Georgia Ports Volumes Hit by Higher Costs, Softer Market
Georgia Ports Authority reported a 2.5% drop in Savannah’s container volume to 4.7 million TEUs for the July‑April fiscal year, with April alone down 14% year‑over‑year. The slowdown reflects a softer market and rising operating costs for shippers. GPA is pursuing a $5 billion, 10‑year expansion that adds five new Savannah berths, a new ro‑ro berth in Brunswick, and a $134 million inland rail hub. Ongoing upgrades at Savannah’s Ocean Terminal aim to boost capacity to 1.75 million TEUs annually.
Fleetworthy Bets on AI, Unified Data as Trucking Margins Tighten
Fleetworthy unveiled a unified, AI‑driven platform at its Roadshow 2026 in Austin, consolidating safety, tolling, bypass and compliance data into a single ecosystem. The new FleetworthyGO mobile app gives drivers real‑time visibility into compliance and operational performance. Executives say the...
UP CEO Confident Rail Merger Application Checks All the STB’s Boxes
Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena says the revised $85 billion merger filing with Norfolk Southern satisfies every Surface Transportation Board (STB) request, including a full agreement and a $750 million concession trigger. The updated proposal clarifies how UP will avoid gaining control...
Target Moves to Elevate Supply Chain Operations, Inventory Reliability
Target posted its strongest quarterly sales gain in over three years, with net sales up 6.7% to $25.4 billion and comparable‑store sales rising 5.6% YoY. Adjusted earnings per share hit $1.71, though net income fell 25% as the retailer ramps up...
Why the Freight Industry Needs Certified Fraud Compliance Officers
Freight fraud continues to rise even as carriers deploy AI analytics, tracking software, and identity‑verification tools. The industry’s reliance on alerts and instinct leaves gaps that organized theft groups exploit. FreightWaves’ Certified Fraud Compliance Officer (CFCO) program introduces a three‑tier...
SCOTUS to Trigger Truckload Rate Run to $5.00 per Mile?
Spot truckload rates climbed to $3.55 per mile, nearing the historical high of $3.68, as Memorial Day demand squeezes capacity. The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II eliminated the federal preemption that had protected brokers from...
$217 Million Just Hit the Table for Trucking Safety and CDL Development — Here’s Who Can Apply and What It...
On May 18 the U.S. Transportation Secretary announced that FMCSA will spend $217 million on four grant programs aimed at tightening trucking safety, modernizing commercial driver’s license (CDL) systems, deploying roadside technology, and training military veterans for CDL careers. The largest...
Same Repair. Same Truck. Higher Invoice. Here Is the Number Behind What You Are Paying at the Parts Counter Right...
On November 1, 2025 President Trump enacted a Section 232 proclamation that levies a 25% tariff on imported medium‑ and heavy‑duty trucks and most replacement components. The tariff, combined with supply‑chain anxiety, has pushed prices for high‑wear parts such as injectors, turbochargers...
Will the BUILD America 250 Act Be the Next Capacity Squeeze
The bipartisan BUILD America 250 Act, a 1,000‑page five‑year surface‑transportation reauthorization, earmarks more than $50 billion for bridges, creates the first federal framework for autonomous trucks, and introduces an annual registration fee on electric and plug‑in hybrid vehicles. Beyond the headlines,...
BUILD America 250 Act Hands AV Trucks a Fed Framework
The bipartisan BUILD America 250 Act, passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, embeds a new Subtitle E that tasks the U.S. Department of Transportation with drafting a performance‑based safety standard for autonomous commercial trucks within two years. The...
Borderlands Mexico: Cross-Border Trade Tops $84B in March as USMCA Talks Heat Up
U.S.-Mexico two‑way trade surged to more than $84 billion in March, an 8.6% year‑over‑year increase, keeping Mexico as the United States’ top trading partner. Exports from Mexico were led by computer parts, computers and automotive components, while U.S. exports to Mexico...
What Does the SCOTUS Ruling Mean for Rates?
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Montgomery decision, which permits lawsuits against freight brokers, is adding a new cost layer to the trucking market. Contract rates have risen about 10% since April 2025, while spot rates are already 35‑40% higher year‑over‑year. Brokers...
Evergreen Profit Sank 70% in Q1
Evergreen Marine Corp., the world’s seventh‑largest container liner, reported a sharp earnings contraction in the first quarter. Consolidated revenue slipped more than 21 percent to $2.75 billion, while net profit after tax plunged 70 percent to $264 million compared with the same period a...
State of Sustainable Fleets 2026: Fleets Diversify Amid Policy Shifts
The 2026 State of Sustainable Fleets report shows fleets diversifying amid policy reversals, tariff disruptions, and a freight recession that have stalled new vehicle orders across all drivetrains. Federal incentives for zero‑emission trucks have expired, but more than $5 billion in...
Inside the $10m Freight Fraud that Rocked Chicago
A suburban Chicago man, Aivaras Zigmantas, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for orchestrating a freight fraud scheme that stole over $10 million in interstate shipments between 2020 and 2023. He used multiple aliases to impersonate legitimate carriers and...
Crime Wave Targets North American Freight Lanes in April
In April, customs and law‑enforcement agencies across the United States, Canada and Mexico intensified cargo‑crime investigations, seizing an estimated $51.4 million in narcotics, counterfeit goods, hormones and other contraband. U.S. border points in Texas and California alone accounted for more than...
Moody’s Cuts Wabash Rating Third Time in a Year, Execs Eye ‘27 Rebound
Moody’s cut Wabash National’s corporate family rating to B3 on May 5, marking the third downgrade within a year and placing the trailer maker six notches below investment‑grade. The downgrade follows a steep decline in trailer shipments—5,378 units in Q1 2026 versus...
Borderlands Mexico: Trade, Trucking Dominate Port of Eagle Pass Annual Summit
The 2026 Port of Eagle Pass Trade Summit drew over 500 stakeholders to discuss nearshoring‑driven growth, infrastructure needs, and driver capacity challenges. Eagle Pass ranked as the nation’s 10th‑largest border crossing, handling $3.77 billion in trade in March. Panelists highlighted the...
Tariff Uncertainty Deepens for Shippers After New Court Ruling Against Trump
A U.S. Court of International Trade has struck down the administration’s latest 10% global tariffs, deeming them unauthorized under the Trade Act of 1974. The ruling follows a Supreme Court decision that barred broader duties, prompting the court to block...
Forward Air Flags Customer Loss, Stock Plummets
Forward Air reported a $34 million net loss for Q1 and warned that a contract‑logistics customer accounting for roughly 10% of its $2.5 billion annual revenue is diversifying away. The disclosure sent the stock down more than 40% and confirmed a strategic...
More Federal Funding for Oregon Container Port — and It’s Not in Portland
The U.S. Maritime Administration has awarded an $11.25 million grant to the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay for its Pacific Coast Intermodal Port (PCIP) project, a proposed ship‑to‑rail container hub 200 miles south of Portland. The state has already committed $100 million...
Truck Parking Club Appoints Victor Westerlund as CFO
Truck Parking Club announced Victor Westerlund as its new chief financial officer as the firm scales its network of reservable truck parking sites. Westerlund joins after a decade of finance leadership, most recently as VP of finance at Stax Payments,...
RXO’s Tech Turnaround: Why Investors Are Watching
RXO reported a challenging first quarter, posting just $6 million in EBITDA, but the company signaled a turnaround by forecasting $27‑$37 million for the second quarter. CEO Drew Wilkerson highlighted a supply‑driven recovery in the freight market and accelerated AI integration after the...
Shippeo Acquires AI-Powered Workflow Platform
Shippeo, a European transportation‑visibility leader, announced the acquisition of German supply‑chain automation firm Logward. The deal merges Shippeo’s real‑time multimodal shipment tracking with Logward’s AI‑driven workflow engine, creating a single platform that can both see and act on logistics events....
FedEx’s MD-11 Comeback to Start with Short Cargo Flight to Miami
FedEx announced a global repair campaign to return its 29 MD‑11 freighters to service after a six‑month grounding triggered by the UPS Flight 2976 crash. Technicians will remove wing‑mounted engine pylons at 16 locations and ship them to Indianapolis and...
Weaker Ocean Rates Hit Maersk Q1 Profit
Maersk’s first‑quarter EBITDA dropped to $1.8 billion from $2.7 billion and EBIT fell to $340 million, shrinking the EBIT margin to 2.6% from 9.4% a year earlier. Higher container volumes could not offset weakened ocean freight rates, which were pressured by overcapacity, geopolitical...
The Columbus Corridor of Medicaid Millionaires and Chameleon Carriers
An investigation of Ohio’s East Dublin Granville corridor uncovered 195 motor carriers clustered in a handful of buildings, including 29 carriers sharing a single suite. Safety data show 98 carriers logged 1,333 inspections, 275 reportable crashes and four fatalities, while...
Panama Container Terminal Bidding Stacked Against U.S. Companies: Source
Panama’s Supreme Court voided CK Hutchison’s terminal concessions, seizing control of the Balboa and Cristóbal ports. The government appointed Maersk’s APM Terminals as interim operator while a new concessions process is prepared. A global roster of bidders, including DP World...
$4 Million Cargo Theft Recovery Shows What Enforcement Can Do
Investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department recovered nearly $4 million worth of stolen cargo after a coordinated operation that led to an arrest in Vernon, California. The case highlights how swift, cross‑incident collaboration can reverse losses that typically disappear...
Strength in the Air and Weakness in Ocean Mark Expeditors’ Strong 1Q
Expeditors International posted a strong first‑quarter earnings report, highlighted by a 5% year‑over‑year increase in air‑freight tonnage that lifted air margins. In contrast, ocean freight volume slipped 4% YoY, dragging down container revenue and pricing. The company’s customs‑brokerage segment saw...
Losses Continue at TL Carrier Pamt Corp.
Pamt Corp. posted a headline Q1 net loss of just $8,000, a figure masked by a $12.7 million after‑tax gain from selling a Texas facility and higher non‑operating income. Excluding those items, the core truckload business lost about $8.1 million, marking the...
The Heartland’s Revenge: How AI Is Reindustrializing the American Interior
AI‑driven data center construction is turning the U.S. interior into a new heavy‑industry hub. Private investment now pours $20 billion into data‑center projects every two weeks, dwarfing the historic $20 billion‑a‑year highway build‑out. The surge is reshaping freight patterns, with industrial truck...
The Commercial Truck Financing Market Has More Options Than Most Small Carriers Realize — and More Traps Than Most Lenders...
The 2026 commercial truck financing market now offers a wider array of lenders and rates, from as low as 6% APR for well‑qualified carriers to over 35% for riskier borrowers. Specialty, online, SBA, bank, and dealer financing each target different...
The Used Truck Market Just Got Flooded With Equipment You Need to Inspect Before You Touch
The FMCSA’s 2026 compliance crackdown has forced thousands of non‑compliant carriers to surrender authority, flooding dealer lots with used trucks at unusually low prices. Buyers face a mixed pool: well‑maintained units and hidden‑damage trucks that look clean on the odometer...
Traffix Expects Double-Digit Rate Increases to Hold Through 2026
Traffix’s Q2 2026 Market Update shows freight rates climbing double‑digit percentages through 2026 as demand rebounds and capacity remains constrained. Spot and contract truckload rates are up roughly 30% year‑over‑year, while diesel prices have risen about 50% since early Q1 2026, adding...
Aurora and Hirschbach Expand Partnership for 500 Aurora Driver-Powered Trucks
Aurora Innovation announced an expanded partnership with Hirschbach Motor Lines to deploy 500 autonomous trucks equipped with its Aurora Driver, with deliveries slated for 2027. The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding that will later become a binding contract, creating...
DHL Group Boosts Profit Despite Lower Shipment Volumes, Revenue
DHL Group reported an 8.3% rise in first‑quarter operating profit despite a dip in overall revenue. DHL Express revenue fell 1.9% to €6 bn ($7 bn) while EBIT jumped 20.6% thanks to aggressive capacity, cost and yield management. Shipment volumes slipped 6%,...
SONAR Sitrep: US Industrials, Freight Unexpected Winners in Iran War
The Iran conflict is unexpectedly boosting U.S. industrial competitiveness by flooding pipelines with associated natural gas, driving Henry Hub prices down while global benchmarks rise. Lower energy costs are giving American manufacturers a structural advantage in chemicals, metals, plastics and...
Montgomery Broker Case Before SCOTUS Featured Topic in Robinson’s Earnings Call
C.H. Robinson’s CEO Dave Bozeman used the Q1 earnings call to address the pending Supreme Court decision in Montgomery vs. Caribe II, a case that could redefine broker liability under the FAA’s safety exception. The company, dismissed as a defendant in...
Anti-Merger Group Launches as UP, NS Prepare to Refile Application
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are set to refile a merger application that would create the nation’s largest coast‑to‑coast rail network, promising to shift about 2 million truckloads to rail each year and cut transit times to four days. The Surface...
How Accurate Shipping Data Is Transforming LTL Outcomes
The NMFTA’s 2025 density‑based classification overhaul forces LTL shippers to report exact weight and cubic dimensions, making measurement accuracy a cost driver. Up to 25% of shipments now face re‑ratings, inflating invoices and straining carrier relationships. Companies that adopted dimensioners,...
Norfolk Southern Earnings Slip as Winter Weather Impacts Rail Volume
Norfolk Southern posted slightly lower first‑quarter earnings as severe winter weather throttled February volumes and fuel costs surged in March. Adjusted operating income slipped 2% to $939 million while revenue held steady at $2.99 billion, and the adjusted operating ratio rose to...
Ghost Agents Running America’s Trucking Legal Infrastructure
A federal FMCSA rule requires every interstate carrier, broker, and freight forwarder to name a process agent in each state via the BOC‑3 filing, theoretically ensuring lawsuits can reach a carrier after a fatal crash. Analysis of the 1.69 million‑record BOC‑3...
Why Truckers Should Care About DOL’s Latest Proposal on Joint Employers
The U.S. Department of Labor released a proposed rule redefining joint‑employer status, reviving a framework first introduced under the Trump administration. The rule focuses on vertical relationships—relevant to trucking firms that contract with fleet operators—and outlines four non‑hierarchical factors (hiring/firing,...
Losses Narrow at Heartland Express as Market Shifts
Heartland Express reported a first‑quarter net loss of $4.8 million, or 6 cents per share, marking a narrowing from the prior year. The carrier’s adjusted operating ratio improved to 101.3%, a 580‑basis‑point gain year‑over‑year and better than the fourth‑quarter. Revenue slipped 20%...
Gnosis Freight Adds Walmart Veteran Gary Adams to Its Board
Gnosis Freight announced that Gary M. Adams, a three‑decade Walmart veteran, has joined its board of directors. Adams spent 18 years as a company officer, most recently leading Walmart’s global logistics, where he transformed the supply chain into a technology‑driven...
CSX Curtails Operations at Its Major Yard in Chicago
CSX has sharply cut activity at its Barr Yard in Riverdale, Illinois, dropping the daily car inventory from roughly 1,500 to just 228. The railroad is moving most switching work to partner operators Belt Railway of Chicago and Indiana Harbor...
Triumph Financial Sets New Metrics, Has Strong Quarter in Factoring
Triumph Financial reported a robust first‑quarter, with factoring invoice purchases up 20.5% year‑over‑year and transportation revenue climbing 23.5% YoY. The company introduced new "North Star" KPIs that focus on transportation‑revenue growth, factoring operating margin and Payments EBITDA margin, signaling a...
Your Truck Is Getting More Expensive to Fix. Here Is the Data on Why — and What to Do Before...
Maintenance costs for heavy‑duty trucks have surged 27% since 2020, driven mainly by parts price inflation and the Section 232 tariff that adds roughly $35,000 to a new Class 8 truck. A recent Decisiv benchmark shows a modest 1.3% dip in Q4 2025...
Every Recovery Looks Like the Right Time to Add a Truck. Here Is How to Tell If It Actually Is.
Freight rates have surged to $3.09 per mile, the highest spot price in four years, as the truck fleet shrinks after a three‑year recession. The rise is supply‑driven: fewer carriers remain, giving the remaining trucks pricing power despite stagnant freight...