Why ‘Grossly Inefficient’ U.S. Ports Need Automation, and the Danger in a New Arctic Sea Route
Federal Maritime Commission Chair Laura DiBella warned that U.S. ports are "grossly inefficient" and urged faster automation to boost cargo throughput. She highlighted permitting bottlenecks, such as Port Everglades’ decade‑long dredging delay, and called for coordinated investment between public and private sectors. DiBella also flagged the pending Union Pacific‑Norfolk Southern merger as a risk to East Coast and Gulf ports, and warned that China‑Russia activity on the Arctic Northern Sea Route could reshape trade patterns and raise security concerns.
You Delivered That Load Three Weeks Ago. Here Is Why You Still Do Not Have the Money — and What...
Small trucking carriers routinely sit on $40,000‑$100,000 of earned but unpaid invoices because brokers and shippers often stretch payment terms to 30, 60 or even 90 days. The resulting cash‑flow gap forces carriers to chase lower‑pay loads that settle faster,...
Your Insurance Renewal Is Going to Be Worse Than Last Year. Here Is Why — and What You Can Actually...
Trucking insurers have faced 14 straight years of losses, forcing market‑wide premium hikes and tighter underwriting. Insurance costs rose to a record $0.102 per mile in 2024, translating to over $12,000 per truck annually. A surge in "nuclear" verdicts—135 cases...
Borderlands Mexico: Truck Exports to U.S. Fall in March
Mexico’s heavy‑duty truck sector posted a weaker March 2026, with production slipping 6.6% year‑over‑year to 12,617 units and exports falling 5.9% to 10,625 trucks. The United States remained the dominant market, absorbing 92% of Q1 exports, underscoring the sector’s reliance...
SONAR Launches Sitreps:
SONAR, the real‑time freight market intelligence platform, launched SONAR Sitreps – expert‑authored situation reports embedded directly into its dashboard. The service is free for all current subscribers and arrives in three formats: a live research dashboard, a downloadable PDF, and...
FedEx Pilots to Vote on Tentative Contract After Union Endorsement
The Air Line Pilots Association board approved a tentative five‑year contract with FedEx and will present it to pilots for a ratification vote from May 12 to June 9. The agreement delivers a 40% increase in hourly pay, back‑pay up to $150,000...
Logistics Layoffs Top 800 as Contracts Unwind Across Trucking, Warehousing
Over the past three weeks, U.S. logistics firms announced 829 layoffs as contract freight dries up. Warehouse operators Saddle Creek and Ryder cut 321 jobs after customers pulled services in‑house or failed to renew agreements. Trucking carriers, including Day &...
Canada Post Mobilizes to End Home Delivery, Close Post Offices
Canada Post has launched a five‑year plan to replace door‑to‑door delivery for four million households with community mailboxes, aiming to cut costs and modernize its aging model. The initiative follows a tentative labor agreement with the Canadian Union of Postal...
One Big Thing Will Solve Rail’s Growth Problem, Says NS CEO
Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George said a merger with Union Pacific could finally break the rail industry's two‑decade growth slump. He highlighted that both carriers have seen freight volumes fall—NS down 11% and UP down 15%—as shippers shift to trucks....
ATBS: Average Truck Driver Earnings in 2025 Held Mostly Stable From ‘24
ATBS reported that the average income for independent owner‑operators was $71,800 in 2025, essentially unchanged from 2024 once the new methodology is applied. The average mileage per driver fell about 4% to roughly 95,000 miles, even as revenue per mile...
TFI Subsidiary TA Dedicated Acquires Triangle Warehouse
TA Dedicated, a subsidiary of TFI International, announced the acquisition of Minneapolis‑based Triangle Warehouse, adding roughly 900,000 square feet of temperature‑controlled warehousing to its network. The deal brings over 100 dock doors—including seven rail doors—and more than 1,000 pieces of...
FMCSA Balancing the Scales for Fleets Challenging Bad Safer Data
On April 16, 2026, the FMCSA issued a sweeping overhaul of its DataQs system, creating a mandatory three‑stage appeals process for carriers contesting safety violations or crash records. States receiving Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program funding must open requests within...
Mudflap Acquires AI Capacity Platform Parade
Mudflap, a Palo Alto‑based fintech that provides fuel‑discount solutions to over 515,000 drivers, has completed its acquisition of Parade, an AI‑driven capacity‑management platform. Parade’s technology, which has facilitated more than $40 billion in freight transactions, will now be paired with Mudflap’s...
Small Trucking Firms File Wave of Bankruptcies Across U.S.
A wave of bankruptcies has hit small U.S. trucking and logistics firms, with six carriers filing Chapter 11 or Chapter 7 protection in early 2026. The companies range from single‑truck operators to regional carriers with fleets of 50+ tractors, and...
Benchmark Diesel Price Ends Its 12-Week Streak of Increases
The U.S. DOE/EIA benchmark diesel price slipped 3.5 cents to $5.608 per gallon on Monday, ending a 12‑week run of weekly increases that had lifted the index $2.184 per gallon in total. On the same day, ultra‑low‑sulfur diesel futures on...
Yield Discipline, Fuel Price Surge Driving LTL Rates to New Highs in Q2
Freight‑waves data from AFS Logistics and TD Cowen shows less‑than‑truckload (LTL) rates climbing to new highs in the second quarter, driven by stricter yield discipline and a surge in diesel prices. The LTL rate‑per‑pound is projected at 68.4% above the 2018...
Cass Data Shows Freight Market Tightened Further in March
Cass Information Systems reported that its multimodal shipments index rose 3% month‑over‑month in March, narrowing the year‑over‑year decline to 4.5%, the smallest since June. Freight expenditures climbed 4.9% from February, implying freight rates were roughly 9% higher despite lower volumes....
PE Firm Acquires Carrier Logistics, Pledges AI Overhaul
Private equity firm STG has acquired Carrier Logistics Inc., a 50‑year‑old transportation management software provider for less‑than‑truckload and last‑mile carriers. STG will fund an “AI‑first” research and development roadmap that rebuilds CLI’s core architecture with agentic AI tools. The plan...
This U.S. State Just Banned Public Funding for Port Automation
Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5995, permanently prohibiting the use of public funds for fully automated container‑handling equipment at the state’s ports. The ban applies to both port districts and development authorities, including Seattle and Tacoma, which together...
Produce Season’s Prodigal Return
Tender rejection rates in Fresno’s refrigerated market have surged from under 4% in early March to above 14% within a month, the highest since June 2023. USDA spot rates for produce shipments from central California to Chicago have climbed roughly...
Management at Fleet Payments WEX Faces Proxy Battle
Activist investor Impactive Capital Master Fund LP, a ~4.9% shareholder of fleet‑payments firm WEX, has filed a new proxy slate targeting three incumbent directors, including CEO‑chair Melissa Smith, for the May 5 annual meeting. Impactive previously urged "no" votes on the...
Amazon to Scale up Drone Delivery in 2025, CEO Says
Amazon announced a major expansion of its Prime Air drone service, aiming to reach 30 million customers by the end of 2025 and deliver 500 million packages annually by 2030. The rollout will use more than 85 same‑day fulfillment centers and over...
Fuel Shock, Middle East Turmoil Push Global Freight Rates Higher
Flexport’s April 9 Freight Market Update warns that soaring fuel costs and ongoing Middle East turmoil are lifting both ocean and air freight rates despite soft cargo demand. Ocean carriers are adding emergency bunker surcharges and increasing blank sailings, while...
Three Strategies for Closing Fleet Risk Blind Spots
Bob O’Connell of J.J. Keller warns that fleet operators often view risk as isolated events, a blind spot that regulators and litigators exploit. He proposes a three‑part framework: run the operation as if a merger or acquisition were imminent, embed...
SONAR Launches Bulk Trucking Contract Rate Benchmarks via API, Bringing Pricing Transparency to One of Freight’s Most Opaque Segments
SONAR has introduced the Bulk Rates API, delivering the first standardized contract rate benchmarks for bulk trucking in the United States. The API provides outbound state‑based pricing and round‑trip rates, allowing shippers, carriers, and logistics technology providers to embed data‑driven...
SONAR Expands Coverage Guide with Enhanced Scoring, Richer API Data, and Direct Load Integration via Coverage Guide Connect
SONAR announced a three‑part upgrade to its Coverage Guide tool, adding an Enhanced Difficulty Score that factors in destination market conditions, expanding the API with RPM week‑over‑week change and origin/destination rejection rates, and launching Coverage Guide Connect for real‑time load...
Kriska Snaps up Cold-Chain Carrier Sharp in Cross-Border Play
Kriska Transportation Group announced the acquisition of Sharp Transportation Systems, a Canada‑based cold‑chain carrier with a 29‑truck fleet. Sharp’s expertise in temperature‑controlled freight, especially pharmaceuticals, and its terminals in Ontario, Montreal, Calgary and Michigan will extend Kriska’s reach in the...
Trucking Company Owners Sentenced in Postal Service Kickback Scheme
Four defendants in a U.S. Postal Service trucking kickback scheme were sentenced to a combined 99 months in federal prison. Former USPS senior network analyst Zechariah Yi and employee Tai Ryoung Rho took about $1.5 million in bribes from trucking owners...
Kodiak Expands Driverless Trucking Beyond Sun Belt to Ohio and Indiana
Kodiak AI has launched its first autonomous trucking program outside the Sun Belt, partnering with DriveOhio to test Level 4 driverless trucks on Interstate 70. The initiative brings together Ohio and Indiana transportation departments to demonstrate the technology on a critical northern...
Trump Budget Boosts Military Shipbuilding by 242% to $65.8 Billion
President Trump’s FY2027 budget proposes a $65.8 billion allocation for military shipbuilding, a 242 percent increase over prior levels. The plan calls for constructing 18 battle‑force ships and 16 non‑battle ships, forming a “Golden Fleet” of battleships, frigates, amphibious vessels, and submarines....
Amazon Signs New Delivery Deal with Postal Service at 20% Less Volume
Amazon has reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver roughly one billion parcels a year, a 20% cut from its previous volume. The deal preserves about $6 billion in annual revenue for USPS, which faces a looming...
Mexico Freight Disruption Lingers as Truckers’ Strike Fractures
Mexico’s nationwide trucker and farmer strike entered its second day, keeping key highways around Mexico City blocked and snarling freight movement. Blockades on corridors such as Mexico‑Toluca, Federal Highway 136, and routes in Guanajuato have created a mobility crisis in the...
Freight Market Sees Covid-Era Extremes Return
The Logistics Managers’ Index showed freight capacity plunging to 39.2 in March while pricing surged to 89.4, the widest positive inversion since November 2021. Capacity contracted for the fourth month straight, and rates rose 12.7 points, the fastest growth since...
Motta, Convicted Kingpin of Staged Truck Accident Scam, Seeks New Trial
Vanessa Motta, the convicted mastermind behind Louisiana's staged‑truck‑accident fraud, has filed a motion for a new trial, alleging prosecutors broke pre‑trial promises by threatening to link her to the 2020 murder of informant Cornelius Garrison. Her attorneys claim the threat...
Best Month in Years Marks Broad US Rail Recovery
U.S. freight rail posted its strongest March since 2019, with weekly carloads averaging 230,401, a 1.7% year‑over‑year increase. First‑quarter volumes rose 4.2% YoY, the best Q1 performance since 2019, driven by broad gains across 12 of 20 commodity groups. Grain,...
Latest DOE/EIA Diesel Benchmark Price Increase Adds Almost 25 Cts
The U.S. DOE/EIA diesel benchmark rose 24.2 cents to $5.643 per gallon, marking the 12th consecutive weekly increase and the highest level since July 2022. Over the 12‑week run the price has added $2.184 per gallon, driven by geopolitical tension...
Qantas Begins 1st-Ever Dedicated Freighter Service to Singapore
Qantas Freight launched its first dedicated freighter service to Singapore, operating twice weekly on a Sydney‑Shanghai‑Singapore‑Sydney rotation using an Airbus A330‑200 conversion with over 55 tons of payload. The new route expands capacity beyond existing passenger‑based cargo flights and addresses rising...
Two Boxes Raises $3.2M to Scale AI Returns Platform
Two Boxes, an AI‑powered returns platform, secured $3.2 million in new financing led by Assembly Ventures, bringing its total capital to $13 million. The funding will accelerate product development and push the company deeper into enterprise retail, direct‑to‑consumer and B2B...
Fraud Is Growing in the Gray Area
Investigators using The Bannon Report expanded their fraud database from roughly 1,400 entities in 2022 to over 93,000 by early 2026, revealing that most growth stems from mapping interconnected networks rather than new bad actors. About 37% of the entities...
Postal Service Can Proceed with 8% Parcel Surcharge, Regulator Says
The Postal Regulatory Commission approved the U.S. Postal Service’s request to impose an 8% temporary surcharge on parcel transportation, effective April 26 through Jan. 17, 2007. The surcharge is designed to offset rising fuel costs—up 38% in five weeks—and other...
3 Carriers and Kroger Blocked Hiring of Ex-Quickway Drivers: Lawsuit
Three former Quickway Transportation drivers have filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Ohio against Kroger and three major carriers—Swift, U.S. Xpress and Werner—alleging they were instructed not to hire former Quickway employees. The plaintiffs claim the carriers acted...
FMCSA Study on Truck Parking Squeeze Launched, Seeks Comments
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has launched a study titled “Quantifying the Benefits of Creating New Truck Parking Spaces,” seeking public comments through May 6. The agency plans to collect roughly 1,000 survey responses from truck drivers to gauge...
Truckload Carrier Earnings: Will Q1 Mark the End of Struggles?
Q1 2026 earnings for major truckload carriers are expected to be the last bout of weak results as supply contracts and demand begins to recover. The quarter was hit by two severe winter storms and a 56% surge in diesel...
Montreal Port Chief Exits After Just Two Years on the Job
The Montreal Port Authority announced that President and CEO Julie Gascon has stepped down after just two years, citing a transition to a new strategic cycle. Her departure comes as the Contrecouer terminal expansion project faces a cost increase from...
How DHL Tackled Mail and Parcel Boom During Peak Easter Season
DHL’s Post & Parcel division in Germany handled a record Easter surge, processing up to 10.5 million parcels on April 7, well above the previous year’s 9 million daily peak. The surge was managed through a multi‑year $1.15 billion investment that modernises sorting centres,...
34,000 Shipping Routes Diverted From Hormuz Disruption: Report
More than 34,000 vessels were forced to reroute in the first four weeks after the Feb. 28 U.S.–Israel strike on Iran, with week 4 recording the highest diversion volume. Project44’s data show that traffic has not reverted to pre‑disruption patterns, as carriers...
Mexico Truckers Block Key Freight Routes in Nationwide Strike
Mexican truckers and farmers launched a nationwide strike on Monday, blocking key freight corridors across more than 20 states and several U.S.-Mexico border crossings. The protest, organized by ANTAC and FNRCM, targets rising cargo crime, soaring diesel prices, deteriorating road...
Maryland Senate Expects to Pass Two-Person Train Crew Bill
Maryland’s Senate is set to forward SB 156, a bill mandating two‑person train crews, to Governor Wes Moore before the session ends. The companion House bill, HB 862, cleared the chamber with a 98‑35 vote. Violations would incur fines up...
In a Tight Market, Reliability Wins
Freight carriers are facing tighter margins and heightened demand for consistent delivery performance. PrePass’s 2026 Mile Marker Impact Index shows that bypassing weigh stations can save an average of 7 minutes, half a gallon of fuel and $10.65 per event,...
How Thieves Move $1m in Freight Before Anyone Realizes It
Authorities in Los Angeles busted an organized theft ring that had siphoned more than $1 million in high‑demand apparel and consumer goods. Over 50 pallets were recovered from a staging warehouse that was already feeding live‑e‑commerce resale channels. The operation illustrates...