truck companies that need reliable hardware at commercial scale.

“Our progress highlights our readiness to move from strategic alignment to industrial execution as we work to bring scaled autonomous trucking to fruition,” said Peter Tadros, regional president of Power Solutions at Bosch North America. “This cooperation has accelerated and deepened our understanding of real-world autonomous vehicle requirements and helped us forge a path for scaling redundant autonomous driving technology for the entire ecosystem.”

Kodiak’s SensorPods now feature prototype sensor integrations developed with Bosch components. The platform combines specialized hardware, firmware and software interfaces needed to run the Kodiak Driver on trucks. The system can be installed on the assembly line or through an upfitter.

Public Markets and Permian Operations

Kodiak went public in September through a merger with special-purpose acquisition company Ares Acquisition Corp. II. The combined company was valued at about $2.5 billion. Kodiak currently operates a fleet of autonomous trucks in the Permian Basin under an agreement with Atlas Energy Solutions.

Kodiak’s SensorPod technology with Bosch hardware samples will be on display May 3-6 at the ACT Expo in Las Vegas.

The post Kodiak AI and Bosch begin hardware deliveries for autonomous trucks appeared first on FreightWaves.

XPO (NYSE: XPO) reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.01, 13 cents ahead of the consensus estimate and 28 cents higher year over year. The adjusted EPS result excluded transaction and restructuring costs. A lower tax rate was roughly a 5-cent tailwind in the quarter.

Consolidated revenue of $2.1 billion was 7% higher y/y and above the $2.04 billion consensus estimate.

Click for full story – “XPO could soon see sub-80% ORs”

The company’s LTL unit reported a 5% y/y revenue increase to $1.23 billion. Revenue was 6% higher on a per-day comparison. A slight tonnage increase coupled with a 5% increase in revenue per hundredweight (yield) drove the result. (Yield was up 4% y/y excluding fuel surcharges.)

The change in tonnage was driven by a 3% increase in daily shipments, which was mostly offset by a 2.7% decline in weight per shipment. Lower shipment weights and a 1% increase in length of haul positively impacted the yield metric. Revenue per shipment (excluding fuel) increased 1% y/y.

The company credited “profitable market share gains” and “above-market pricing growth” for the improvements.

Click for full story – “XPO could soon see sub-80% ORs”

The segment reported an 83.9% adjusted operating ratio (inverse of operating margin), which was 200 basis points better y/y and 50 bps better than the seasonally stronger fourth quarter. (The unit normally records 50 bps of sequential deterioration in the first quarter.)

Sequentially, revenue per day increased 3% from the fourth quarter as tonnage per day was up 5% and yield slid 2%. (The yield metric was negatively impacted by a sequential increase in shipment weights and a decline in length of haul.)

XPO’s European transportation segment reported an 11% y/y increase in revenue to $868 million. Adjusted EBITDA of $33 million was 3% higher y/y.

“We’re continuing to deliver robust incremental margins and industry-leading operating ratio improvement, with the greatest upside still ahead,” said Mario Harik, chairman and CEO, in a news release. “We have a clear path to compounding earnings growth and accelerating free cash flow generation, with returns amplified as freight demand recovers.”

Shares of XPO were up 1% in premarket trading on Thursday.

XPO will host a call at 8:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday to discuss first-quarter results.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

• Old Dominion eyeing y/y margin improvement in Q2
• Landstar says April yields ‘significantly’ outpacing seasonality
• ArcBest seeing positive trends amid market inflection

The post First look: XPO cruises past Q1 expectations appeared first on FreightWaves.

You have known this was coming since February when CVSA announced the dates. You knew the focus areas at the same time. The driver focus for 2026 is ELD tampering, falsification, or manipulation. The vehicle focus is on cargo securement. Neither of those should require you to scramble right now. If they do, the scramble is the symptom and not the disease.

Since its inception in 1988, more than 1.4 million roadside inspections have been conducted during International Roadcheck. This is not a new event. It is not an ambush. It is a scheduled, publicly announced, annual enforcement initiative that has operated on the same basic model for nearly four decades. Fleets that treat it as a surprise every May have a compliance culture problem that three days of inspectors on the interstate are revealing.

The 2025 Roadcheck produced 56,178 inspections across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Inspectors discovered 13,553 vehicle out-of-service violations and 3,317 driver out-of-service violations. The vehicle out-of-service rate was 18.1 percent and the driver out-of-service rate was 5.9 percent. Nearly one in five vehicles inspected got parked on the shoulder. Brake systems topped the list of vehicle out-of-service violations, accounting for 24.4 percent of all vehicle OOS findings. When combined with the 20 percent defective brakes category, brake-related issues made up more than 40 percent of all vehicle out-of-service violations. 

Brakes. Again. Every year. The same defect category that has topped this list for longer than most people currently in the trucking industry have been alive. And this year, while the focus areas are ELD tampering and cargo securement, brake systems accounted for 3,304 out-of-service violations in 2025, with 20 percent of defective brakes ranking third among all vehicle out-of-service categories. Focus areas change. Brakes do not go away. That is the data telling you something consistent and important about where the real preventive maintenance gaps live in this industry. 

Now let me tell you about the $77,000 fine, because that story is more relevant to your operation than any Roadcheck statistic.

A carrier had a brake defect on a Driver Vehicle Inspection Report. The driver did the right thing, found the defect, documented it and submitted the DVIR. That is exactly what the system is supposed to do. The defect notation sat in that DVIR. Nobody fixed it. The vehicle kept rolling. The driver continued to note the defect on subsequent DVIRs. The vehicle kept getting dispatched. A month went by. The defect was finally repaired.

FMCSA audited the carrier. The vehicle was pulled for review as part of the sample. The file review told the whole story: weeks of consecutive DVIR entries documenting an out-of-service level brake defect, the vehicle operating on public roads the entire time, dispatch records showing the truck was being assigned loads while the defect was known and documented and unresolved. FMCSA assessed a civil penalty for every day from the date of the initial defect report to the date of repair. The total came to $77,000.

That fine was not the result of a bad inspection. It was the result of a functional reporting system attached to a completely dysfunctional repair workflow. The DVIR did its job. The process around it did not.

Under 49 CFR 396.11, a driver is required to prepare a written report at the completion of each day’s work for each vehicle operated, identifying any defect or deficiency discovered or reported that would affect the vehicle’s safety in operation or result in a mechanical breakdown. Under 49 CFR 396.13, the next driver to operate that vehicle must review that report, sign it, and acknowledge awareness of any reported defects. Under 49 CFR 396.17, every commercial motor vehicle must be systematically inspected, repaired, and maintained, and parts and accessories must be in safe and proper operating condition at all times. The carrier in this case was compliant with the reporting requirement but completely noncompliant with the repair and maintenance obligation triggered by those reports.

This is the gap that exists in fleet maintenance programs across the industry and that is exposed during audits far more often than it is caught at a roadside inspection. The DVIR is a communication tool. It is the mechanism through which the driver, who has eyes on that vehicle every day, communicates the actual condition of the equipment to the people responsible for keeping it safe. When that communication flows into a system that reads it, acts on it, tracks the repair, closes the loop, and ensures the vehicle is not dispatched while an open defect remains unresolved, the system works. When the DVIR becomes a form that gets filed and not a trigger that gets actioned, you have documentation of your own liability and nothing else.

If you do not have a functioning DVIR workflow, you do not have a preventive maintenance program. If you do not have a preventive maintenance program, you certainly do not have a predictive maintenance program. That frontline visibility into your fleet that the daily pre-trip and post-trip inspection provides is the most valuable real-time data feed available to a fleet maintenance operation, and most of it is wasted because the system that captures it does not connect to the system that acts on it.

A solid DVIR program in 2026 does not mean paper forms in a filing cabinet. It means a digital inspection workflow where defect reports route automatically to maintenance queues, where each open defect has an owner and a timeline, where dispatch has visibility into open defects before assigning a vehicle to a load, where repairs close out in the same system that logged the defect, and where the entire history of that vehicle’s inspection and repair record is available in 30 seconds for an auditor or an attorney. Platforms like Fleetio, Samsara, Motive, and others have built exactly this workflow. It is not expensive relative to a $77,000 civil penalty and it is not complicated relative to the alternative.

For the 2026 Roadcheck driver inspection, inspectors will check the driver’s qualifications, license, record of duty status, medical examiner’s certificate, seat belt usage, skill performance evaluation certificate (if applicable), and status in the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Last year, falsification of the duty status record was the second-most-cited driver violation, with 58,382 nationwide. In 2025, 18,108 violations were issued for cargo not being secured to prevent leaking, spilling, blowing, or falling, and 16,054 violations were issued for vehicle components or dunnage not being secured. Those are the targets for this year. Those are also the issues that exist in your fleet 365 days a year, regardless of whether it is Roadcheck week. 

The safest fleets in this industry do not prepare for Roadcheck. They operate Roadcheck-ready all year and treat the three-day blitz as one more Tuesday rather than a compliance emergency. Those fleets have pre-trip and post-trip inspection programs that actually function. They have DVIR workflows that trigger repairs, not just documentation. They have dispatch processes that query vehicle status before assigning a load. They have maintenance teams that close out defect reports and create a documented repair record that survives an audit.

May 12 is 12 days away. You have time to tighten up the obvious stuff, walk your equipment with fresh eyes on cargo securement and brake condition, verify your drivers know what ELD tampering looks like and understand the consequences, and make sure your DVIR logs from the last 30 days do not tell a story you do not want told under a compliance review.

The DVIR program fix is not a 12-day project. It is a systems decision that protects you not from three days of Roadcheck inspections, but from the audit that can happen any day of any year, and from the discovery process in the litigation that follows a crash involving a truck whose defects were documented and ignored.

The $77,000 fine was paid. The vehicle eventually got fixed. The question for your operation is whether you have the workflow in place to ensure you never document your own liability one DVIR entry at a time.

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The system will be showcased at the May 4-7 event in Las Vegas on a Volvo VNL 300 heavy-duty truck that produces 500 horsepower and 1,850 pound-feet of torque, with fuel efficiency closely comparable to that of diesel-powered models. The demonstration represents what Westport calls a critical step toward commercializing high-pressure direct injection (HPDI) technology for the North American market.

“Showcasing our next-generation high-pressure CNG system at ACT Expo marks a defining milestone for the future of clean transportation,” said Dan Sceli, chief executive of Westport. “By combining advanced high-pressure storage with Cespira’s proven HPDI fuel systems, we’re demonstrating that fleets can achieve diesel performance and efficiency using widely available natural gas.”

The Joint Venture Behind HPDI

The HPDI fuel system is managed through Cespira, a joint venture between Westport and Volvo Group launched about a year and a half ago. The technology is already commercially available in more than 30 countries, powering over 10,000 trucks worldwide using liquefied natural gas.

One defining feature of this technology is that it doesn’t replace a diesel engine. Rather, it’s modified to work with diesel engines.

“This is a diesel engine. It’s just running on natural gas,” Sceli said. “It’s not a new engine. There’s no new engine development. It’s a base diesel engine that is modified with our system — the injectors, the controls and whatnot — to run natural gas,” Sceli added.

The compression-ignition approach requires no spark plugs, no modifications to the transmission or cooling system, and no changes to engine maintenance schedules. This also helps when getting these trucks serviced.

“When this truck pulls into a service center, all those experienced diesel mechanics with all the diesel equipment — it’s a diesel engine coming in for service,” Sceli said.

Engineering for the North American Market

While HPDI has proven successful in Europe with LNG, North America’s infrastructure favors CNG because of its extensive pipeline network and stable pricing. Westport engineered a high-pressure (~700 bar) CNG platform specifically to address this market gap.

“North America is a compressed natural gas market. We have our pipelines, we have the infrastructure — lots of infrastructure,” Sceli said. “Natural gas is stable in price and there’s plenty of it.”

The abundance of natural gas in North America introduces additional fuel cost savings potential depending on the retail price of diesel. The release notes that Westport’s system on the demo truck offers a driving range of more than 600 miles and up to 10 miles per gallon equivalent.

The storage tanks used leverage technology originally developed for hydrogen applications. High-pressure tank valves, pressure relief devices and safety controls from Westport’s existing components business integrate with storage tanks originally engineered for hydrogen.

Sceli noted that one of the benefits of the original hydrogen use case is the high-pressure storage. Many companies invested in hydrogen storage capabilities, reducing the upfront research and development costs.

Additionally, the fact that CNG molecules are larger than hydrogen molecules also works in Westport’s favor, making them easier to contain and manage at high pressure.

A Bridge to Hydrogen

The HPDI system offers fuel versatility that extends beyond natural gas. With minimal hardware changes, the system can run on CNG, renewable natural gas or hydrogen.

Unlike fuel cells, HPDI-equipped engines do not require 99.999 percent pure hydrogen, eliminating the need for dedicated super-clean distribution systems and avoiding the costs of liquefying hydrogen for cryogenic transport.

“OEMs can integrate NG HPDI in the near term and subsequently leverage their existing HPDI engineering and manufacturing investments to extend the technology to other fuels as needed,” the company said.

Looking ahead, Westport currently has a demo truck gathering real-world data, with plans to launch demonstration projects with fleets in both the United States and Canada.

The next major milestone is Environmental Protection Agency certification, which Sceli identified as the primary step toward full commercialization.

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“After completing the additional work requested by the STB, the facts remain clear: This merger enhances competition and delivers real public benefits that make America’s supply chain stronger,” said Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) Chief Executive Jim Vena, in a release. 

The STB in January rejected the railroads’ initial filing as incomplete, stating it failed to include market share forecast information, terms for UP’s withdrawal from the deal, and details of the sale of a switching railroad that handles critical interchange traffic between carriers.   

UP claimed that the new analysis in the updated application is the first in rail merger history to use traffic data provided by all six North American Class I railroads, rather than sample data from the STB, enabling “the most thorough assessment of market and operational impacts ever.” 

“This merger is fundamentally about growth,” said Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) President and CEO Mark George, in the release. “Shippers have been clear about what they value, and the data backs it up. When single-line rail service is available, they choose it. Our combined network will deliver seamless freight moves within and across the Mississippi watershed markets with one Class I railroad accountable from origin to destination.” 

An improving trucking market where rising rates historically lead shippers increasingly to use less expensive intermodal rail led the partners in the revised filing to bump up their projections for winning over highway freight from 2 million to 2.1 million truckloads annually. The shift will save shippers an estimated $3.5 billion a year, which the railroads say will flow through to consumer prices, making American goods more affordable.

Coast-to-coast route will cut transit times

The single-line route and accompanying reduction in freight handoffs, they say, means in-transit savings of 24-48 hours, although some industry executives expect even greater reductions. George in a recent presentation to a rail conference touted coast-to-coast service in just four days – the same as trucks. 

The amended application increases premium seven-day-a-week intermodal lanes from six to seven, including a new lane connecting northern California and the Southeast.

“The analysis also confirms the combined company will have sufficient equipment and infrastructure capacity available to support the projected growth,” the release stated.

The companies in the application also claim the merger will preserve customer access to competing railroads, “and will have no meaningful impact on geographic competition or on the availability of independent routes.”

Vena said projections show the combined railroad will move about the same number of ton-miles as BNSF (NYSE: BRK-B), its western competitor, currently handles. He said that emphasizes how the merger will enhance competition – a central requirement of the STB’s tougher requirements for mergers formulated in 2000 after a series of problematic rail takeovers.

A newly-consolidated carrier will require 1,200 net new union jobs by the third year of the merger to handle new business, up from 900 in the original application. That’s in addition to the “jobs-for-life” guarantee covering every union employee with a job at the time of the merger, even for members of unions such as the Teamsters, which oppose the deal.

The amended application includes more detailed market share projections that account for the growth the combined railroad expects to gain as shippers move traffic from trucks and other railroads.

It’s unclear whether a merger application has ever been rejected twice.

“The analysis confirms what we’ve been saying: Our merger will create strong growth by providing customers a superior service product, which in itself creates competition in the railroad industry,” George said. “The announcement of our merger alone has caused other railroads to respond with new offerings.” 

Under chairman Patrick Fuchs, who as a legislative aide to Sen. John Thune co-authored the most recent federal surface transportation funding legislation, the STB gathered more than 100 million separate pieces of data prior to the first application filing. Fuchs brought in specialists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to help crunch the numbers, to ensure nothing is overlooked.

In the updated application, UP and NS say they will sell off their shares of the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis. The carriers initially sought temporary controlling interest in TRRA, which handles interchange traffic among Class Is, in order to reduce their stakes over time.   

Subscribe to FreightWaves’ Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox.

Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

Anti-merger group launches as UP, NS prepare to refile application

Canadian National’s first-quarter profit slips

Corman’s Broyles new chair of short line rail trade group

Wabtec posts higher quarterly sales and earnings

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The haul occurred the night before. A Bot Auto autonomous tractor hauled commercial freight 231 miles across Texas overnight without a safety driver, a remote operator or an in-cab observer.

Bot Auto completed the run from Riggy’s Truck Parking in northeast Houston to Safe Stop in Hutchins, just south of Dallas, departing at 1:16 a.m. CT on April 29, 2026, and arriving at 4:57 a.m. CT. The freight arrived on time to meet a shipper’s tight delivery window.

“People told me autonomous trucking commercialization still had a long way to go. This load is my answer,” said Dr. Xiaodi Hou, founder and CEO of Bot Auto. “We did not build a demonstration, we built a business: commercial freight, on public roads, with no human in the cab or remote driving, operating between third-party logistics hubs, and most importantly, making money on every mile.”

The Driverless Journey: From Houston to Dallas

The northbound Interstate 45 lane was booked through Ryan Transportation, a third-party logistics provider ranked No. 19 on the 2025 Transport Topics Top 100 Freight Brokerage list. 

The run addressed a shipper’s need for tight delivery windows and service consistency, including overnight transit. It is the kind of freight traditional capacity often struggles to cover reliably. Most human drivers prefer to drive during the day, making nighttime-only drivers a scarce commodity.

Autonomous trucks operate without fatigue, hours-of-service limits or the scheduling constraints that lead to missed pickup and delivery windows. The route covered 231 miles in under four hours.

“At Ryan Transportation, we’re constantly evaluating new solutions that enhance service, safety and reliability for our shipper partners,” said Jeff Henderson, senior vice president at Ryan Transportation. “Forming this partnership is a strategic decision based on Bot Auto’s proven technology and the role autonomous trucking will play long-term in logistics. It will strengthen our ability to provide dependable, high-frequency capacity on time-sensitive freight while maintaining the operational standards our customers expect.”

Bot Auto operates as a trucking carrier using its Transportation as a Service (TaaS) model rather than licensing hardware and software to outside fleets. The company runs its own tractors with a mix of owned and leased trailers.

Bot Auto also shared the economics behind its human-driven and humanless operations. The company’s humanless cost per mile is $1.89, compared with the industry’s estimated $2.26 per mile, according to the American Transportation Research Institute. Add a human driver to Bot Auto’s operation, and that figure jumps to $3.78.

Safety and External Validation

Autonomous vehicle analyst Grayson Brulte observed the operation firsthand from pickup through delivery, documenting the run on video for The Road to Autonomy.

“What I saw on the roads in Texas was not a test. It was an autonomous commercial operation designed to scale and reduce downtime,” Brulte said. “Bot Auto is not doing a pilot, they are building a commercial trucking business powered by autonomy, free from the inconsistencies that are all too common in traditional trucking.”

Bot Auto’s autonomous driving system incorporates multiple layers of safety with fallback protections for every potential failure point, meeting federal, state and local safety requirements. The company has also partnered with local and state law enforcement, briefing officers on interacting with autonomous vehicles and providing a First Responder Guide for emergency protocols.

Autonomous trucking is no longer a moonshot

The Houston-based company, founded in 2023, reached commercial humanless operation in less than three years with 80 employees, a fleet of 12 tractors, 25-plus contracted customers and $40 million in capital raised.

“The question is no longer whether autonomous trucking is achievable,” the company noted. “It is who can scale economically, and without hidden human layers.”

Bot Auto is expanding its operating network and deepening its partnership with Ryan Transportation, aiming to prove load by load that humanless trucking is a repeatable commercial service.

“That was my commercial vision for this revolutionary technology a decade ago,” Hou said. “Now we intend to set that as the standard in America, with no asterisks and no caveats. Houston to Dallas is mile one.”

The post Houston, We Have Liftoff: Bot Auto achieves first humanless commercial run appeared first on FreightWaves.

In May, leaders from across the freight industry, vetting platforms and fraud prevention, are meeting with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and members of Congress. The focus is not on responding after something goes wrong, but on understanding how bad actors get into the system in the first place.

As we got deeper into the discussion, Prax made it clear that the failure point is not the load. It is the entry point. The freight industry was built for speed, with low barriers to entry designed to keep freight moving. That structure worked when trust and long-standing relationships carried more weight. Today, it creates exposure at the onboarding level, where identity is not always deeply verified.

In practical terms, access can be obtained for a few hundred dollars, often within days. The barrier to entry can be lower than that of many regulated trades, including becoming a licensed barber in some states. On paper, everything may appear legitimate, but the system is validating documents rather than confirming the individual behind them.

where the gaps start

Once access is granted, the rest of the process assumes legitimacy. Freight is tendered, communication begins, and control changes hands. By the time inconsistencies appear, the load is already moving, which limits the available response. Fraud does not require bypassing the system. It operates within it.

The scale of the system makes consistent oversight difficult. There are roughly 327,000 motor carriers operating today, along with tens of thousands of brokers and freight forwarders. Oversight is handled by approximately 350 federal officers, making comprehensive review unrealistic. At the current pace, it would take decades to fully inspect and rate all companies, and about 94% do not have a safety rating.

Data inconsistencies add to the challenge. More than 177,000 companies show conflicting authority status depending on the system being used. In some cases, systems that should align do not communicate, creating uncertainty at critical decision points.

Regulatory frameworks exist, but enforcement cannot keep pace with the rate of entry and activity. The system often relies on assumptions where verification is needed, and accountability tends to come after the fact.

tools help, but they don’t fix the problem

The industry has responded by building tools to improve visibility. Vetting platforms, monitoring systems, and risk detection tools have helped identify issues more quickly and provide better insight into potential risk. These tools are valuable, but they do not address the core issue.

In our conversation, fraud was described as often being the result of process breakdowns rather than technology failures. Missed steps, incomplete verification, and decisions made without full context create openings. Technology can support stronger decisions, but it does not replace the need for consistent processes.

There is also a structural limitation. Many platforms operate independently and do not consistently share data. This creates gaps between systems. As Prax described, bad actors move between platforms and take advantage of these seams. If one system identifies an issue and another does not, the risk continues to move rather than being eliminated.

why the industry is going to Washington

When we discussed the trip to Washington, DC, Prax made an important distinction. This is not a general group of industry leaders meeting with government officials. It is a specific group of competitors made up of people from onboarding, vetting, and compliance, those working directly with identity, authority, and access on a daily basis.

That distinction matters because the focus is not on what happens after a problem occurs. It is on how companies get into the system in the first place. The issue sits at the foundation, and no single company can address it alone. The purpose of the meeting is not just alignment but understanding where responsibility sits across the system.

Both sides are working within real limitations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration does not have the ability to verify identity in real time across every entry point, which is the reality of operating at this scale. At the same time, the industry has developed capabilities that allow for real-time identity checks, affiliation mapping, and early risk detection. The gap exists because neither side controls the full solution.

Another key issue is the lack of coordination between platforms. The gaps are not only between the industry and the government. They also exist between onboarding and vetting systems themselves. Without shared signals and consistent data flow, risk is not removed. It shifts from one platform to another.

The numbers help explain the urgency. Truck-related incidents account for roughly 5,000 deaths each year, which is comparable to dozens of planes crashing annually. At the same time, the agency responsible for trucking operates on a budget of around $1 billion, compared to roughly $25 billion for aviation. The size of the system and the resources behind it are not aligned, which makes it harder to address risk at the level the system now requires.

The focus of these discussions is entry into the system, identity verification, and the movement of information across platforms. The objective is to reduce exposure before a bad actor gains access.

what this means going forward

For brokers, carriers, and shippers, this is an operational issue. It affects how freight is covered, how partners are selected, and how risk is managed. It also adds cost through verification efforts, issue resolution, and ongoing monitoring.

Cargo theft and freight fraud are often viewed as isolated events. They reflect how the system functions. The industry was designed for speed, and that design created openings that can be exploited.

What we see today is only a portion of what is actually there. Cargo theft and freight fraud remain a multi-billion-dollar issue moving through a trillion-dollar system

Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phillip Brink.

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(A first look at C.H. Robinson’s earnings can be found here.) 

With a Supreme Court decision looming on broker liability that could have a huge impact on the 3PL industry, the brokerage that led the charge at the nation’s highest court had its opportunity Wednesday to tell the world what it thinks might happen on the outcome of the case.

In an earnings call with analysts after the release of its first quarter earnings, C.H. Robinson CEO Dave Bozeman was immediately questioned by Tom Wadewitz of UBS when the discussion was opened up to analysts about what would happen if C.H. Robinson were to lose Montgomery vs. Caribe II. The case was argued before the court in early March, but C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) is effectively the defendant as it was the brokerage that hired Caribe Transport, whose truck in 2017 hit Montgomery, a truck driver, on the side of a road in Illinois. 

C.H. Robinson was tossed out as a defendant in a lower court. But if a decision before the Supreme Court finds that dismissal was improper due to the nine justices’ interpretation of federal law, the company could find itself back in if the case is sent back to the Seventh Circuit.

A decision on the case is expected before the end of June.

“I want to be really clear about this,” Bozeman said. “The Montgomery case is a case that we expect to win. We have argued a really good case to the Supreme Court.”

Safety is key concern: CEO

At issue is the interpretation of the so-called safety exception to the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (F4A). While F4A in general blocks state action against companies engaged in transportation if it would affect what the law described as a “price, route or service,” the safety exception says such action can proceed if it is “with respect to motor vehicles.” The question before the court, and where circuit courts have failed to agree, is whether that definition pulls in brokerages, who are not mentioned in the safety exception. (There are other sections in F4A where brokerages are specifically referred to, and one of the brokerage industry’s arguments was that if Congress wanted 3PLs in the safety exception, it would have explicitly done so as it did in other parts of the law).

And although the issue has been described as one impacting broker liability, Bozeman pushed back against that definition.

“This case is not really about immunity for brokers,” he said. “This is about safety and not having 50 different state rules.” There are circuit courts with an interpretation of the safety exception that exclude brokers; there are circuits that have found differently. The Supreme Court is expected to clarify that inconsistency.

Regardless of whether the decision is favorable, Bozeman said C.H. Robinson “has a playbook.” If the case goes against the brokerage industry–which would be a finding by the Supreme Court that “with respect to motor vehicles” can mean the broker that booked the truck involved in a crash–”that would bring some headwinds to the industry.”

It’s on FMCSA

Bozeman came back briefly to an argument that was made in briefs and in the Court’s oral arguments: “FMCSA should really be the ones driving the safety of carriers.” The gist of the argument is that it is FMCSA’s job to see that carriers are qualified to be on the road, and brokers can not be expected to be responsible for a second layer of safety vetting. 

One acknowledged fact about regulatory or legal costs: bigger companies, regardless of the industry, are better suited to handle those burdens than smaller ones. In the case of 3PLs, there are none bigger than C.H. Robinson. 

Silver lining in a loss?

That led Wells Fargo’s Chris Wetherbee, a managing director and head of transportation and airline research, to ask whether there might not be an upside to a negative ruling. 

“How do you think about market share?” Wetherbee asked. “It strikes us that there’s a whole bunch in this industry that are essentially making no money as it stands right now.” If a ruling comes down unfavorable to the 3PL industry, Wetherbee said, “theoretically there should be some cost pressures for insurance coverage or other factors. What’s the opportunity for Robinson in that scenario from a share standpoint?

But Bozeman didn’t go all in on answering the question. 

“Obviously there’s going to be some insurance implications if you’re going to be in this business, and that’s going to impact different people in different ways, depending on your health and your size, and we’re prepared either way for that,” he said. 

Beyond that, Bozeman stayed on message. 

“It’s important that we win this case, because the Supreme Court really has an opportunity to resolve the disagreement in the lower courts,” he said.  “We’ve got to ensure consistency in the application of this preemption of these claims and it will reduce the uncertainty for brokers, shippers and carriers alike.”

Fewer people working at CHRW…again

C.H. Robinson’s quarterly earnings featured the latest installment of data showing a continuing reduction in headcount, which is down about 12% year-on-year. 

Ken Hoexter of the transportation research team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch asked C.H. Robinson to “walk through that process, where we’re seeing that change, and where it’s coming out of.”

C.H. Robinson’s management has said in the past that much of headcount reduction is made possible by its aggressive adoption of AI, and a significant portion of the 60-minute call focused on further use of agentic AI at the company.

But specifically in response to Hoexter’s question, Bozeman said C.H. Robinson “pretty consistently looks at workflows and for us, it’s the order to cash process.” That term has been defined as “the entirety of the ordering process, from when a customer places an order, to order fulfillment, receipt of payment and the recording of data for the completed sale.” He said much of it at C.H. Robinson had a large manual process component to it.

“It’s a workflow where we’ve really kind of gone at it with our technology,” he said. 

But the reduction hasn’t all been layoffs, he added. Brokerage is an industry that has, according to Bozeman, a low double digit turnover rate. “And that’s really allowed us to drive efficiencies, while in some cases not backfilling some of those entry level kind of roles that we had in the order to cash process.”

It hasn’t all been reductions at C.H. Robinson, he added. “We’ve shifted some of our focus to more customer focus and that’s where we’ve actually invested in some roles in our small to medium business customer facing,” he said. 

More articles by John Kingston

After CBS report, C.H. Robinson seeks to deflect safety responsibility to FMCSA

SCOTUS grants review on broker liability case; fate of 2nd unclear

At TIA meeting, freight brokers brace for Supreme Court decision

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Seattle-based Amazon reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.78 on $181.5 billion in revenue, up 17% year over year and the fastest pace since the tail end of pandemic-era demand.

“Q1 was a strong quarter for Amazon,” CEO Andy Jassy said during the earnings call. “We continue to find new ways to speed up delivery for customers in both cities and rural areas.”

The e-commerce and cloud services giant beat Wall Street analysts forecasts of EPS of $1.65 on $177.2 billion in revenue.

Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) expects second-quarter revenue between $194 billion and $199 billion, with Prime Day shifting into Q2 — likely driving another surge in e-commerce volumes and transportation demand.

E-commerce growth driven by speed and selection

Amazon continues to double down on delivery speed and selection—two pillars tightly tied to freight demand and network utilization The company also crossed a major operational milestone:

“We’ve delivered more than one billion items same day or overnight so far this year,” Jassy said.

The company expanded:

The company expanded:

• Same-day delivery to thousands of cities
• 1-hour and 3-hour delivery on 90,000+ items
• Ultra-fast “Amazon Now” (sub-30-minute delivery) across nine countries

For freight markets, the shift toward ultra-fast delivery is increasing shipment frequency and tightening fulfillment cycles — key drivers for last-mile capacity.

Fulfillment network efficiency improving

Despite higher volumes, Amazon is gaining efficiency across its logistics network—an important signal for transportation cost discipline.

Outbound shipping costs rose 12% year over year, while fulfillment expenses increased 9%, both trailing 15% unit growth.

The company attributes the gains to better network execution, including inventory positioning and automation.

“We are pleased with the fulfillment and network performance in Q1,” CFO Brian Olsavsky said during the earnings call.

For carriers and shippers, that signals Amazon is moving more freight at lower incremental cost — continuing to pressure rates in dense networks.

Amazon is continuing to refine how inventory is placed across its network — reducing miles traveled per package and shifting freight toward regional lanes, according to Jassy.

“We continue to find new ways to speed up delivery for customers in both cities and rural areas,” Jassy said, highlighting ongoing network redesign efforts.

Grocery and same-day demand drive higher order density

Amazon’s grocery push is also influencing its logistics footprint.

“Our grocery business continues to grow quickly across both perishables and non-perishables,” Jassy said.

With more than $150 billion in grocery sales in 2025, the company is seeing strong adoption of same-day perishables, which drive larger basket sizes and more frequent deliveries.

That trend is increasing demand for temperature-controlled logistics, local fulfillment nodes and high-frequency delivery routes, company officials said.

“Whole Foods market also continues to accelerate with over 550 stores today and 100 more coming in the next few years,” Jassy said. “We remain committed to meeting or beating other retailers on price, and in Q1, the average prices of products offered on Amazon.com decreased compared to the same period last year.”

Amazon first quarter e-commerce & logistics metrics

E-commerce / Units

• Unit growth: +15% YoY (fastest since post-COVID surge)
• Same-day/overnight deliveries: 1B+ items YTD 2026

Revenue / Segment scale

• Total net sales: $181.5B (+17% YoY)
• North America segment: $104.1B (+12% YoY)
• International segment: $39.8B (+19% YoY reported)

Shipping & Fulfillment Costs

• Outbound shipping costs: $25.7B +12% YoY
• Fulfillment expenses: $27.2B +9% YoY
• Cost growth vs. unit growth: Costs lagging volume (+15%) → efficiency gains

Network & Delivery Speed

• 1-hour delivery: Available in hundreds of U.S. cities
• 3-hour delivery: Available in 2,000+ cities
• Same-day assortment: Millions of SKUs
• Ultra-fast delivery (“Amazon Now”): 30 minutes or less in 9 countries

Grocery / Same-day behavior

• Grocery sales: $150B+ (2025)
• Perishable growth: 40x YoY (same-day)
• Basket impact:
  • ~3x more items per order
  • 80% higher spend per order

Profitability & Investment signals

• Operating income: $23.9B (+30% YoY)
• Free cash flow (TTM): $1.2B (down sharply) due to CapEx

The post Amazon pushes delivery speed as Q1 revenue surges to $181B appeared first on FreightWaves.

The deal brings distribution industry veteran Alex Moazed to Augment as president of wholesale distribution, along with co-founders Nick Johnson and John Schumacher, former head of AI at Grainger.

One reason behind the acquisition? Customer demand. Freight brokers and carriers kept asking Augment CEO Harish Abbott whether the platform worked with distributors — their biggest customers.

“When we looked at what Alex had built, two things stood out immediately: distribution-specific domain expertise that would have taken us years to replicate, and a data philosophy we share completely — customer data stays isolated, period,” Abbott said. “It never trains models for anyone else.”

Moazed co-founded Merlin after running Applico Capital, the distribution industry’s first dedicated venture capital fund, where he evaluated over 700 supply chain technology companies. Applico participated in Augment’s seed round in January 2025.

“By the time acquisition conversations got serious, the cultural and technological fit was already obvious,” Moazed said.

The Case For A Purpose-Built Distribution AI

B2B distribution is extremely decentralized, even more so than freight. Enterprise distributors lose margin to operational complexity driven by fragmented systems. This fragmentation creates inconsistent product language and manual processes across multiple enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

“Sales reps spend 30 minutes entering a purchase order that a customer already typed out,” Moazed said. “Counter reps get halfway through a quote, the ERP crashes, they start over. Branch managers call suppliers every two weeks just to check on open orders.”

A single enterprise might run six different ERPs. A quote can take two minutes per line across thousands of lines daily. Generic AI tools fail to handle unit conversions, customer-specific SKU language and exception-heavy workflows. Many also train shared models on proprietary distributor data without returning value to customers.

“Distributor data is a competitive moat — their resistance to shared-data AI models isn’t an objection to overcome, it’s a legitimate business concern,” Moazed said.

Augment’s platform, Augie, uses agentic AI to follow standard operating procedures written in natural language rather than custom code.

“Previously, light business rules and workflow customization was put into the ERP with a small army of engineers writing custom code,” Moazed said. “Now, the incremental cost of customizing workflow automation is headed towards zero because you are writing a process document in English and the AI agents are actioning the work alongside your human teammates.”

Acquisition Augments Existing Customers

Augie’s distribution offering is already operational with more than $20 billion in combined distributor revenue under management. 

Initial enterprise customers include Ewing Outdoor Supply, a $1 billion landscape distributor; Insco Distributing, a family-owned HVAC-R distributor; Brooks Safety Solutions, one of the nation’s largest fire and safety distributors; and Reece, a $3.5 billion leader in plumbing and waterworks distribution.

“Augie saves me 80% of the time spent on quoting,” said Mike Mackey, Commercial Services Manager at Ewing Outdoor Supply. “It’s as if I had my own personal assistant. It seamlessly integrates with workflows and automatically connects to my inbox and the ERP, with product search functionality that blows our ERP and website out of the water.”

Wholesale distributors operate some of the largest private fleets in the country. They are also among the biggest shippers of full truckload and less-than-truckload freight managed by the brokers and carriers Augment already serves.

“The more of the supply chain Augie manages, the better it understands every transaction on it — where freight is coming from, why it’s moving, and what happens on either end,” Abbott said. “We’re not building separate product infrastructure for separate industries. We’re building one AI platform. The more of the supply chain it touches, the more valuable it gets for everyone on it.”

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The Stop the Rail Merger Coalition in a release late Wednesday warned the merger “would reduce competition, drive up costs for American manufacturers, farmers and consumers, and inject new vulnerabilities into the nation’s workforce and supply chain, at a moment when affordability and resilience matter most.”

The group is anchored by BNSF (NYSE: BRK-B) and CPKC (NYSE: CP), joined by major agriculture and chemical shippers groups, as well as the Teamsters labor union.

The merger, if approved, would reshape the American supply chain, a behemoth with 53,000 miles of track in 43 states. UP (NYSE: UNP) and NS (NYSE: NSC) claim a seamless coast-to-coast railroad will convert 2 million truckloads to rail annually, making the journey in as little as 4 days – competitive with motor carriers. They also say streamlined handling of freight will open up the Upper Mississippi watershed to expanded rail freight, and reduce delays through key hubs such as Chicago, Kansas City and New Orleans. 

But the coalition said a national poll conducted by McLaughlin & Associates found nearly 71% of Americans oppose the merger after learning about its impacts, while just 20% support it. A total 68% believe the merged company would keep promised cost savings for itself, rather than passing them on to businesses or consumers. 

The Surface Transportation Board in January rejected the initial merger application as incomplete. It asked the partners for more information on market share projections, terms that would permit UP’s withdrawal from the deal, and plans for divestment of a switching railroad that handles interchange traffic in St. Louis.

Chemical producers and other shippers who suffered service issues under previous mergers earlier coalesced under the Rail Customer Coalition banner; this is the first time Class I railroads have joined that branding. 

“It’s unfortunate these groups are distorting the facts,” an NS spokesperson said in an email to FreightWaves. “The benefits for our workforce, our customers and the American economy are clear – our amended, data-backed application, which we will file April 30 with the STB, clearly reinforces the case for a coast-to-coast railroad, making rail more competitive to other modes of transportation, reducing costs and delivering benefits that will make American goods more affordable.”

Union Pacific Chief Executive Jim Vena has forcefully lobbied for the deal, which some analysts say represents the first modernization of the national rail network since the mergers of the 1990s. President Donald Trump gave his approval after UP made a donation to his ballroom construction project; the railroad later put his name on a special locomotive commemorating the U.S.A. 250th anniversary.

Subscribe to FreightWaves’ Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox.

Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

Canadian National’s first-quarter profit slips

Corman’s Broyles new chair of short line rail trade group

Wabtec posts higher quarterly sales and earnings

Source: UP-BNSF short line recommended for LA port rail contract

The post Anti-merger group launches as UP, NS prepare to refile application appeared first on FreightWaves.

With a classic squeeze setup for a brokerage–higher spot rates to secure freight for contract business booked at a lower number–C.H. Robinson’s (NASDAQ: CHRW) first quarter 2026 earnings showed that struggle. But overall, it still came out mostly better than a year ago and in many areas sequentially as well. 

C.H. Robinson’s non-GAAP earnings per share was $1.35, compared to $1.17 a year ago. More importantly, according to SeekingAlpha, that number beat the consensus forecast by 12 cents per share. Its revenue of just over $4 billion was short of consensus by $40 million. 

The first reaction from investors was positive. Per Barchart, C.H. Robinson stock was up 4.6% in post-market trading, a gain of $8.54 to $194.97. It is up more than 111% in the last year, and his a 52-week high on February 6 at $203.34. 

One thing that didn’t change: the 3PL continues to slash bodies. The headcount in the North American Surface Transport division, which houses its traditional brokerage activities, was down to 4,752 from 4,970 in the fourth quarter of 2025. Total headcount of 11,705 was down from 12,085 from the prior quarter. 

The squeeze on the difference between revenues and the costs of transportation actually ended up mostly flat at C.H. Robinson, both down 2.1% from a year earlier. 

But the net result of the tighter market given other costs was a drop in the company’s gross profit of 1.6%, to $646.6 million from $657.4 million. Adjusted gross profit declined 1.9% from a year ago.

C.H. Robinson’s operating margin was flat at 4.4% from a year earlier. The adjusted operating margin of 26.6% was up just 30 basis points. That margin excluding some restructuring costs was 29.7% compared to 27.6% a year earlier. 

Sequentially, the company was mostly higher than in the fourth quarter of 2025. Revenues in the NAST group were up 4.9% from the final quarter of 2025; adjusted gross profits in NAST rose 4.7%. 

The Global Forwarding business struggled sequentially, with revenues down just over 9% and gross profits down 8.8%. 

Adjusted gross profits sequentially rose about 1.4% for truckload and 8.28% for LTL. Ocean was down 9.4%.  

In the prepared statement released in conjunction with the earnings, CEO Dave Bozeman discussed those market conditions that are normally tough for brokers. 

“As has been widely discussed in recent months, the North American trucking market has entered a period of supply-driven tightening,” he said. “As that has occurred, we’ve heard old tapes being replayed regarding which transportation providers benefit most during certain parts of the truckload cycle. But those storylines don’t fully appreciate the secular earnings growth that has consistently been generated at the new C.H. Robinson regardless of market conditions.”

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The post First look: C.H. Robinson mostly powers ahead in tough environment for brokers appeared first on FreightWaves.

Executives from the company touted recent business wins on a Wednesday quarterly call. Management also said that some less-than-truckload freight lost to a depressed truckload market is returning as TL capacity exits and spot rates surge. It reminded analysts that the carrier typically outgrows the market by 900 to 1,000 basis points during an upswing.

Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL) reported earnings per share of $1.14 for the first quarter. The result was 9 cents better than the consensus estimate, but 5 cents lower year over year.

Revenue declined 3% y/y to $1.33 billion, but came in higher than analysts’ expectations and management’s guidance range of $1.25 billion to $1.3 billion.

Tonnage declined 8% y/y as a similar decline in shipments was only partially offset by a slight increase in weight per shipment. Revenue per hundredweight (yield) increased 6% y/y (4% higher excluding fuel surcharges). Revenue per shipment (excluding fuel) was up 5%.

Revenue per day increased 0.5% from the fourth quarter to the first quarter, bucking a normal sequential decline of 2.8%. Tonnage growth was 210 bps ahead of normal seasonality in the period, with the outperformance occurring in February. However, April volumes are running slightly below normal seasonal patterns, management said.

April revenue per day is approximately 7% higher y/y given higher fuel surcharge revenue. Tonnage in the month is down 6.5% y/y and yield (excluding fuel) is up 4% to 4.5% y/y.

Weight per shipment is up 1% y/y so far in April to roughly 1,490 pounds. Higher shipment weights—a sign of an improving market—drive revenue per shipment and margins higher. Weight per shipment likely troughed in the 2025 third quarter at 1,458 pounds. In stronger markets when manufacturing activity expands, shipment weights average approximately 1,600 pounds. Old Dominion’s last peak occurred in the 2020 second quarter at 1,636 pounds.

April tonnage is down 15.3% on a two-year-stacked comparison. Old Dominion’s tonnage appears to have troughed in October, which was down 20.8% on a two-year comp.

The company reported a 76.2% operating ratio (inverse of operating margin), which was 80 bps worse y/y but 50 bps better than the seasonally stronger fourth quarter. The result was also roughly 200 bps ahead of management’s implied 78.2% guide.

Salaries, wages and benefits (as a percentage of revenue) were approximately flat y/y even as head count was down 7% to 20,264 (2% lower sequentially). Shipments per employee (per day) were off 1% y/y.

Revenue per shipment (including fuel surcharges) was up 5.9% y/y with cost per shipment up 6.6%—a 70-bp negative spread. The company is targeting a positive spread of 100 to 150 bps in a better market.

Old Dominion normally sees 300 to 350 bps of sequential margin improvement in the second quarter. It expects to see a similar result this year. The guide implies a 73% OR at the midpoint (160 bps better y/y) and assumes a typical seasonal uptick in volumes. This would mark the first notable y/y improvement since 2022. (The company reported slight improvement in the 2024 second quarter.)

The company reiterated a $265 million capex budget for 2026, down from $415 million last year. It has invested roughly $2 billion in the network over the past three years. It said it has a little more than 35% excess terminal door capacity to accommodate a volume inflection. It estimates the industry as a whole is relatively capacity-constrained, holding just 5% to 10% excess slack.

The company’s commentary around April’s sub-seasonal volume trends weighed on shares and the sector on Wednesday. The stock was down 5.6% at 1:33 p.m. EDT compared to the S&P 500, which was off 0.2%. However, the LTLs were up more than 45% year-to-date heading into the print due to an improved manufacturing outlook.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

• Landstar says April yields ‘significantly’ outpacing seasonality
• ArcBest seeing positive trends amid market inflection
• STG Logistics announces deal with lenders, nears bankruptcy exit

The post Old Dominion eyeing y/y margin improvement in Q2 appeared first on FreightWaves.

The LTL industry has embraced precision. With dimensioners now standard on many carrier docks and the NMFTA’s shift to density-based classification for the majority of freight, the margin for error on shipment data is thinner than ever. Across all carriers, shippers that still rely on outdated measurement practices are still facing re-rates. This is happening on as many as one in four shipments, which leads to unpredictable invoices and weaker carrier relationships.

Accuracy and transparency have a significant impact on P&L. Shippers who invest in better data practices are seeing immediate returns: tighter cost forecasting, faster transit times, stronger carrier partnerships, and even the ability to offer all-in pricing to their own customers.

But that doesn’t mean shippers need to invest in expensive new infrastructure. Better training and a partnership with an effective carrier make a massive difference when it comes to avoiding unexpected invoices and re-rates.

The New Rules of LTL Classification

The catalyst behind much of this shift is the NMFTA’s overhaul of the National Motor Freight Classification system. When Docket 2025-1 took effect on July 19, 2025, roughly 2,000 commodity listings moved from traditional commodity-based classification to a standardized density scale. The updated system replaced the old 11-tier density model with a more granular 13-tier structure, and the NMFTA estimates that 70 to 80 percent of LTL freight are now classified by density alone.

That means that the precise weight and cubic dimensions of every pallet are now the primary drivers of freight class (and by extension, cost). Where the old system sometimes allowed vague commodity descriptions to stand in for exact measurements, the new framework demands specificity. That change rewards shippers who get their data right at the point of origin.

At the same time, the measurement technology on carrier docks has matured considerably. Commercial dimensioners have become much more widespread and affordable over the last five years. Many carriers now run every shipment through automated dimensioning systems and digital scales at the terminal. As a result, there’s a much higher likelihood that there could be discrepancies between a shipper’s bill of lading and the carrier’s measurements. 

The Cost of Inaccurate Classifications 

When a carrier’s measurements don’t match what a shipper declared, the shipment gets re-rated (typically re-weighed, re-dimensioned, or re-classified) and the invoice changes. Some shippers have reported that as many as 25 percent of their loads were coming back with re-weighs or re-classifications before they addressed the root cause.

The direct financial impact is obvious, but the indirect costs are often larger. Every re-rated invoice has to be flagged by accounting, investigated by logistics, and in many cases escalated to finance or senior leadership. The review time for a single disputed invoice can often take extra time that eventually adds up to a significant drain on staff productivity across multiple departments. Unpredictable shipping costs also erode the accuracy of financial projections and make it harder for logistics teams to negotiate effectively with carriers, since their own baseline data is unreliable.

There is also a service dimension that gets overlooked. Inaccurate data can cause loads to not fit on trailers as planned. When a piece of freight doesn’t match its declared dimensions, it may be the shipment that has to wait for the next truck, which means delays. 

These avoidable costs land at a time when LTL shipping is already getting more expensive. The Producer Price Index for long-distance LTL services rose 5.4 percent year-over-year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Carriers are holding firm on pricing even in a soft demand environment. The LTL rate-per-pound index climbed 280 basis points year-over-year as of 2025, marking six consecutive quarters of increases.

Shippers who are already absorbing general rate increases and rising fuel surcharges can’t afford to layer preventable re-rate charges on top. Getting shipment data right at the origin is one of the few levers shippers can pull to control costs that are otherwise moving in one direction.

Shippers Who Fixed Their Data Saw Immediate Results

The encouraging reality is that the problem is highly solvable, and the payoff is fast. Several companies that have invested in data accuracy have reported dramatic turnarounds.

Douglas Dynamics, a manufacturer of work truck attachments, discovered that roughly 25 percent of its shipments had incorrect weight, excessive length, or wrong classification once it implemented a transportation management system that gave the company visibility into re-rates for the first time. After trialing a dimensioner at one facility in the fall of 2024, re-rates based on weight and length dropped to just one percent. The company recouped the cost of the system within months.

Bestorq, an industrial equipment supplier, was seeing as many as 25 percent of shipments come back with re-weighs or re-classifications, consuming significant staff time every month. After addressing the issue, not only did re-classifications drop, but the company now has a reliable data baseline to use when discussing any discrepancies with carriers.

KaTom, a restaurant supply company, found a path to better outcomes without investing in dimensioning hardware at all. By consolidating its shipping data into a single view and analyzing where and how frequently items were moving, the company discovered it could pool West Coast-bound shipments into full drop trailers to a carrier distribution center, then break them down for final LTL delivery. The result was faster transit times and a 30 percent reduction in overall shipping cost for those lanes.

ULINE took the concept even further. By maintaining consistently accurate shipment data over time, the shipping supplies company was able to work with its carrier to build accessorial fees into an annualized flat rate, eliminating individual accessorial charges entirely and enabling simplified, all-in pricing for its customers. That kind of arrangement is only possible when both sides trust the underlying data.

Better Data Builds Better Partnerships

When carriers know exactly what they’re picking up, they can plan loads more confidently, allocate resources more efficiently, and deliver more predictable results. Accurate shippers become easier to work with, which opens the door to more collaborative rate negotiations, more direct routing, and long-term partnerships that benefit both sides.

Old Dominion Freight Line, named the number-one national LTL carrier for quality by Mastio & Company for a record 16th consecutive year, has built its approach around this principle. With a 99 percent on-time delivery rate and one of the lowest claims ratios in the industry, OD’s operational model depends on knowing what’s on every trailer. 

That gives shippers a simple opportunity to maximize value. The more accurate the data that shippers provide, the more OD can do in terms of load optimization, direct routing, and predictable service.

Improving data accuracy doesn’t have to be a massive capital project. For many shippers, the most effective first step is ensuring that dock staff are trained to measure the maximum length, width, and height of every shipment. Those measurements should flow into a bill of lading digitally rather than on paper. Understanding how to calculate density (weight divided by cubic volume) is now essential knowledge for anyone involved in the shipping process, given the NMFTA’s classification changes.

In the case of higher-volume operations, modern dimensioners can automate the measurement process entirely and integrate with TMS and ERP systems, but even a tape measure and a certified scale will provide better results than nothing at all.

OD’s Solutions Specialists work directly with shippers to identify data gaps, optimize packaging and classification, and build the kind of transparent, data-driven relationship that benefits both sides of the dock. Whether you’re just starting to digitize your BOLs or looking to fine-tune an advanced operation, the conversation starts with your carrier.

Click here to learn more about Old Dominion Freight Line. 

The post How Accurate Shipping Data Is Transforming LTL Outcomes appeared first on FreightWaves.

The site — Target’s first-ever “receive center” — represents a $265 million investment and will create about 185 local jobs, expanding the retailer’s growing logistics footprint along the Gulf Coast, according to the company’s website.

Unlike traditional distribution centers, the Houston facility is built to intake goods directly from thousands of global vendors, hold inventory upstream and deploy it only when needed across the network. It aims to allow Target to position inventory closer to demand signals and avoid bottlenecks further downstream.

Target (NYSE: TGT), one of the largest retailers in the U.S., operates roughly 2,000 retail stores and 66 supply chain facilities across the country. 

A new node in Target’s supply chain

The Houston receive center will support six regional distribution centers and one flow center, acting as a buffer between import warehouses and store-level fulfillment.

By inserting capacity earlier in the supply chain, Target said it can better manage seasonal, bulky or hard-to-forecast goods while reducing congestion at distribution centers and store backrooms, the company said.

The facility is strategically located between Target’s import hubs in Georgia and Washington state, aiming to help shorten delivery distances and lower transportation costs.

Target also has a significant and growing supply chain presence in Mexico and other Latin American countries. The retailer opened a dedicated sourcing office in Mexico City last year.

Related: Target begins roll out of next-day delivery to 20 more cities

Target officials said the Houston facility will allow it to “stock smarter and faster” by aligning inventory deployment more closely with real-time store demand.

The approach is particularly valuable during peak seasons or for trending items, enabling the company to secure goods early but delay final allocation decisions until demand signals become clearer.

Designed with virtual reality

The Houston site also marks a technology milestone for Target’s supply chain team.

The company used immersive 3D visualization and simulation tools at its XR Experience Center in Minneapolis to design the facility end-to-end before construction began — a first for the retailer.

According to the company, the virtual design process allowed teams to test workflows, optimize layouts and identify inefficiencies early, reducing costly changes after construction and improving operational readiness from day one.

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“We are pleased with how we started the year,” Chief Executive Tracy Robinson said on the railway’s earnings call. “I am proud of how the team is performing. It speaks to the strength of the network and to the quality of the operating model we’ve built. We’re handling volumes more efficiently with fewer people and locomotives. And that matters because it positions us to convert growth more effectively and improve financial performance as the year unfolds.”

Operating income declined 4%, to US$1.13 billion, as revenue declined 1%, to $3.14 billion. Both profits and revenue were affected by unfavorable currency exchange rates. Earnings per share increased 1%, to $1.37.

The railway’s operating ratio increased 1.2 points, to 64.6%. Adjusted for the impact of one-time items, the operating ratio was 64.2%.

Overall volume increased 2% when measured by carloads and containers, or 3% when measured by revenue ton-miles, CN’s preferred metric. The RTMs were a first-quarter record and were led by a 13% increase in grain and fertilizer traffic.

“Volumes were slightly ahead of our expectations, supported by strong execution across the network,” Chief Commercial Officer Janet Drysdale said.

CN (NYSE: CNI) will set a Canadian grain volume record in April, the seventh record in the last eight months, with January coming in as second-best on record. “That’s a hell of a performance,” Drysdale says, noting that grain-car cycle times improved by 15% during the quarter.

CN’s forecast remains for flat volumes overall for the year due to economic uncertainty and ongoing trade tensions.

“In this environment, every carload counts, and the team is bringing it home,” Drysdale said, noting that the railway’s “boots on the ground” regional sales approach generated $100 million in revenue during the quarter and likely will do so in the second quarter as well.

The spike in global energy prices since the Iran conflict began presents short-term opportunities for the railway, Drysdale said. Among them: exports of natural gas liquids through the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia; crude oil; refined products; thermal coal exports; potash; and sulfur.

“Now I don’t have a crystal ball, so I don’t know how long higher prices are going to last and what the broader impact may be on the macro,” Drysdale said. “And I think that’s why we’re remaining appropriately cautious. But near term, we’ve actually seen some nice segments with some benefits that we’re certainly capitalizing on.”

Key operational metrics improved during the quarter, with car velocity up 6%, dwell down by 4%, train speed up 6%, and the local service commitment up by a point, to 91%. CN had a record quarter for fuel efficiency, while crew productivity improved 12% on the basis of gross ton-miles per train and engine employee.

“Once again, this team delivered another disciplined quarter … building on the consistency we’ve been driving across the network,” Chief Operating Officer Pat Whitehead said. “That consistency matters because it allows us to handle volume efficiently, make better use of our resources, and support better financial performance as the year unfolds.”

CN’s train accident and personal injury rates were both up 11% during the quarter.

“We take this very seriously and are actively addressing it. One important finding so far is that there is no single underlying cause driving this increase,” Whitehead said. “Some incidents relate to wheels, some to track conditions, and in one instance, a landslide impacted the train. We have taken targeted and concrete actions to ensure that the learnings from each of these incidents are fully understood and translated into safer outcomes in the quarters ahead.”

Subscribe to FreightWaves’ Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox.

Related coverage:

Corman’s Broyles new chair of short line rail trade group

Wabtec posts higher quarterly sales and earnings

Source: UP-BNSF short line recommended for LA port rail contract

Railcar lessor VP elected to freight infrastructure coalition board

The post Canadian National’s first-quarter profit slips appeared first on FreightWaves.

The changes, which take effect Monday, prioritize loaded freight while shifting empty truck movements to later in the day — a move CBP says will better utilize morning capacity and speed up overall throughput, according to a CBP issued trade notice.

Under the new schedule, northbound empty commercial conveyances will only be processed from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends, according to the CBP notice.

By pushing empty trucks to off-peak hours, CBP aims to:

• Reduce daytime congestion at inspection lanes
• Improve transit times for loaded freight
• Better align staffing and inspection resources with demand
• Increase predictability for shippers and carriers

Meanwhile, laden shipments, in-bond freight and formal entries will continue to move during standard hours, with weekday processing beginning as early as 7 a.m., maintaining priority access to the busiest morning crossing windows.

CBP officials said the changes are designed to address persistent congestion issues at Eagle Pass, where an influx of empty tractors has contributed to longer wait times at international bridges. 

“The lack of utilization of morning hours for laden shipments” was identified as a key bottleneck, according to the trade notice, which outlined ongoing coordination between CBP, local officials and trade stakeholders on both sides of the border.

The Port of Eagle Pass consists of a rail and vehicle bridge connecting it to Piedras Negras, Mexico. Eagle Pass is a city of about 28,000, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. It is about 140 miles southwest of San Antonio. 

The Eagle Pass adjustment reflects a broader trend across the southern border: prioritizing loaded freight and tightening operational controls on empty repositioning moves.

Data from CBP’s Laredo Field Office — which oversees Eagle Pass — shows the port handled more than 5,300 commercial truck crossings during the week of April 19-25, highlighting its role as a growing secondary gateway behind Laredo. 

Rail volumes through Eagle Pass also exceeded 9,800 crossings for the week.

Eagle Pass handled $3.58 billion in trade in February, with imports accounting for nearly three-quarters of total volume, underscoring the port’s role as a key inbound gateway for automotive and consumer goods from Mexico, according to U.S. Census Bureau data analyzed by WorldCity.

While exports fell nearly 10% year over year, automotive-related trade continues to dominate both directions, highlighting the port’s growing importance in North American auto supply chains.

Eagle Pass trade snapshot (February 2026)

(Source: WorldCity / U.S. Census data)

The post Texas border bridge revamps truck crossing schedule to reduce wait times appeared first on FreightWaves.

The integrated parcel delivery and logistics powerhouse completed 23 of 24 previously announced facility closures during the period and is on track to achieve its target of eliminating $3 billion in structural cost this year, company executives said during a Tuesday conference call with analysts to discuss first-quarter earnings. Other elements of the network reconfiguration include reducing 25 million labor hours and 30,000 positions through a combination of downsizing and automation.

The UPS (NYSE: UPS) downsizing is closely correlated with last year’s strategic decision to reduce ties with Amazon, its largest customer, and other B2C e-commerce platforms with low-yielding shipments and instead concentrate on premium segments, such as small-and-medium businesses, B2B, healthcare, automotive, electronics and returns logistics. During the first quarter, UPS reduced Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) volume by 500,000 pieces per day. By mid-year, UPS will have shed 2 million pieces per day in Amazon volume and $5 billion in revenue. 

Amazon represents 8.8% of UPS volume, down from more than 13% prior to last year.

“The market has changed and we’re adapting to it. We’re overturning the old industry assumption that scale alone drives profitability. Instead, we’re focused on premium segments like SMB, B2B and complex healthcare,” CEO Carol Tomé said. “Our strategy is working. … Volume and premium customer wins are driving meaningful revenue per piece growth.” 

UPS generated $3 billion in quarterly revenue from its healthcare logistics services for the first time during the January-to-March period. The growing trend of pharmaceutical companies shipping GLP-1 weight loss drugs direct to consumers rather than to distributors is another opportunity for UPS to gain business in the sector, she added.

Chief Financial Officer Brian Dykes said UPS will close 27 additional facilities this year, most of them in the second quarter. 

UPS reported consolidated revenue declined 1.4% to $21.2 billion, primarily due to an expected reduction in domestic volume (-8%), and adjusted operating profit of $1.3 billion. Total domestic air volume was down 8.9% and ground volume fell 7.9% because of the Amazon draw down. 

Adjusted earnings per share of $1.07 was down 28% year over, but ahead of Wall Street expectations. Domestic revenue fell 2.3% even as fuel surcharges and higher-quality customers drove up per-piece revenue by 6.5%. 

A better customer and product mix contributed to improved domestic revenue per unit. Average daily volume from smaller firms, who typically require more support and ship longer distances because they lack warehouses for regional distribution, increased 1.6% year over year. In the first quarter, small-and-medium businesses represented 34.5% of total U.S. parcel volume, the group’s best penetration in UPS history.

Higher domestic yields were more than offset by new expenses, including the lease of third-party aircraft to compensate for the grounding — and subsequent retirement — of 27 MD-11 freighters following a fatal November crash, the transition of Ground Saver volumes back to the U.S. Postal Service under a new last-mile delivery agreement, inclement weather and higher casualty insurance. Those factors forced UPS to pay $350 million in extra costs, increasing the cost-per-piece by 9.5% year over year, said Dykes.

In the first quarter, UPS tendered about 977,000 packages per day to the Postal Service, which represents about 44% of the Ground Saver volume. The work flow ramped up over time because the companies had to coordinate labeling and other steps. UPS expects to tender about 1 million packages per day to the Postal Service during the second quarter, the CEO said.

Responding to a question about the USPS’s recent imposition of a temporary 8% transportation surcharge on parcel shipments, Tomé said, “The postal system tends to set the floor for the economy product, which is actually pretty good for the whole industry if they’re raising prices.”

Management reiterated expectations for profit growth in the second half as most restructuring and temporary pressures are behind them, while the shift to more profitable B2B delivery and logistics services gains momentum. During the current quarter, the company expects to complete the Amazon glide down, scale back the use of outsourced airlift as it brings on previously ordered Boeing 767 freighters and eliminate transitional costs associated with the Ground Saver handoffs to the USPS — moves that will save the company money. 

The extensive deployment of RFID tracking sensors across the parcel network and the expansion of drop-off locations for subsidiary Happy Returns are the types of upgrades that will retain and attract customers interested in premium service, Tomé said.

One of the key areas where UPS continues to support Amazon is returns. Amazon shoppers can use UPS Store, Staples, Ulta Beauty and other authorized shipping outlets for no-box, no-label returns that are handled by Happy Returns and moved by UPS vehicles.

Earlier this month, UPS agreed to cap its $150,000 voluntary buyout program for delivery and truck drivers at 7,500 individuals after opposition from the Teamsters union. Nearly 80% of the drivers who qualified for a severance package will leave in April. Tomé pushed back on suggestions the Teamsters undercut UPS’s plans, saying the target from the outset was to eliminate 7,500 positions. The Teamsters at one point said it expected 10,000 drivers to accept the UPS offer, according to a court filing.

“Our concern remains that UPS is structurally losing volume to incrementally lower cost and potentially higher service competitor networks such as FedEx. UPS management expects to again return the network to volume growth, especially looking beyond the Amazon reductions in 2026, but we suspect the company’s push to improve pricing could further entice more traffic to competitor alternatives and thus hampering ambitious margin targets in the core Domestic Package segment,” said Barclays equity analyst Brandon Oglenski in a client note.

International

International package revenue increased 3.8% to $4.5 billion as revenue per piece increased 10.7% on a 6% drop in volume. Average daily domestic deliveries within foreign countries decreased 6.6% compared to last year led by a decline in Europe and international export volumes fell 5.5%. Most of the export decline was on trade lanes to the United States, where imports surged a year ago as businesses rushed to beat proposed U.S. tariffs and making year-over-comparisons more difficult than under normal circumstances. U.S. imports were down 16.4%, led by a 22.5% average daily decline from Europe and an 18.3% decline from China, FedEx’s most profitable trade lane. 

The effect from the April 2025 tariff bump and subsequent U.S. elimination of the de minimis exemption for small parcels will recede as the year goes on, making results in subsequent quarters look better by comparison. Tomé said the cross-border results were better than expected given geopolitical headwinds and noted that the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down Trump administration tariffs using emergency powers could result in increased import activity this year. 

The Iran war has incrementally raised costs for UPS because of the need to reconfigure its network to avoid flying over dangerous airspace, which has increased flying time, fuel consumption and pilot compensation, management said. 

The company reiterated full-year guidance of adjusted operating margin of 9.6% and flat year-over-year revenue growth, saying improved revenue sources and higher productivity will drive margin improvement. Second-quarter revenue is projected to be up in the low single digits along with operating margin of 7.5% to 8.5%.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

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The question the Supreme Court is being asked to resolve is whether 49 U.S.C. Section 14501(c), the federal preemption provision of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, preempts a state common-law claim against a broker for negligently selecting a motor carrier or driver. The Seventh Circuit said yes, brokers are preempted. Montgomery appealed. A decision is expected by the end of June.

This is a case that the brokerage industry desperately wants to win and that plaintiff attorneys desperately want to lose. Understanding why requires understanding how carrier selection actually works in the current freight market, because the legal argument and the operational reality are running in completely different directions.

There is no uniform standard for how brokers select carriers. There is no federal regulation that specifies what vetting criteria a broker must apply before tendering a load to a motor carrier. There is no minimum requirement for how a broker evaluates a carrier’s crash history, out-of-service rate, violation patterns, or insurance quality before deciding to move freight. Every broker in America maintains its own procurement criteria, carrier approval standards, and definition of what constitutes adequate vetting. Some are rigorous. Many are not.

The satisfactory safety rating has become the de facto minimum standard for broker carrier selection, even though it is almost meaningless as a current indicator of carrier safety. According to Jack Van Steenburg, former executive director and chief safety officer of the FMCSA, approximately 19,000 motor carriers hold satisfactory safety ratings among the roughly 750,000 carriers with active operating authority in the United States. That is approximately 3 percent of the carrier population. The remaining 97 percent of carriers have no safety rating.

A safety rating is issued only after a compliance review, an on-site examination of motor carrier operations. The FMCSA lacks the resources to conduct compliance reviews for 750,000 carriers, which is why 97 percent of those carriers have never been rated. When a broker says their carrier procurement policy requires a satisfactory safety rating, they are effectively saying they will use any of the 750,000 active carriers in America, except for the small number that have undergone a compliance review and received a conditional or unsatisfactory finding. That is not carrier vetting. That is authority verification with an additional filter that eliminates less than one percent of the carrier population.

What brokers and shippers often overlook is data that actually tells you something about a carrier’s operational safety record. Out-of-service rates by vehicle and driver. Aggregate crash history, including fatal, injury, and property damage counts. Insurance cycling patterns that indicate a carrier is being dropped and repriced repeatedly. Whether the carrier’s principals appear connected to previously revoked or failed operations. Whether the carrier’s physical address is shared by dozens of other carriers at a virtual mail drop. Whether the carrier was formed six months ago with no operational history.

The argument that holding brokers liable under state negligence law would push them to hire only large, well-capitalized carriers, as broker advocates have argued before the Supreme Court, is, in effect, an admission that brokers currently hire carriers they would not hire if there were actual accountability attached to the selection. That is not an argument against broker liability. It is an argument for it.

What the industry needs to understand before the Supreme Court issues its decision is that the outcome in either direction does not solve the underlying problem. If the Court rules in Montgomery’s favor, brokers face negligent-hiring claims under state law. If the Court rules in favor of C.H. Robinson, brokers face no state tort liability for their carrier selection decisions. Neither outcome fixes the market failure. The market failure is that price pressure in spot freight brokerage has made carrier safety a secondary consideration in what should be the most safety-critical procurement decision in American surface transportation.

The answer to all three stakeholder questions, shipper, broker, and carrier, is that the legal framework will not solve a market incentive problem. Accountability only changes behavior when it is attached to the actual decision-maker in real time. A plaintiff verdict three years after a crash against a broker that has since changed its procurement policies does not change the rate email that went out to carriers last Tuesday afternoon, seeking the cheapest truck from Norfolk to Detroit. What changes the rate email is requiring brokers to maintain documented carrier selection criteria, apply that criteria consistently, and demonstrate that the criteria encompass more than a safety rating check.

The Supreme Court cannot mandate that. FMCSA could. It has chosen not to. Until it does, the rate is the rating, the motoring public is the last line of defense, and Shawn Montgomery is not going to be the last person standing on the shoulder of a highway when the wrong carrier comes through.

The post The freight brokerage model broke carrier selection appeared first on FreightWaves.

The Trump Administration is protecting Americans by preventing the entry of individuals who pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety, including those who threaten safety on America’s roads. As part of a coordinated policy, the Department of State is thoroughly vetting and applying strict standards to every visa applicant seeking to operate a commercial truck in the United States, including ensuring applicants have sufficient English language skills, a valid U.S.-issued or U.S.-recognized CDL or the ability to obtain one, and a prior history of safe commercial truck operation.

That confirmation emphasizes eight months of the most aggressive overhaul of the non-domiciled CDL system since the credential category was created. To understand what was fixed, you need to understand what was broken, and it had been broken for a long time.

Every American CDL holder is tracked through the Commercial Driver’s License Information System, which captures violations, crashes, disqualifications, and out-of-service orders across all fifty states. When a carrier runs a background check, when a state issues a renewal, when a roadside inspector runs a license check, that history is there. It is the backbone of driver accountability in American commercial transportation.

For foreign nationals holding non-domiciled CDLs, none of that existed. A driver could arrive in the United States, present an Employment Authorization Document to a state DMV, and walk out with a Class A CDL. The EAD confirmed work authorization. It said nothing about whether that driver had a history of crashes, DUI convictions, license suspensions, or disqualifications in their home country. States had no mechanism to check because there is no international equivalent of CDLIS. The federal government knew it. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said so plainly when the final rule was announced on February 11, 2026. “For far too long, America has allowed dangerous foreign drivers to abuse our truck licensing systems, wreaking havoc on our roadways. This safety loophole ends today.” FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs added that “a critical safety gap allowed unqualified drivers with unknown driving histories to get behind the wheel of commercial vehicles” and that “if we cannot verify your safe driving history, you cannot hold a CDL in this country.”

The crashes that made the political cost of inaction too high came in a cluster. The official FMCSA record documents four fatal incidents in 2025 involving non-domiciled CDL holders who would be ineligible under the new rules. A February 14 multi-vehicle crash inside an I-80 tunnel in Wyoming killed three and injured 20. An August 12 illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike killed three more. An October 21 California highway collision involving eight vehicles killed three people. A December 3 collision with a train at a marked crossing in Ontario, California, killed a crew member. The August Florida crash was the political trigger. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced an immediate pause on the issuance of commercial truck driver visas within days.

Six weeks after that pause, FMCSA issued an emergency interim final rule. The agency’s own release described a nationwide audit that revealed widespread non-compliance among state driver licensing agencies. The rule closed the EAD pathway entirely and limited eligibility to holders of H-2A, H-2B, and E-2 visas, classifications that require consular vetting and interagency screening. The interim rule was stayed by the D.C. Circuit while legal challenges proceeded. The administration completed the full federal rulemaking process and published the final rule in the Federal Register on February 13, 2026, effective March 16.

The FMCSA press release stated that the nationwide audit exposed systemic non-compliance in more than 30 states, which had been illegally issuing tens of thousands of licenses to ineligible drivers. Twenty-eight states and jurisdictions were placed under special enforcement orders. The final rule added mandatory SAVE verification, requiring states to query the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system to confirm every applicant’s lawful immigration status before issuing a credential.

The FMCSA issued North Dakota a December 11 letter of a preliminary determination of noncompliance based on a sample audit of 526 non-domiciled licenses. The state was told to fix the deficiencies or risk losing $34.95 million in federal funds. Of the 526 credentials in the audit sample, approximately 150 met reissuance standards. Robin Rehborg, NDDOT Deputy Director for Driver Safety, announced recertification on April 13. Non-domiciled CDL applicants must now complete all transactions in person, present an unexpired foreign passport and valid immigration documentation, and accept credentials valid for only 1 year.

The recertified states as of April 23 include South Dakota, Iowa, Texas, Delaware, Utah, Rhode Island, North Dakota, Minnesota, and New Jersey. The structural changes are real. The EAD loophole is closed. Consular screening is now the background check mechanism that the system never had. Credentials expire with the driver’s authorized stay, rather than running for four-year terms, regardless of immigration status. The administration identified a decades-old gap, documented it with crash data and audit findings, drafted a rulemaking that survived a federal court challenge, and forced 28 states through compliance reviews that exposed systemic failures. That is a record worth stating plainly.

Or is it?

I’ve long emphasized the need for a federal commercial licensing program for Interstate CDL operators. Why? Well, because State management of commercial driver programs is more often than not an exercise in classic failure. The National Registry II program asked states to implement a basic digital upload feature for CDL medical self-certifications. It gave them ten years. We are nearly a year from the implementation deadline, and there are still states that have needed extension after extension to complete what anyone building software in 2026 could work out in a morning. That is not an isolated example. It is the pattern.

The non-domiciled CDL audit found more than 30 states issuing credentials improperly. Some of those states had been doing it that way for years before federal auditors looked. Systemic problems in bureaucratic institutions do not get fixed by a corrective action plan and a press release. They get fixed by sustained oversight, repeated audits, and consequences for backsliding. The initial audit created that pressure. Whether FMCSA maintains it after the political urgency fades is a different question.

The administration closed a real gap. The new system is meaningfully better than what existed before. The State Department confirmed the pathway is open and the standards are real. What is not confirmed is whether the states tasked with running that pathway every day, in every DMV office, with every applicant, have the institutional muscle to sustain what federal audit pressure forced them to fix.

The question many are asking is, “Why do we continue to participate in trial-and-error programs with US highway safety?”

The post The State Department is processing trucker Visa apps again appeared first on FreightWaves.

That is the law. Pull it at hire. Pull it every 12 months after that. Review it, document that you reviewed it, and keep it in the file. Those are your obligations under federal regulation.

The problem is that a driver can be hired in January with a clean MVR. In February, they fail to pay child support and their license gets suspended. In March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December, that driver is on your payroll operating a commercial motor vehicle on a suspended license. The following January, you pull the MVR as required and discover what happened. You have had an unqualified, unlicensed driver on the road for 11 months and you were fully compliant with federal regulations the entire time.

That is the designed outcome of a regulatory standard that treats license status as something you check once a year.

In fatal large truck crashes in 2021, 22.5 percent of the large truck drivers involved had no CDL at all, and another 1.6 percent had a CDL that was expired, suspended, revoked, canceled, or disqualified. Nearly one in four drivers involved in fatal large truck crashes that year had no valid commercial license or had one that was not in good standing. That is not a small rounding error. That is a systemic failure in how the industry monitors who is operating under its authority.

The regulation that governs this is not designed to prevent that failure. It is designed to create a compliance record. There is a difference between the two, and the trucking industry has been living in that gap for decades.

The exposure here is not just safety. It is a liability. When a carrier’s driver is involved in a crash and plaintiff counsel subsequently discovers through discovery that the driver’s license had been suspended for nine months before the crash, the carrier faces a negligent entrustment claim that does not rest on what happened in the crash. It rests on the threshold question of whether that driver should have been behind the wheel at all. If the answer is no and the carrier had no mechanism to know the driver’s license was suspended, the argument that the carrier dispatched an unqualified driver onto public roads becomes a straightforward exhibit in a nuclear verdict case.

Continuous license monitoring is the answer to that question. Not because it is legally required but because it is the only mechanism that closes the gap between what the regulation requires and what common sense demands.

What continuous monitoring actually means in practice is this. A carrier enrolls its drivers in a third-party monitoring service such as SambaSafety, Embark Safety, or similar providers. Those services connect to state licensing databases and receive notifications when a driver’s record changes. The notification cadence varies by state. Some states report updates daily. Some report weekly. Some report every 14 or 30 days. No system is instantaneous because state DMV reporting pipelines are not instantaneous. But knowing that your driver’s license was suspended 14 days ago is meaningfully different from knowing it was suspended 11 months ago.

This is the distinction that matters. The federal annual MVR requirement tells you what a driver’s record looked like on the day you pulled it. Continuous monitoring tells you what changes have occurred in between. Those are fundamentally different levels of protection for the carrier, for the driver, and for everyone sharing the road with that truck.

The strongest example of what a continuous monitoring program looks like when built correctly at the state level is California’s Employer Pull Notice program. The EPN program was established to provide employers and regulatory agencies with a means to promote driver safety through ongoing review of driver records. Employers enrolling drivers in the program are notified when a change occurs to an employed driver’s motor vehicle record. Enrollment is mandatory for employers of commercially licensed drivers in California.

The critical difference between an MVR and a Pull Notice is that an MVR provides employers with only a snapshot of an employee’s driving record at a given moment in time. The EPN program has been specifically designed to provide employers with a tool for continuous monitoring of an employee’s official DMV record. Employers receive an updated Pull Notice whenever any qualifying event occurs on the employee’s official DMV record.

California requires it. The rest of the country has not followed. This is not a complicated regulation to write. FMCSA already has the regulatory infrastructure through CDLIS, the Commercial Driver’s License Information System. The system exists. The data exists. The pipeline exists. There is no federal requirement that carriers enroll in a continuous monitoring program that uses the pipeline to notify them when a driver’s status changes.

The argument against a continuous monitoring mandate generally centers on cost and administrative burden. That argument is harder to make with a straight face when the alternative is a plaintiff attorney standing in front of a jury explaining that your company dispatched a driver whose license was suspended for nine months and whose crash killed someone’s family member. The cost of a driver-monitoring subscription is a rounding error compared to the cost of a nuclear verdict.

There is also a written policy component that continuous monitoring cannot replace and that carriers frequently neglect. Continuous monitoring tells you that your driver’s license has changed. What it does not tell you is what your company is supposed to do about it. That requires a written driver hiring criteria policy that establishes in advance, in writing, what driving history is acceptable, what is disqualifying, and what constitutes grounds for immediate removal from service pending investigation.

The question is not whether continuous license monitoring should be required. The question is: why is it not already?

The post The case for continuous license monitoring appeared first on FreightWaves.

Whether Gonzalez is a victim, a participant, or both is a question the investigation will answer. What is not in question is that a finished vehicle transport load went sideways at a rest stop, which is not a new story in American commercial trucking. It is an old story that is getting told with increasing frequency and increasing dollar amounts.

Cargo theft in the United States reached record levels in 2024 and continued to climb in 2025. CargoNet recorded 2,576 cargo theft incidents across the United States in 2025, a 16 percent increase over 2024. Estimated losses surged to nearly $725 million for the year, a 60 percent increase from 2024, as organized criminal groups shifted toward higher-value targets. The average value per theft rose to $273,990, up 36 percent from the prior year. Those numbers do not fully capture what happens in the finished vehicle transport segment, because auto transport theft operates on a different economic model than cargo theft from a refrigerated trailer.

A refrigerated trailer full of meat is worth roughly what the meat inside it is worth on the open market. A car hauler with eight late-model SUVs on it is worth what eight late-model SUVs are worth in a market where stolen American vehicles command premium prices, particularly in West Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Eastern Europe, where regulations on imported vehicles are minimal and enforcement is limited. The FBI’s posting notes that Gonzalez picked up multiple vehicles at the Port of Brunswick, Georgia. Brunswick is one of the largest vehicle processing ports on the East Coast. It handles hundreds of thousands of new and near-new vehicles annually. The people who plan vehicle transport thefts know that.

The pipeline that moves stolen American vehicles out of the country does not run through anything exotic. It runs through ocean containers at American seaports, and the commodity listed on the shipping manifest is frequently furniture. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been documenting this for years. In fiscal year 2024, CBP recovered 1,445 stolen vehicles nationally at ports of export, about 10 percent more than in 2023 and 81 percent higher than in 2021. The Baltimore Field Office alone, which covers ports from New Jersey to North Carolina, including Norfolk and Newport News, recovered 250 stolen vehicles valued at $9.6 million in 2024. The Port of Virginia recovered $6.5 million in stolen vehicles in fiscal year 2025 alone.

CBP officers at those ports describe a consistent pattern. Criminal organizations conceal stolen vehicles inside shipping containers under household goods. The manifest says furniture. The X-ray shows something that does not match the manifest. CBP Chief Officer James Askew, who works at the Port of Virginia, described the discovery of three late-model vehicles in a single container intended for Ghana, noting that one container alone represented more than $150,000 in stolen property. A typical container destined for West Africa holds three to four vehicles. At current market values, that is a profitable criminal enterprise that operates in plain sight through the commercial shipping infrastructure.

The vehicles recovered by CBP are the ones they catch. CBP handles millions of containers annually at dozens of ports. The inspection rate for outbound containers is a fraction of that for inbound shipments. The volume of stolen vehicles that reach ships and leave the country is almost certainly higher than the recovery statistics indicate. NICB and CBP launched Operation Terminus in 2024 specifically to address this, and the operation has produced seizures at ports from New York to Miami, including Bentleys and G-Wagons bound for Turkey and luxury SUVs destined for Nigeria. The criminal organizations running these exports are not deterred by the seizure rate. They factor it in as a cost of doing business.

The finished vehicle transport segment sits at the intersection of all of these problems. Car haulers carry high-value freight with no physical security beyond the driver, the straps holding the vehicles on the deck, and whatever electronic monitoring the carrier has installed. Rest stops are the most common location for theft events across all cargo categories. CBP data consistently identifies in-transit environments as a primary location for theft. A car hauler overnighting at an unsecured rest area with eight late-model vehicles on the rack is a visible, identifiable target that requires no insider access, no cyber intrusion, and no sophisticated planning to assess.

The mitigation tools exist and they work. Fleet telematics that provide real-time GPS tracking on both the tractor and, separately, on individual vehicles on the hauler. Dashcam systems that continuously upload to cloud storage, providing investigators with footage even when the device itself is gone. Panic buttons and driver distress notification systems that alert dispatch or law enforcement when a driver activates them. Some carriers have moved to requiring check-in calls at defined intervals with mandatory callbacks when drivers do not respond. Several have implemented geofencing alerts that trigger when a loaded unit leaves an approved route corridor. None of these measures is a regulatory requirement. They are operational choices that carriers make, and the carriers that make them are substantially better positioned both to prevent theft and to support rapid recovery when theft does occur.

The three vehicles recovered in the Florida portion of the Gonzalez case came back partly because GPS tracking on those vehicles was active enough to allow investigators to locate them. That is the value proposition for vehicle-level tracking in finished auto transport, and it applies whether the GPS is installed by the manufacturer, the rental fleet, or the carrier. Within the first 24 hours, a vehicle’s recovery chances determine whether it ends up in a container. The technology that makes that possible has been available for years. The industry’s adoption of it has been inconsistent.

The Gonzalez case also illustrates a specific risk on the driver side of cargo theft that receives insufficient attention in cargo security discussions. Not every theft event is the result of an external criminal operation. Some involve drivers, either as willing participants, as victims of coercion, or as people who were approached at a rest stop and presented with an offer they found difficult to decline. The FBI’s request for footage from a specific southern section of the Brevard County rest area suggests that investigators believe the contact point was localized. Someone knew where Gonzalez was going to stop. That either came from route intelligence or from communication with Gonzalez himself. The investigation will establish which.

The broader point for the industry is that the same digital infrastructure that makes cargo theft harder also makes participation in theft harder to conceal. Telematics data, ELD records, cell phone location data, and transaction records have all been used in federal prosecutions of cargo theft rings involving complicit drivers. The evidentiary trail that modern fleet technology creates is a deterrent for drivers considering participation in a theft and a prosecution tool for investigators when it happens anyway. Carriers who have not yet built that infrastructure into their operations are not just accepting higher theft risk. They are accepting higher liability exposure when a theft event leads to an investigation of how the cargo moved and who had access to the route and timing information.

The FBI is asking anyone with footage from Brevard County on April 17 to submit it to tips.fbi.gov. The hotline is 1-800-CALL-FBI. Alejandro Jacomino Gonzalez is described as 5 feet 11 inches, 200 pounds, bald with a brown beard and mustache, with a full sleeve tattoo on his left arm and the name Elisia tattooed on his right forearm. He was born on February 8, 1985, in Cuba, and speaks English and Spanish. If you have information, submit it.

The larger story does not resolve when this case resolves. Cargo theft is at record levels and trending higher. The finished vehicle transport segment is a high-value target with inconsistent security practices across the carrier base. The ocean container pipeline moving stolen American vehicles out through ports is documented, active, and growing. The tools to address all of these problems are available and commercially available. The industry’s obligation is to use them.

The post The load is gone and so is the Driver appeared first on FreightWaves.

That decision is now being reversed.

On April 27, FMCSA announced new identity verification requirements for Clearinghouse users. FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said Safety is non-negotiable at FMCSA, and that means ensuring the systems we rely on are secure, accurate, and trustworthy. By strengthening identity verification, we are closing gaps that could be exploited by bad actors, protecting the integrity of the data, and reinforcing confidence across the entire commercial driver safety industry.’

Starting April 27, 2026, new registrants for the following Clearinghouse user roles must prove their identity using a secure web application: Employer Without a Portal Account, Consortium/Third-Party Administrator, Medical Review Officer, Substance Abuse Professional, and Assistants invited to register under another registered entity. After logging in via Login.gov, new registrants will select their user role and be prompted to complete an identity verification step before proceeding. Users scan a QR code on their mobile device and follow the link to the FMCSA Identity Verification mobile app. The new process is completed using IDEMIA, a company specializing in secure identity verification that the Department of Homeland Security currently uses at airports across the country.

This update closes the gap, ensuring that all types of Clearinghouse users must complete some form of identity verification. In a later phase, FMCSA will prompt existing Clearinghouse users to complete the identity verification process.

That last sentence is the most important one in the entire announcement. Existing users. The people already in the system. The accounts are already registered. That phase has not happened yet, and the Clearinghouse fraud network documented in the March 20 and March 25 FreightWaves investigations was not built by new registrants. It was built by people who got in before yesterday, when a checkbox was all it took.

Brandon Blackburn is a truck driver from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. He was arrested in a Mississippi construction zone on August 20, 2025, while impaired, with cocaine in his possession, and falsifying his own federal logbook records. He was not a licensed physician, psychologist, social worker, or addiction counselor. He held none of the six qualifying credentials required by 49 CFR Section 40.281 for a person to legally function as a Substance Abuse Professional. He checked a box in the FMCSA Clearinghouse saying he was one, the system accepted his attestation, and he spent years charging CDL drivers $100 to $350 to fraudulently flip their federal Clearinghouse records from prohibited to not prohibited.

By his own estimate, he cleared more than 600 drivers. Law enforcement sources put the number closer to 1,000. The March 20 investigation documented the mechanics in detail, including Facebook posts, screenshots of private messages, payment confirmations, and federal Clearinghouse records showing the fraudulent entries. One in every 85 CDL drivers who completed the federal return-to-duty process during his operational window may have been cleared by a man who was himself a drug user operating a commercial vehicle.

The second investigation on March 25 documented that Blackburn was not operating alone. Wayne Hudson administered a private Facebook group called SAP Friendly Trucking Companies, with an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 members, and ran at roughly 10 times Blackburn’s volume, charging $500 for all 6 Clearinghouse steps with no drug test administered. Hudson publicly admitted clearing Blackburn’s prohibited status, called Blackburn a drug user in the same post, and operated what the investigation described as a self-replicating recruitment chain that converted its own customers into its next sales force. Operators Zeph Nealy, David Handy, operating under the alias Donny Darko using the same phone number on both accounts, and Marc Massie, through a Clearinghouse employer admin account registered to a company that does not appear in the FMCSA carrier registry, were also documented.

FMCSA knew this was happening before either investigation was published. This fix was already in the works. The agency’s own fraud alerts page carried a section specifically titled ‘Fraudulent SAPs Entering False Clearinghouse Violations’ describing the scheme in detail, directing victims to a help desk, and doing nothing to change the registration architecture that made the scheme possible. The warning was live. The door was open. The network ran for years.

Starting now, a person trying to register as a SAP in the Clearinghouse will need to verify who they actually are using a biometric identity check built by the same company that processes your identity at TSA checkpoints. Brandon Blackburn would not have made it through that process. Neither would Wayne Hudson, Zeph Nealy, David Handy, or Marc Massie.

That is the good news. Here is the complicated news.

The identity verification announced yesterday applies to new registrations. It does not retroactively audit the 6,305 SAP accounts already in the Clearinghouse. It does not scrub the entries already made by fraudulent operators. It does not address the drivers already cleared through the fake SAP network who are operating commercial vehicles today with federal records that say they completed a substance abuse recovery process they never went through. It does not tell the carriers who queried those records and hired those drivers that the data they relied on was fraudulent. The 38 million queries conducted since 2020, trusting that the Clearinghouse reflects real clinical events — none of that gets re-evaluated by yesterday’s announcement.

FMCSA’s statement says a later phase will extend identity verification to existing users. That phase needs to happen fast. The existing users are the problem. The new registrant fix is necessary and long overdue, but the fraud network documented in these investigations is already within the system and will remain there until the existing user audit is completed.

The other piece worth watching is what identity verification actually verifies. IDEMIA will confirm that a new SAP registrant is who they claim to be. It will not confirm that they hold the clinical credentials required by 49 CFR 40.281. A verified identity is not a credential check. Brandon Blackburn verified his identity every time he drove a truck. The question was never who he was. The question was whether he was qualified to function as a Substance Abuse Professional. He was not, and no biometric selfie would have caught that without a simultaneous cross-reference against the NAADAC directory, the IC&RC database, or state licensing records.

What closes that gap is credential verification at the point of SAP registration, not just identity verification. The two are separate steps, and only one of them was announced yesterday. FMCSA should add the second step before the existing user audit phase is complete. Cross-reference every SAP account against the national credential databases. Accounts that cannot be matched to a verified clinical credential get suspended pending review. NAADAC and IC&RC maintain searchable public directories. The matching can be automated.

The announcement yesterday is a meaningful step in the right direction and Derek Barrs deserves credit for making it. The fraud documented in these pages was real, the harm was documented, the mechanism was known, and the agency moved to close it. That is what accountability looks like.

The post FMCSA moves to close the door on Clearinghouse fraud appeared first on FreightWaves.

One reason? Logistics can encompass just about everything. “I used to tell people up until Convoy I had a hard time explaining to anybody what I did. It was all very abstract,” said Goodale, chief product & technology officer of Ryder Technology. “And here it was like, no, literally everything in every room, it doesn’t matter what room you’re sitting in, I point to something — that’s been on five to seven trucks by the time it gets to you.”

Goodale co-founded Convoy in 2015 after watching Amazon’s two-day Prime delivery reshape consumer expectations while working on the retail website side of the business. Now at Ryder, where he leads the Baton innovation lab acquired in 2022, he sees artificial intelligence as the fourth major technology wave to hit the freight industry. It is also potentially the most transformative.

“By making transportation more efficient, you can affect pretty much any chunk of GDP you care to because transportation touches almost all of GDP,” Goodale said.

The Four Waves of Logistics Technology

Goodale breaks down technology’s assault on freight into distinct eras, each defined by a breakthrough that promised to reshape how the industry operates.

The first wave arrived around 2010 to 2012, led by companies like Coyote Logistics, which focused on “getting data in order and putting dashboards in front of people that help them make smarter decisions on a regular basis.”

The second wave came in 2015 with smartphones. “We don’t have to ship a GPS puck to every broker or carrier in the country when we need them to do a load,” Goodale said. “They have an app in their phone. That’s a sensor platform. I can use that to my advantage.”

Wave three emerged in 2018 around blockchain. “There was a lot of energy and capital poured into ‘can we find ways to make blockchain improve transportation’ — chain of custody, contracts for payment,” he said. “I think that the impact there wound up not being as high as most people had hoped despite there being a lot of promising use cases.”

The fourth wave — the current AI revolution — represents something fundamentally different, one that Goodale believes could finally deliver on the promise of more efficient logistics operations.

LLMs and the Death of the Inbox Problem

Goodale draws a critical distinction between broad AI applications and the capabilities of large language models (LLMs). Machine learning has already embedded itself into forecasting, planning and estimated time of arrival (ETA) calculations across the industry. Large language models bring something new: the ability to process messy, unstructured input into predictable output.

“AI, first and foremost, is a very broad term that encompasses a wide variety of technical approaches to solving problems,” Goodale said. “So that goes from machine-learned models that can help provide more accurate ETAs all the way up to the new hotness, which are sort of the large language models and the ability to process plain English into mostly deterministic outcomes.”

The practical application becomes clear in everyday brokerage operations.

“I might have a team that monitors an inbox that gets all sorts of questions about the status of a load,” Goodale said. “Somebody’s gonna send me a spreadsheet with 75 loads in it. Somebody’s gonna just paste some load IDs in there. Somebody’s just gonna say, ‘Tell me the status of all my loads.’”

Previously, companies faced a choice: build expensive electronic data interchange connections or hire more humans. Now, Goodale said, “you can feed those emails to an LLM with some training. And if you give it access to your system, it can pretty reliably give the results to the customer and in a fraction of the time.”

This eliminates much of the integration cost that traditionally slowed business relationships. The old model required value-added networks sitting in the middle, translating how one company understands EDI messages into how another company understands them.

“But customer A and customer B think about the world in different ways. They send different values. There’s a lot of money to be made in sitting in the middle there and translating everybody into your language and vice versa,” Goodale said. “But now all of that kind of goes away because we have this ability to put something that’s vastly more capable in that flow of information to handle the inbound message.”

The bottom line: “I don’t need an API. I don’t need EDI. What I need is something that can handle whatever you send to me in any format, understand it, comprehend it, and then go take action based on it or hand it to a human to take action.”

Humans Still Matter in an Automated World

Despite the efficiency gains, Goodale pushes back against AI replacement narratives. At Convoy, the vast majority of staffing remained operations personnel “solving problems every day — damaged goods, over, short and damaged (OS&D) or detention at the facility.”

“The ability for humans to exercise judgment in exceptional situations is pretty unparalleled even today,” he said. “You can have policy, but policy has to work in the real world, and humans are generally better at figuring out how to adapt.”

Could he have built a lot less technology from the ground up if today’s AI existed then? “Yes. Absolutely,” Goodale said. “Frankly, many of the [US based] startups over here are started by ex-Convoy people who saw something we had to build because nobody built it and then turned that into a company because other companies had the same need.”

The real impact he sees isn’t about replacing workers wholesale: “The technology is enabling us to do something that a human would have taken four hours to do in a few minutes because we can run it in parallel. We can do 10 phone calls at a time instead of one. We can sort of scale out horizontally more effectively.”

The pattern echoes historical technology adoption. One example: the high watermark for bank tellers came decades after the ATM arrived. History suggests AI will likely evolve jobs rather than simply eliminate them.

“So it’s not about replacing the person,” he said. “The person’s just not having to go through a lot of grunt work in order to get to the point where they add the most value, which is that judgment point.”

The Data Foundation That Can’t Be Skipped

For companies eyeing AI implementation, Goodale offers a blunt assessment: get your data house in order first.

“If you don’t have great clean data and it’s not in a place where it’s accessible for these systems to operate on, then anything that you do — whether it’s a process change, whether it’s a people change, or whether it’s a technology implementation — you’re gonna get worse results than you could have otherwise,” Goodale said. “If you have data silos that you need to break down, you should probably focus on that first. You have to lay the groundwork and invest if you’re gonna get to the point where you’re able to actually create impact.”

He warns against chasing first-mover advantage in a landscape where change happens quickly.

“I don’t know that being a first mover generates lasting advantage in an industry or in an environment where change is happening this quickly,” Goodale said.

What’s Next for Ryder’s Innovation Lab

Baton operates as Ryder’s innovation lab, leveraging what Goodale called “probably the broadest transportation product portfolio in the industry” to identify where technology creates the most leverage.

“We are focused on solving some of the hardest problems in freight, really given the sort of breadth of Ryder’s businesses,” Goodale said. “We get customers with incredibly complex needs, and so we have the opportunity to sort of look across all of those solutions and say, you know, where does technology generate the most leverage?”

While specific projects remain under wraps, the timeline for announcements is clear.

“Over the course of the next few years, you’re going to see Ryder’s software and services evolve in ways that reflect the new AI tools we’re mastering today,” Goodale said. 

The focus: “How do we help our customers get more actionable data? How do we help our customers make decisions more intelligently? How do we help them plan and forecast more effectively? How can we be their best partner in the world of logistics using technology?”

The post The fourth wave hits freight: Grant Goodale on AI’s game-changing moment appeared first on FreightWaves.

Old Dominion (NASDAQ: ODFL) reported first-quarter earnings per share of $1.14, 9 cents above consensus but 5 cents lower year over year.

Revenue of $1.33 billion was 3% lower y/y but $20 million ahead of consensus. The result was also better than the top end of management’s guidance range ($1.25 billion to $1.3 billion), which assumed only normal seasonal demand trends.

“Old Dominion’s first quarter financial results reflect a continuation of encouraging trends that started developing late last year,” said Marty Freeman, Old Dominion president and CEO, in a news release. “While our first quarter revenue decreased on a year-over-year basis, demand for our LTL service improved as the quarter progressed.”

Click for full story – “Old Dominion eyeing y/y margin improvement in Q2”

Tonnage declined 8% y/y as a similar decline in shipments was only partially offset by a slight increase in weight per shipment. Revenue per hundredweight (yield) increased 6% y/y (4% higher excluding fuel surcharges).

The company reported a 76.2% operating ratio (23.8% operating margin), which was 80 basis points worse y/y but 50 bps better than the seasonally stronger fourth quarter. The result was also roughly 200 bps ahead of management’s implied 78.2% guide.

Click for full story – “Old Dominion eyeing y/y margin improvement in Q2”

Shares of ODFL were up 1.5% in premarket trading on Wednesday.

Old Dominion will host a call at 10:00 a.m. EDT on Wednesday to discuss first-quarter results.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

• Landstar says April yields ‘significantly’ outpacing seasonality
• ArcBest seeing positive trends amid market inflection
• STG Logistics announces deal with lenders, nears bankruptcy exit

The post First look: Old Dominion posts Q1 beat appeared first on FreightWaves.

“When you trade ships for cars and harbors for tracks, the reality is, they’re not all that different,” the port’s interim chief executive said. “What it takes to compete at the highest level of international racing – precision, teamwork, the constant pursuit of improvement – those are the same principles that define how we run America’s ‘Most Modern Gateway.’ Every part of our system is engineered for speed, certainty, and scale. And just like winning a Formula One race, that doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of thousands of deliberate decisions made over time, aligned around a clear strategy, and executed with discipline every single day.

“And that’s exactly how we’ve built this port.”

McCoy remarks came during her keynote address before 500 guests at the annual State of the Port luncheon April 23 at the Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront Resort.  

But McCoy wasn’t taking the wheel of an underpowered also-ran, after succeeding departing CEO Stephen Edwards in January. 

“In this role, the focus is simple: build on our momentum to ensure this gateway operates at the highest level, every single day.”

Container volume has increased 20% to 3.4 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) since 2021, lifting the operating port to sixth place among all American container hubs. 

While McCoy spoke, fighter jets from neighboring Naval Station Norfolk roared overhead, a reminder that the Virginia Port Authority is locked in a decades-long arms race with container ports up and down the eastern seaboard, at a time when geopolitics has made uncertainty a daily fact of life across the global supply chain.  

McCoy leads the longterm $1.4-billion Gateway Investment Program designed to support growth that’s she said is paying off. That includes channel deepening to accommodate the largest vessels in the Atlantic trade; expanded rail and terminal capacity; and partnerships to strengthen the broader logistics network.

“Now, those projects are coming online at exactly the right time. We all know that ships are bigger, cargo volumes are larger, and supply chains are demanding more speed, more precision, and even more certainty than ever before.

“We’ve built the Port of Virginia to meet THIS era.” 

Flexing built-in advantages 

The proximity of the Navy base also gives the port a major advantage. Harbor depth is Congressionally-mandated for 55 feet — deepest in the country — to handle the aircraft carriers stationed there, and the Elizabeth River connecting the complex is wide enough for container ships moving in opposite directions to pass.

McCoy called 2025 “wild,” with shifting cargo flows and diversifying trade lanes boosting volumes from southeast Asia and India, alongside steady strength in northern Europe.

Supply chains are being reconfigured in real time to prioritize speed, she said, for resilience and flexibility. “This is no longer a period of temporary disruption. This is the operating environment.”

McCoy said that the port increased productivity in the midst of change, and delivered the highest level of vessel productivity while having the lowest injury rate in its history. Trucks moved through the gates in an average of 36 minutes, and containers moved from ship to rail in just 34 hours.

“We also maintain a balanced mix of trade partners, which reduces exposure to volatility in any single market,” said McCoy, referring to drastic shifts as the Trump administration targeted China with off-and-on tariffs in 2025.

That active management earned the port $877 million in operating revenues in 2025, McCoy said, second-most in its history.

“It proves that this port has the operational and financial discipline to continue delivering strong results in a global environment where uncertainty is no longer the exception – it is the baseline,” she said.

The generous accessibility helped reduce vessel port stays by 15%, “and ensured there is not a ship currently operating that cannot call Virginia fully loaded,” said McCoy. “In fact, this channel wasn’t just built for the ships that are in circulation today. It was purposefully built for the next generation of vessels. That creates certainty that ships will not outgrow this harbor.”

That’s a big deal among U.S. ports, many of which are constrained by lack of developable land in crowded urban locations. This past week, truck drivers at Port Newark were sent home after a three-mile long line formed at an overwhelmed container depot.

Expansion moving quickly ahead

McCoy pointed out that in Virginia, “”we didn’t just deepen the channel; we scaled our infrastructure. This time last year, we had two ultra large container vessel berths. Today, we have four and by the end of next year we will have five, all supported by modern cranes, including the largest low-profile ship-to-shore cranes in the world.”

Those cranes from China’s ZPMC arrived that same day, configured at the Navy’s request with booms that slide instead of lift, to prevent possible obstructions with aircraft. The cranes are expected to commence operations in June.

“I asked the captain to slow-steam the vessel so you would be able to see it passing by these windows, but we don’t do slow at the Port of Virginia. Plus, I can’t afford it, I have a tariff deadline to beat,” McCoy joked.

Port cargo can reach 75% of the American population in two days, said McCoy, spurring development that has added 40 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space across the state. [One luncheon attendee said that availability has outpaced demand, and warehousing is currently a buyer’s market.]

Still, “that access – paired with speed and certainty – is what creates the supply chain of the future,” McCoy said.

Control and planning a key 

McCoy insisted that this encompassing planning — “from sea buoy to doorstep” — is different from any other port in North America. 

“That approach isn’t just important to this port and the people in this room. It benefits every community throughout Virginia because we all know containers do more than move goods. They drive where companies invest, shape where jobs are created, and and determine where long-term economic growth takes hold.

“That is what makes this port one of the Commonwealth’s most important economic engines today, and there’s more to come.” 

The VPA has secured a long-term agreement that creates a clear path to ownership and expands operational control over that facility in the near-term. Expansion at Norfolk International Terminals is in the final stages that will add 1.4 million TEUs’ capacity by mid-2027, boosting total annual capacity to 3.6 million TEUs.

A reconfiguration at Pinners Point Container Yard will create space for an additional 1 million loaded TEUs at terminals in Portsmouth and Norfolk. Redevelopment is eyed for Portsmouth Marine Terminal, currently supporting an offshore wind project that could host 1.6 million TEUs of additional container capacity. McCoy cited forecasts saying capacity will be needed within the next decade.

Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

Trump extends Jones Act waiver for 90 days

The Iran conflict sent Asia-US shipping rates soaring thousands of miles away. Here’s why.

Why ‘grossly inefficient’ U.S. ports need automation, and the danger in a new Arctic sea route

US has lost its maritime focus, says FMC’s DiBella

The post Uncertainty the new baseline, as the Port of Virginia plans to meet the moment appeared first on FreightWaves.

An $81 million verdict in Utah against a building supply company over its trucking operations that killed a preteen is being called the largest civil verdict ever awarded in that state and has entered the discussion about being one of the largest nuclear verdicts in trucking in recent years.

The verdict came down in a retrial last month in Utah’s Fourth District Court in the case brought by the Madsen family, whose 12-year-old son Michael was killed by an Allied Building Products day cab pulling a flatbed trailer while in a crosswalk. He was accompanied by two friends at the time. 

Following the retrial verdict, the two sides reached a settlement agreement, the size of which is confidential. It supersedes the $81 million verdict. 

At the time of Michael Madsen’s death in December 2018, Allied had been owned by Beacon Roofing Supply for less than a year after Beacon closed on the acquisition in early 2018.  Beacon was listed as the corporate defendant in the case.

Now it’s QXO

In turn, Beacon Roofing Supply was the first acquisition of Brad Jacobs’ QXO (NYSE: QXO), the logistics entrepreneur’s latest venture which has as its business plan the rollup of a building products supply ecosystem he sees as fragmented and ripe for consolidation. The death of Michael Madsen at that point would have taken place more than six years before QXO made its first acquisition, but the company now has inherited the case.

A QXO spokesman confirmed reports the payment was fully covered by insurance.

But settlements do not render moot the fact that a company that drives trucks–in this case, a day cab with a flatbed trailer–got hit with an enormous nuclear verdict, and it will now go into the body of case law that demonstrates just how much a successful lawsuit against a trucker might win for a plaintiff.

Case looks like it’s one of the biggest

Although there is no definitive list of the largest trucking-related nuclear verdicts in recent history, the decision against Beacon–it is listed as the defendant in the suit–appears to rank as one of the biggest. 

Some of the largest verdicts in the past have been levied against carriers that were defunct or consisted of one truck, leaving the chance of collection at almost nil. For example, a $141.5 million verdict in Florida from 2024 was levied against a company, K&N Logging, that had not operated for two years at the time of the award. A 2020 verdict in Florida for more than $400 million went against a single-truck carrier that at the time of the verdict no longer had FMCSA authority. 

Another Florida jury verdict against two companies was in excess of $900 million. But those companies also were not believed to be in existence at the time of the jury verdict in August 2021 and had not participated in the legal steps before the trial began for about two years. 

Publicly-traded companies get dragged in

But big verdicts have not just been levied against tiny carriers. Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) ultimately fought a nuclear verdict successfully to the Texas Supreme Court last June; the size of that initial 2018 verdict was almost $90 million. 

A lengthy appeals process saw the state’s highest court  toss out the award, which by the time that occurred had ballooned to more than $100 million with interest. 

A judgement of more than $460 million against trailer manufacturer Wabash National (NYSE: WNC) in a St. Louis court ultimately settled out of court for an undisclosed amount after it was first cut down to about $100 million.

A September 2024 verdict against Daimler Truck North America resulted in a $160 million award.

An extensive search and AI queries about other verdicts larger than the $81 million against Beacon did not produce further awards in excess of that figure. Even if they exist, there presumably aren’t many of them, making the Madsen case one of the biggest nuclear trucking verdicts.

Marathon Strategies, in a report on nuclear verdicts against all industries in 2024, said there were eight nuclear verdicts against trucking in 2024, with a total judgment levied against trucking of about $790.5 million.

Marathon’s definition of nuclear verdicts aligned with the general consensus that a verdict in excess of $10 million earns it the adjective of “nuclear.” Marathon described that the trucking and automotive sectors “are among the top targets of nuclear verdicts, mainly in wrongful death and negligence cases.”

Big one for Utah

Claggett & Sykes, one of the law firms that represented the Madsen family, said in online commentary about the case that they believed it was the largest award for any industry in Utah history. 

Testimony in the trial, in discussing what happened that evening, was never really in dispute. Michael Madsen had the Walk signal at an intersection and driver Rusty Cope did not come to a full stop before making a right turn into the intersection, killing the boy who was legally crossing the road in a crosswalk. He was accompanied by two friends at the time who had been at the movies with him.

A loss at first

In the first trial, the jury determined the driver was not negligent, which in turn led to no finding against Allied/Beacon. For the company to be found liable, the driver first needed to be found liable. As a result, the Madsen family plaintiffs received no award.

According to recaps of the case, the jury verdict kicked off a process in which the plaintiffs filed for a renewed motion for judgement as a matter of law on the question of Cope’s negligence. The Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School has defined that as a step that “asks the court to enter a judgment based on the conclusion that no reasonable jury could reach a different conclusion.”

The Madsen family plaintiffs, which also included the parents of the two friends who were with Michael Madsen, were granted that motion from the trial court’s judge, which found the driver negligent. The defendants appealed that decision to the Utah Court of Appeals.

The appellate court upheld the trial court judge’s findings and sent the case back to the state’s district court for awards to be determined. It was that court that then handed down the $81 million verdict, which also included awards of $7.5 million to Michael Madsen’s two friends.

More articles by John Kingston

Why truckers should care about DOL’s latest proposal on joint employers

Triumph Financial sets new metrics, has strong quarter in factoring

TFI’s Bedard optimistic about U.S. LTL, but some of its issues persist

The post Latest trucking nuclear verdict: $81 million, this time in Utah appeared first on FreightWaves.

Landstar (NASDAQ: LSTR) reported first-quarter earnings per share of $1.16, which was 31 cents higher year over year and 4 cents better than the consensus estimate. (The 2025 first quarter included a 10-cent hit tied to supply chain fraud.)

Consolidated revenue of $1.17 billion was 2% higher y/y and slightly ahead of consensus. Revenue was flat with the fourth quarter, which was well ahead of the typical mid- to high-single-digit seasonal decline.

Total truck transportation revenue increased 3% y/y as a 6% increase in revenue per load (yield) was only partially offset by a 2% decline in load count. Dry van loads were off 4% y/y while flatbed loads dipped 2%. However, dry van yield increased 5% while flatbed yield jumped 11%.

The yield trends were ahead of normal seasonality. Total truck yield was up 0.2% sequentially in the first quarter, bucking the normal seasonal trend of a 4% decline.

Landstar said its heavy-haul business (data centers, energy, government, machinery, and aerospace and defense) is seeing very strong demand while standard flatbed (building products and automotive) remains under pressure. Heavy-haul revenue increased 18% y/y in the quarter as loads increased 6% and yield was up 12%. Even with the demand headwinds, standard flatbed yield was 7.3% higher y/y.

The company didn’t provide second-quarter guidance. It said that prior to the pandemic, truck revenue would usually increase sequentially by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage. Truck loads in April are running flat y/y (in line with normal seasonality), but revenue per load is up 13% y/y (“significantly above” typical seasonal patterns).

The platform has some volume constraints, as truck brokerage carriers declined 19% y/y in the first quarter (up 4% sequentially). Increased vetting to improve safety and prevent fraud drove the y/y decline.

Revenue generated by business capacity owners (BCOs) increased 11% y/y to $475 million as loads increased 7% and yield increased 4%. (Landstar’s BCOs are owner-operators who haul almost exclusively for the company.)

Trucks provided by BCOs declined 2% y/y to 8,476 units. The truck count was down just 38 units from the fourth quarter, which was much better than the average sequential first-quarter decline of 365 trucks over the past three years. Further, truck count through April is level with the end of the first quarter. Retention among the group again improved and truck utilization was 9% higher y/y to nearly 25 loads per truck.

BCO revenue per mile — Landstar’s preferred metric for TL pricing as it excludes fluctuations in diesel fuel prices — was up 3% y/y and 2% y/y on dry van and flatbed shipments, respectively.

Variable contribution, or net revenue, increased 7% y/y to $172 million. That was the first y/y increase since the 2022 third quarter. (The calculation measures revenue remaining after purchased transportation expenses and agent commissions are paid.) A variable contribution margin of 14.7% was 70 basis points higher y/y.

The operating margin (as a percentage of variable contribution) jumped 650 bps y/y to 30.9%. Insurance and claims expenses (as a percentage of BCO revenue) declined 180 bps to 7.5%.

Shares of LSTR were up 3.1% in after-hours trading on Tuesday.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

• ArcBest seeing positive trends amid market inflection
• STG Logistics announces deal with lenders, nears bankruptcy exit
• Losses narrow at Heartland Express as market shifts

The post Landstar says April yields ‘significantly’ outpacing seasonality appeared first on FreightWaves.

The Omaha-based carrier reported total revenue of $808.6 million, up 14% year over year, while narrowing its net loss to $4.3 million from $10.1 million a year earlier. Adjusted earnings turned positive at 2 cents per share, compared to a loss in the prior-year period.

Werner’s (NASDAQ: WERN) operating income reached $4.0 million, reversing a loss last year, as margins improved to 0.5%.

Adjusted earnings of 2 cents per share and $808.6 million in revenue exceeded Wall Street forecasts, according to Associated Press reports, CTPost, and Gurufocus.

Omaha-based Werner Enterprises was founded in 1956 and has around 8,000 trucks and over 24,000 trailers. The company provides transportation services across North America.

Werner released its first quarter results after the market closed and held a call with analysts on Tuesday.

‘Positive trajectory’ emerges after prolonged downturn

CEO Derek Leathers said Werner is beginning to see tangible results from restructuring and strategic repositioning.

“The first quarter reflects early results from our strategic positioning and positive momentum in our core business,” he said during the call.

“Market fundamentals are improving and we are seeing a positive trajectory in our own numbers.”

“Throughout this extended freight downturn, we have taken measured steps to position Werner for profitable long-term growth.”

Werner leaned heavily into dedicated trucking and specialized services, including cross-border and expedited freight, while reshaping its one-way network.

“We are leaning further into dedicated and other specialized solutions including expedited and cross-border Mexico as well as asset light offerings in logistics,” Leathers said.

The company also completed its $282.8 million acquisition of FirstFleet in January, significantly boosting dedicated capacity.

Related: Werner doubling intermodal fleet in Mexico

Dedicated strength offsets weaker logistics performance

Werner’s Truckload Transportation Services (TTS) segment drove the quarter:

• TTS revenue: $594.3 million (+18% YoY)
• Operating income: $13.9 million vs. loss last year
• Fleet growth: +14% average trucks, driven by FirstFleet

Dedicated now accounts for 78% of the TTS fleet, up sharply from 65% a year ago.

Leathers emphasized improving pricing and productivity in the one-way segment:

“The result of our one-way restructuring is showing early gains… revenues per total mile increasing 3.6%, our strongest pricing inflection in over three years,” he said. “Strong execution… led to one-way revenue per truck per week increasing 9.6%.”

Meanwhile, Werner Logistics remained under pressure:

• Revenue was flat at $195.8 million
• Operating loss widened to $2 million

Higher purchased transportation costs compressed brokerage margins, though management expects improvement as contract rates reset.

Rates rising as capacity exits accelerate

Werner pointed to tightening supply conditions as a key catalyst for pricing improvement.

“The recovery in rates has been largely supply-driven as capacity continues to exit at an accelerated pace,” Leathers said. “We expect pricing gains to continue with more meaningful improvement in the third and fourth quarters.”

During the earnings Q&A, Leathers added: 

“We’re seeing ongoing largely supply-driven constraints that are continuing to gain momentum as we get deeper into the year. Mid-single-digit rate increases early in the Q1 bid season… expectation would be further strengthened from here.”

Executives noted that capacity attrition—from bankruptcies, regulatory enforcement and driver shortages—is reshaping the market.

CFO: Weather, fuel masked stronger underlying performance

CFO Chris Wikoff said external factors weighed on quarterly results but underlying trends improved.

“First quarter revenues totaled $809 million, up 14%. Adjusted operating income was $11.9 million, and adjusted operating margin was 1.5%,” Wikoff said. “Adverse weather early in the quarter and rapidly increasing fuel prices in March negatively impacted EPS by approximately $0.05.”

Despite those headwinds, operating cash flow surged to $89.2 million, up more than 200% year over year.

Outlook: Tightening market sets up second-half rebound

Management expects continued margin expansion as pricing flows through contracts and integration synergies ramp.

Leathers said the company now has clearer visibility into earnings growth: “These actions… have strengthened our business and provided a line of sight to earnings growth this year.”

Werner reiterated full-year guidance, including 23%–28% truck count growth and $185 million to $225 million in capex.

The company also pointed to improving spot rates, tighter driver supply and lean retail inventories as tailwinds heading into peak season.

The post Werner swings toward profit as dedicated fuels Q1 uptrend appeared first on FreightWaves.

The port handled 391,037 TEUs in March, up 1% year over year, while first-quarter volumes reached 1,087,870 TEUs, a 2% increase from 2025, according to Port Houston data.

At the same time, total tonnage at public terminals rose 5% year to date, reflecting continued growth across bulk and energy-related cargo segments.

Port Houston CEO Charlie Jenkins said the port is regaining momentum after a softer 2025.

“Our public terminals plus the more than 200 private terminal facilities making up the Port of Houston are off to a really good start in 2026,” Jenkin’s told commissioners during a commission meeting on Tuesday

March cargo snapshot

• Total tonnage: 5.76 million tons, up 11% month over month
• Total TEUs: 391,037, up 20% vs. February
• Imports: 2.83 million tons, up 25% m/m
• Exports: 2.93 million tons, roughly flat m/m

Bulk commodities were a standout performer in March, with data showing dry bulk up 107% and liquid bulk up 23% year over year, reflecting strong grain exports and industrial demand.

“Dry bulk tonnage continues to surge, now up nearly 63% year to date, driven by export grains and import bulk cement,” Jenkins said. “Liquid bulk also continues to drive growth, now up 26% year to date.”

Chief Port Operations Officer Ryan Mariacher highlighted a sharp recovery in March container activity following a weaker February.

“March was a tremendous rebound for container volumes… we set a monthly record for loaded containers handled, nearly 180,000,” Mariacher said during the commission meeting. “The growth pace continues at 5% in total tonnage year to date, handling nearly 14 million tons.”

Despite overall gains, steel volumes continue to drag on the port’s monthly cargo treffic.

Steel imports fell 29% year over year in March

• Steel imports fell 29% year over year in March
• Year-to-date steel tonnage is down 27%

The decline is tied to softer energy-sector demand and broader market conditions, according to port officials.

Mariacher cautioned that momentum may soften in the near term due to global supply chain disruptions.

“We’re seeing a pronounced decline in both imports and exports… driven by conflicts in the Middle East, with significant delays in the Panama Canal,” Mariacher said.

He added that Panama Canal transit slot premiums have jumped more than 40% in recent days, adding cost pressure and uncertainty for shippers.

Ship calls for March were up 10% year-over-year to 755 vessels. Barges calling Port Houston increased 4% year-over-year to 313.

Port Houston March + Q1 Snapshot

Container volumes (TEUs)

• March 2026: 391,037 (+1% YoY; +20% m/m)
• Q1 2026: 1,087,870 (+2% YoY)
• Full imports (March): 180,415 (+7% YoY)
• Full exports (March): 143,819 (-6% YoY)

Tonnage (all cargo)

• March total: 5.76M tons (+11% m/m; +8% YoY)
• Q1 total: 13.9M tons (+5% YoY)
• Imports (March): 2.83M tons (+25% m/m)
• Exports (March): 2.93M tons (-1% m/m)

Steel vs. bulk trends

• Steel imports (March): 309,885 tons (-29% YoY)
• Steel YTD: -27% YoY
• Dry bulk (March): +107% YoY (grain, cement)
• Liquid bulk (March): +23% YoY

Operations snapshot

• Vessel calls (Q1): 2,089 (+5% YoY)
• Vessels handled YTD (public terminals): 523 (+9%)

The post Port Houston March rebound pushes Q1 volumes past 1M TEUs appeared first on FreightWaves.

The weekly benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges recorded its third straight decrease after weeks of higher numbers, but the recent direction of futures prices suggest the pullback may not continue.

The Department of Energy\Energy Information Administration average weekly retail diesel price fell 5.2 cents/gallon to $5.351/g, published Tuesday and effective Monday. 

That’s a decline of 29.2 cts/g over the last 3 weeks in the benchmark price used to set most fuel surcharges. But futures prices have turned higher, the AAA price was up today for the first time in more than 2 weeks, and there’s little bearish news out of the Strait of Hormuz. The price released Tuesday could be a bottom for this cycle. 

The price has declined 29.2 cts/g over the last three weeks, which means it is that much under the highest price in the cycle since the start of the war in Iran and the broader Middle East. The price published by the DOE/EIA right before the recent downturn was $5.643/g on April 6. 

The record high in the DOE/EIA series, which goes back to 1994, is $5.81, set in June 2022. 

The settlement price of ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) on the CME commodity exchange reached its highest level since the war began on March 27, when it settled at $4.4955/g. It settled slightly below that on April 7, at $4.4744/g. 

ULSD plummeted a day later, more than 66 cts/g, on announcement of a ceasefire, settling at $3.8084/g. Prices have made a steady move higher since then, despite a market that has been up and down on any given day’s news on the possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. 

ULSD crossed the $4/g mark in trading Monday before settling just under that. It exceeded the $4 mark again Tuesday before a slight decline by 11 a.m. Tuesday.

What comes next

There has been enough stability in current markets that extreme talk of an eventual $200/b price for Brent crude, the world’s benchmark, has mostly faded.

But what hasn’t faded are growing concerns that oil prices may be sticking at higher levels for awhile, regardless of whatever developments occur with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The energy research team at Bank of America summed up that view in a recent report.

The team led by Francisco Blanch said in the report that the oil market “is facing a sobering reality.”

The “quick resolution scenario—with the assumption that full oil flows would be restored in Hormuz in short order—seems now highly unlikely,” the report said.

The report noted that the physical oil markets remain tight. However, dated Brent, which is a physical crude barrel for short-term delivery in contrast to Brent traded on futures market for June delivery, is now only about $5-$6/b more than Brent on commodity exchanges. That gap was about $10/b until recently.

“The physical oil market continues to tighten as a large share of global seaborne volumes remains trapped in the Middle East and global oil markets remain in steep backwardation,” BOA said. 

Market structure tells a story

Backwardation is a market structure where the highest price in the market is oil for immediate delivery, with prices then declining as the forward curve goes out into the future. Backwardation is a structure that develops when a commodity market is tight, as the current one is.

Its opposite is called contango, and a market in perfect balance is in contango, with prices along the calendar rising gradually to reflect the cost of storage and the time value of money.

The BOA report said it has a base case of an end to military action, with oil flows “mostly normalizing” by the third quarter. Under that scenario, Brent would average $92.50 for the year. (Brent on the CME settled Monday at $108.23/b).

But that is the best case. What BOA called a “fragile ceasefire” would involve a more negative situation for oil consumers. 

“Under this case, military activity would be constrained but not eliminated, and Hormuz would remain heavily securitized, with limited crossings and thus rising oil prices,” the report said. “A strait that is neither fully open nor totally closed in 2Q/3Q may push Brent to average $120/bbl this year.”

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The post Third straight decline in benchmark diesel as futures trend higher appeared first on FreightWaves.

Broyles succeeds Matt Walsh, executive vice president of global corporate development at Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, who served a full three-year term.

“Matt’s strategic guidance and oversight has been invaluable, and particularly appreciated as he stepped up to fill the role of chairman sooner than planned,” said Chuck Baker, president, ASLRRA, in a release. “Under his leadership our organization has continued to deliver exceptional value to its members, and advanced issues of importance to our members in the legal, regulatory, and legislative areas. We are looking forward to working with Justin Broyles – an experienced, long-standing board member – as he steps into the chairmanship.” 

Broyles was formally installed as chairman April 14, during the ASLRRA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Minneapolis.

Broyles has served on the ASLRRA board since 2020. 

The association’s Executive Committee has appointed Kristin Bevil, general counsel and chief legal officer, Pinsly Railroad, as vice chair. Bevil has served on the ASLRRA board since 2019.

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Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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ArcBest (NASDAQ: ARCB) reported a first-quarter net loss of $1 million, or 5 cents per share. Adjusted earnings per share of 32 cents were 19 cents worse year over year, but 3 cents ahead of consensus.

Consolidated revenue was up 3% y/y to $999 million and in line with consensus. Volume and rate trends have firmed into April. The company’s digital quote pool, which has visibility into 250,000 shipments each day, is driving the improvement.

Asset-based OR likely flat y/y in Q2

The asset-based unit, which includes LTL subsidiary ABF Freight, reported a 2% y/y increase in revenue per day during the first quarter. Daily tonnage increased 6.5% (ahead of management’s guidance for a 4% to 5% y/y increase) while yield fell 4%. The tonnage growth was due to a 2% increase in shipments and a 5% increase in weight per shipment as more TL-rated shipments were in the network.

The higher shipment weights were a drag on the yield metric. Revenue per shipment was up 1%.

Tonnage is moving higher even as the prior-year comps stiffen. On a two-year-stacked comparison, tonnage moved from roughly flat in the first two months of the year to plus-5.1% in March. So far in April, tonnage per day is 5% higher y/y (plus 8.6% on a two-year comparison) as a 6% increase in weight per shipment is more than offsetting a 1% dip in shipments.

Contractual rate increases averaged 6.3% in the quarter, the highest average since the 2022 third quarter. Over the past two years, contractual rates are up 10.3%.

The segment recorded a 97.3% adjusted operating ratio (inverse of operating margin), 140 basis points worse y/y and 110 bps worse than the fourth quarter. The result was in line with management’s guidance for 100 to 200 bps of sequential deterioration.

Wages and benefits costs (as a percentage of revenue) increased 100 bps y/y as the company onboarded staff to handle higher volumes. Also, an annual increase in union wages was a headwind. Depreciation and amortization expenses were 80 bps higher y/y.

The company is using training and technology to lower costs. It said a training improvement program across 75% of the terminal network has reduced costs by $32 million (annualized). An AI-led city route optimization, which is still in the early stages, has generated $15 million in annual cost savings.

The asset-based unit is forecast to see 400 to 500 bps of sequential OR improvement in the second quarter, which is 100 bps better than typical seasonality at the midpoint of the range. That implies a 92.8% OR, which would be flat y/y.

Revenue per day in April is 9% higher y/y due to a 10% increase in revenue per shipment. Management flagged the potential for TL rate increases in the low- to mid-double-digit range in the second and third quarters after capturing low- to mid-single-digit increases in the first quarter.

Less-than-truckload fuel surcharge programs include a step function as diesel prices rise, typically resulting in margin accretion.

Asset-light expected to remain profitable

The asset-light segment, which includes truck brokerage, reported adjusted operating income of $2.8 million, which was above the high end of management’s “up-to-$2-million” guidance. Management said the unit saw record-low selling, general and administrative expenses (per shipment) in the quarter. Productivity was at an all-time high, with shipments per person per day increasing by 26%.

Revenue was 6% higher in the first quarter, but revenue per day is running 24% higher y/y so far in April. Daily shipments are up 17% y/y due to growth in its managed transportation offering, with higher fuel costs driving a 7% increase in revenue per shipment.

Adjusted operating income of $1 million to $3 million is forecast for the second quarter.

Shares of ARCB were up 1.3% at 11:51 a.m. EDT on Tuesday compared to the S&P 500, which was down 0.8%.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

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The post ArcBest seeing positive trends amid market inflection appeared first on FreightWaves.

“Freight markets work better when all participants have access to the same quality of information. Bringing SONAR’s TRAC Spot Rate data into TruckSmarter’s Dispatch platform is a step toward a more transparent, efficient spot market, and that’s good for carriers, brokers, and shippers alike”, Craig Fuller, CEO, FreightWaves SONAR.

By integrating SONAR, Dispatch now empowers truck drivers to better understand current market conditions. SONAR’s TRAC data provides critical market intelligence and rate assessment tools that allow users to compare spot market rates in real-time. While analysts at freight brokerages and shippers have primarily used this intelligence, it is now seamlessly accessible to the 500K+ carriers on TruckSmarter’s platform.

“TruckSmarter was built to give independent truck drivers the tools typically reserved for the largest of enterprises. With SONAR, we’re bringing best in class market data into the interface of the future. Carriers will now have SONARs data woven into every load opportunity, route plan and more–all in a single prompt”, Dan Kao, CEO, TruckSmarter. 

Through this partnership, TruckSmarter weaves SONAR’s data into conversations that help carriers evaluate loads, plan routes, and grow their business. This integration ensures that drivers have all the actionable data they need to navigate the market and negotiate effectively right at their fingertips.

About TruckSmarter:

TruckSmarter is a leading freight tech company building products that help the industry book loads faster. With the combination of its free load board, the highest rated platform with a 4.9 rating and trusted by 500K+ carriers, and Dispatch, the industry’s first AI chat product built for freight, its mission is to empower truck drivers’ lives.

About SONAR:

SONAR is the leading provider of real time, multi-modal, global supply chain data. Pairing market insights with context to inform supply chain professionals on market trends, relevant research and advanced analytics.

The post TruckSmarter Partners with SONAR To Deliver TRAC Spot Rates For Motor Carriers appeared first on FreightWaves.