The ‘ingenious strategy’ behind most truckers’ least favorite week of the year: International Roadcheck

International Roadcheck Week is hardly the sexiest topic in trucking, but it is a darn-tootin’ important one. Inspectors in the U.S. and Canada halt tens of thousands of trucks for vehicle inspections for a few days every summer or early fall. They remove thousands of trucks and drivers from the road; in 2021, 16.5% of inspected vehicles were put out of service along with 5.3% of drivers.

It’s uncommon for truck drivers to actually get their vehicles inspected at random during most of the year. To avoid International Roadcheck Week, many truckers simply don’t drive during that period of time — which, presumably, means more unsafe vehicles and drivers on the road outside of the inspection blitz. It’s a question that ate at Andrew Balthrop, a research associate at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business.

Around 5% fewer one-person trucking companies are active during International Roadcheck Week. But Balthrop and his fellow researcher, Alex Scott of the University of Tennessee, found a major upside to the inspection blitz — even with all the folks who avoid it. According to their working paper published in March 2021, vehicles are safer a month before and after the inspection period. There’s a 1.8% reduction of vehicle violations, according to Balthrop and Scott’s analysis. Surprise inspection blitzes don’t result in the same uptick of compliance.

I caught up with Balthrop about his research last week at FreightWaves’ Future of Supply Chain conference, and we chatted again on the phone this week about his findings on International Roadcheck Week.

Enjoy a bonus MODES and a lightly edited transcription of our phone interview:

FREIGHTWAVES: For our readers who are not aware of what Roadcheck Week actually is, can you explain a little bit about what it and why it is important to drivers and companies?

BALTHROP: “The International Roadcheck is part of an alliance between the inspectors in Canada and the ones in Mexico and the U.S. to have a unified framework for making sure trucks are safe to operate. That should make it easier to go across borders when you have this kind of unified structure.

“In the U.S., one of these CVSA inspection blitzes is the International Roadcheck that happens for three days in the summer. Usually it’s a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. And usually it’s the first week in June.

“And in it, they focus on Level One inspections, the North American Standard Inspection where they inspect the driver records, the hours of service, the licensure and I believe medical records as well. Then they inspect the truck. It’s an in-depth inspection where the inspector will actually crawl under the truck to look at various things. And these inspections, from the data that I’ve seen, take about a half an hour on average.

“During the Roadcheck Week, they’ll do about 60,000 inspections, so 20,000 a day. They’re going to pull over a lot of trucks, and this can cause a little bit of congestion at the weigh stations and the roadside inspections localities as the inspectors are doing these inspections.”

Roadcheck Week doesn’t catch all truck drivers, but it has a long-lasting benefit to safety

FREIGHTWAVES: So, can most drivers kind of expect to be pulled over? How likely is that?

BALTHROP: “There’s 1 million or 3 million trucks on the road, somewhere around there on any given day. With 20,000 inspections, most drivers still will not get inspected, but there’s going to be a higher proportion of drivers inspected.

“You’re more likely to get inspected on these days. If you don’t have a recent inspection on your record, or if you have a bad recent inspection on your record, you’re more likely to be pulled over on these days.”

FREIGHTWAVES: Your research focused on that it’s just unusual that this inspection is announced, that it’s planned. We were talking before about how normally, if you’re trying to assure quality or compliance, you would not announce an inspection in advance. It would be more of a surprise-type situation.

Can you walk us through why that’s so unusual, or what’s the rationale that you see behind announcing it in advance?

BALTHROP: “It is unusual, and on the surface, it doesn’t make much sense, but it turns out to be kind of an ingenious strategy. So I’ll walk through it here.

“Over the course of a year, there’ll be 2 million inspections of 3 or 4 million trucks out there. The average rate of inspections is pretty low. It’s not uncommon for truckers to go years without having an inspection. With this low inspection intensity, the FMCSA has sort of a problem of, how does it get anybody to abide by the regulations?

“I’m a jaded economist, and I don’t worry or consider too much ethics and morality and all that kind of stuff. It comes down to incentives for drivers to follow these inspections. The incentives do guide behavior. So, how could the FMCSA incentivize drivers to follow these regulations more closely and adhere to the standards?

“They do this by announcing the blitz. This does two things. On one side, it allows everybody to prepare in advance. There’s a bunch of anecdotal evidence out there that people do prepare for these blitzes in advance. They will have their trucks inspected beforehand for any problems. They’ll time maintenance and upkeep in advance to make sure that their vehicles are in order. “They’ll be a little bit more cognizant of the driver-side regulations. One thing we notice in our study is that hours-of-service violations really drop during these extensions, because people see them coming. They don’t fudge the books in any way.”

Owner-operators can evade Roadcheck Week. Big carriers, not so much.

BALTHROP: “The issue with the announcement, on the flip side, is that it allows people to just dodge the inspection entirely. For a long time, people have talked about how owner-operators and smaller carriers time their vacations for this particular time. They could do this for a couple reasons. To avoid the hassle is a nice way to put it, but it also allows you to be noncompliant to avoid the high-intensity inspections.

“You have this balance here that on one side you get the behavior you want with people complying with regulations. That’s the behavior the FMCSA wants. But on the flip side, you get a bunch of people that are kind of outright dodging inspections.

“When you compare these two things on balance, the policy is actually pretty effective because you get a lot of people focused on maintaining their trucks and obeying the rules during that particular week. Especially with the vehicle maintenance stuff, that lasts a long time.

“In our research, we saw that vehicle violations, a month before and up to a month afterwards, is when you still notice your vehicle violations. That trucks are kind of better maintained around these blitzes.

“The ingenious aspect of it is that the FMCSA, by concentrating their inspection resources all at one time and announcing it, they’re making it clear that they’re serious about enforcing these regulations and everybody prepares for it. For the number of inspections that are happening, you get fewer tickets than you would have otherwise expected.

“The FMCSA, they’re putting people through a little bit of a hassle, but they’re not having to write a bunch of tickets to get people to comply. They’re not really punishing a whole bunch of people because, by making this apparent that this is going to happen, people comply and the FMCSA gets what they want essentially without having to come down on carriers too hard.”

A convenient time for a vacation, indeed

FREIGHTWAVES: OK, interesting. And how does this pattern of shutting down, how does that compare for an owner-operator versus a driver for a big fleet?

BALTHROP: “If you’re a motor carrier with thousands of power units, you can’t just pack up and not do business on a particular day. They just don’t have that option. So they get inspected at a higher intensity, and you see the larger carriers kind of more focused on making sure that they’re prepared for these inspections. With so many inspections, the larger carriers are going to be inspected at higher rates. You can really damage your reputation if your equipment isn’t in order on this particular day.

“Versus the smaller carriers, especially if you’re talking about a single-vehicle fleet, an owner-operator type, it is not that difficult to just not work for those three days. And so you see a lot about that.

“In terms of what the roadway composition looks like, if we look at inspection data and relative to a typical day with the usual inspections, on these Roadcheck days, you have about 5% fewer owner-operators on the road than you otherwise would expect.”

FREIGHTWAVES: Wow. And when you say owner-operators, you also mean just like fleets with just —

BALTHROP: “One-vehicle fleets.”

FREIGHTWAVES: OK, that’s interesting.

BALTHROP: “You know, you see a little bit of effect with the smaller fleets, below six vehicles, but it basically disappears by the time you get to a hundred vehicles.

“This effect is being driven by smaller carriers staying off the road in terms of avoidance. You see this goes also how you would expect; it’s also older vehicles that stay off the road. This is correlated with carrier size. The larger carriers use newer vehicles and owner-operators tend to use some of the older vehicles. But it’s particularly the older vehicles that are off the road.

“This makes intuitive sense. Older vehicles are more costly to keep compliant. Maintenance is more costly, and they’ve been around longer so there’s time for more stuff to have broken essentially.

How a truck driver gets stopped for inspection

FREIGHTWAVES: Can you explain a little bit more, the idea of having this inspection history and why it would benefit a larger or small carrier?

BALTHROP: “Getting flagged for inspection is sort of random, but not totally. If somebody notices something obviously wrong with your truck, that’s ground for a more in-depth inspection. Or if you get pulled over for some other reason, this can be grounds for inspection of some type.

“But there’s also the inspection selection service. The computer program that is random, that it randomly flags people in for inspection, but it’s based on your inspection history.

“So if your firm hasn’t been inspected recently, or if your carrier doesn’t have a very dense inspection history, you’ll be more likely to trigger that system to pull you in and have you inspected. If you have a dense inspection history, you’re less likely to get inspected.”

FREIGHTWAVES: So how do you get pulled over for inspection? As a person who only drives a passenger car, my main interaction with being pulled over is, I’m driving down the freeway or wherever, and I get stopped by the police. How does it work for a truck driver? How does getting pulled over or inspected work in that way?

BALTHROP: “The law is that you cannot pass a weigh station without pulling in and getting weighed. At that point they may flag you to be inspected. Now, in the past decade or two, there’s been a bunch of electronic devices that are installed in cabs. You may have heard of PrePass or Drivewise. This allows you to pass weigh stations.

“I don’t have data on how many trucks have the in-cab devices. But from a trucking perspective, they’re so convenient that you don’t have to stop every time you cross a state line. I think the vast, overwhelming majority of trucks have some sort of one of these electronic devices. The DOT inspectors at these roadside inspection points have a dial they can twist essentially about how many people they want to inspect.

“So during the roadcheck inspection week, they’ll crank that dial all the way up and pull everybody over. And if they get too backed up, they might crank it back down a little bit and so on.”

FREIGHTWAVES: OK, interesting. It reminds me of a highly sophisticated E‑ZPass.

A $10 million-plus expense to trucking companies every year … but it’s worth it if just one fatal crash is avoided

FREIGHTWAVES: Zooming out, when we hear about large truck crashes, something like a vehicle maintenance issue is not really the most sexy explanation. But just looking at the FMCSA data, in 29% of all truck crashes, a major factor is brake problems. So it seems like a lot of the truck crashes on the road are caused by vehicle maintenance, versus something like the driver using illegal drugs or some other sort of more dramatic explanation. Can you speak a little bit to why this sort of vehicle maintenance is important for safety in preventing large crashes?

BALTHROP: “We did a little bit of a back-of-the-envelope cost benefit analysis of this. Let me try and make sure I remember it clearly, but we have it in the paper that the cost of this on one side is that you have the compliance costs the firms are undertaking, and then you have to add to that the delay costs from doing this, and then the cost of the inspection itself, having to pay federal inspectors to do this.

“On the benefit side, it reduces crashes. So when we add up, just looking at the cost of what an inspection is, we don’t have a good idea of how to measure the compliance cost. It’d be fun to measure the delay cost, but I don’t have good enough price data on that to get at that cost.

“But if you look at what the cost of an inspection is, it is something like $100 or $120 is what you would pay to have one of these inspections done privately. A lot of people do this in the run-up to inspections, and have it done privately so that you can fix whatever the problems are and be sure that you would pass the FMCSA inspection.

“With that $120 figure, if you aggregate that up to 60,000 inspections or whatever, and you take that in comparison, I’m going to give you a bad figure here, it’s on the order of $10 million. That is about the value of a statistical human life. Looking at this economically, it’s worthwhile if it saves one human life. If you identify just one faulty brake system that would’ve resulted in an accident, you’re getting some value out of the program.

“When you add those other costs in there, we’re going to need to save a couple of lives, but in terms of cost benefit analysis with this kind of stuff, we’re usually looking at orders of magnitude differences in cost and benefits to say something for sure.

“If you can save just a couple lives, this program will pay for itself.”

Time to start inspecting in the winter

FREIGHTWAVES: Then one last question: Is there any rationale for this program happening in the summer?

BALTHROP: “I think part of it is that for the inspectors this gets much harder and much more miserable to do in winter conditions.”

FREIGHTWAVES: That makes sense.

BALTHROP: “Inspectors are less productive. One of the things that we talk about in the paper, that they have in addition to the International Roadcheck, is that they have Brake Week where they focus a little bit more on brake inspections. You have Operation Safe Driver a little bit later on in the summer, usually in September, where it’s a little bit more focused on passenger vehicles and how they drive around these trucks.

“But there’s not one in the winter time. There’s an unannounced brake check that usually happens in May, a surprise inspection that’s just one day. But you’re right in pointing out that it might be worthwhile having one of these in the wintertime. You have this periodic high-intensity inspection that kind of incentivizes everybody to be compliant through the summer.

“But there’s nothing in the winter, so that’s an area. But if I was managing the FMCSA, that would be one of the first questions I ask, ‘Why don’t we have one of these in the wintertime?’”

FREIGHTWAVES: That makes sense. Maybe they can do it in the South or something. Maybe a Miami January inspection …

That’s it for this special bonus MODES. Subscribe here if you’re not already receiving MODES in your inbox every Thursday. Email the reporter at rpremack@www.freightwaves.com with your own tales on International Roadcheck Week or any other trucking topics.

Why the Northeast is quietly running out of diesel

The nozzle of a diesel fuel pump is inserted into the tank of a commercial truck as its driver looks on the bankground.

The East Coast of the U.S. is reporting its lowest seasonal diesel inventory on record. And some trucking companies appear spooked.

The East Coast typically stores around 62 million barrels of diesel during the month of May, according to Department of Energy data. But as of last Friday, that region of the U.S. is reporting under 52 million barrels.

The sharp increase of diesel prices has been a major stressor in America’s $800 billion trucking industry since the beginning of 2022. According to DOE figures, the price per gallon of diesel has reached record highs — a whopping $5.62 per gallon. It’s even higher on the East Coast at $5.90, up 63% from the beginning of this year.

When relief is coming isn’t yet clear, and experts say higher prices are the only way to attract more diesel into the Northeast.

“I wish I had some good news for the Northeast, but it’s bedlam,” Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at OPIS, told FreightWaves.

2022 has seen record-setting diesel prices. (SONAR)

Everyday Americans don’t fill up their cars with diesel, but the fuel powers our nation’s agriculture, industrial and transportation networks. More expensive diesel means the price of everything is liable to increase. Trucks, trains, barges and the like consumed about 122 million gallons of diesel per day in 2020.

Patrick DeHaan, a vice president of communications at fuel price site GasBuddy, reported that retail truck stops are hauling fuel from the Great Lakes to the Northeast, calling it “extraordinary.” We’ve also seen anecdotal reports from truck drivers posting company memos:

pic.twitter.com/yFYyjzYMWE
— Craig Fuller 🛩🚛🇺🇦 (@FreightAlley) May 11, 2022

#FuelShortage #DieselShortage #SupplyChainCrisis pic.twitter.com/zVmXlshXN0
— Don Ricardo 👑 🇺🇸 🇩🇴 (@NjPier) May 5, 2022

Pilot Flying J and Love’s, two of America’s largest truck stops, told the Wall Street Journal yesterday that they were not planning to restrict diesel purchases, but were monitoring low diesel inventory.

Not unlike every other supply chain crunch we’ve seen in the past few years, the cause of the Northeast’s diesel shortage is multifaceted. A yearslong degradation of refineries is rubbing against the Gulf Coast preferring to ship its oil to Europe and Latin America.

Here’s a breakdown:

1. The East Coast has lost half of its refineries.

As Bloomberg’s Javier Blas wrote on May 4 (emphasis ours):

In the past 15 years, the number of refineries on the U.S. East Coast has halved to just seven. The closures have reduced the region’s oil processing capacity to just 818,000 barrels per day, down from 1.64 million barrels per day in 2009. Regional oil demand, however, is stronger.

Rory Johnston, a managing director at Toronto-based research firm Price Street and writer of the newsletter Commodity Context, told FreightWaves that refining is a “thankless industry,” with intense regulations that have limited the opening of new refineries. The Great Recession of 2008 led to several East Coast refineries shuttering, but there have been more recent shutdowns too. One major Philadelphia refinery shuttered in 2019 after a giant fire (and it already had declared bankruptcy), and another refinery in Newfoundland shut down in 2020.

Billionaire John Catsimatidis owns a small oil refinery in the US East Coast and several hundred gas stations from Pennsylvania to New York:

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see diesel being rationed on the East Coast this summer.” #OOTT #DieselCrisis https://t.co/9g1e5UIf20
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) May 11, 2022

2. It’s a financial risk to bring diesel to the Northeast.

The Northeast has increasingly relied on diesel from the Gulf region. Much of that diesel travels to the Northeast through the famous and much-adored Colonial Pipeline. You may remember the 5,500-mile pipeline from last year, when a ransomware attack shuttered it for nearly a week!

It takes 18 days for oil to travel on the Colonial Pipeline from its source in Houston to New York City (or, more specifically, Linden, New Jersey), Kloza said.

That’s a long enough time to prioritize Colonial pipelines financially risky for traders — or, as Kloza said, “incredibly dangerous” — thanks to a concept called “backwardation.”

Backwardation refers to the market condition in which the spot price of a commodity like diesel is higher than its futures price. It’s only gotten stronger over time in the diesel market, Kloza said. So, a company could send off a shipment of diesel and find that it dropped by $1 per gallon in the time the diesel traveled from the Gulf Coast to New York — er, New Jersey. That could mean hundreds of thousands or more in lost profits, so traders often avoid such a fate.

“We’re not in an era where there are any U.S. refiners or big U.S. oil companies who would ‘take one for the team’ and bring cargo in where it’s needed,” Kloza said.

The desperation is showing in New England and the mid-Atlantic regions. New England diesel retail prices are up 75% from the beginning of 2022, per DOE data. In the mid-Atlantic, diesel is up 67%.

It’s not worth the risk, even amid ultra-high prices. As FreightWaves’ Kingston reported last week, the spread between a gallon of diesel in the Gulf Coast and its New York harbor price is usually a few cents. Last week, that swung up to 66 cents.

But that uptick still isn’t justifying moving oil to the Northeast — particularly when traders can make so much more money selling diesel abroad.

3. Of course, we can blame COVID and the crisis in Ukraine.

The catalyst for this diesel shortage, of course, is the ongoing conflict in Ukraine — particularly Europe’s desperation for diesel after weaning off Russian molecules.

As CNBC reported in March, Europe is a net importer of diesel. Europe consumed some 6.8 million barrels of diesel each day in 2019; Russia exported some 600,000 barrels per day of that. Today, Europe has only eliminated one-third of its Russian diesel, so prices are expected to continue to climb amid that transition. Latin America, too, has been clammoring for U.S. diesel.

The Gulf Coast has been happy to provide such diesel, amid “insane” prices for diesel abroad, said Johnston. Waterborne exports of diesel from the U.S. Gulf Coast hit record highs last month, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa. (The records only date back to 2016.)

Naturally, COVID is also to blame for the Northeast’s run on diesel. Those refineries still retained on the East Coast scaled back during the pandemic due to staffing issues. It takes six months to a year to reignite refineries that were previously shuttered, Kloza said.

The ‘everything shortage’ endures

It’s been a tale as old as, well, last year. An industry is quietly hampered by supply issues for years, or even decades, and COVID pulls back the curtains on its unsteady foundation. It’s particularly jarring for commodities we never thought about before, like shipping containers or pallets, but that quietly underpinned our livelihood all along.

Recall the Great Lumber Shortage of 2020? Big Lumber had unusually low stockpiles of wood by the summer of 2020, thanks to a vicious 2019 in the lumber industry shuttering sawmills and the spring of 2020 sparking staffing issues. (There was also a nasty beetle infestation.) Those in lumber expected the pandemic to slow the economy, not ignite online shopping, construction and housing mania. It meant lumber went from around $350 per thousand board feet pre-pandemic to a crushing $1,515 by the spring of 2021. The lumber price roller coaster persists today.

In diesel, there’s no beetle infestation, but there are plenty of other headaches. It all means higher fuel prices on the East Coast, particularly the Northeast, to lure molecules from the Gulf Coast. And, down the line, probably more expensive stuff for you.

Do you work in the trucking industry? Do you want to say that you hate or love MODES? Are you simply wanting to chitchat? Email the author at rpremack@www.freightwaves.com, and don’t forget to subscribe to MODES.

Updated on May 13 with the latest comments from truck stops.

Exclusive: Central Freight Lines to shut down after 96 years

Nearly, 2,100 employees will be laid off right before Christmas. Central Freight Lines is the largest trucking company to close since Celadon ceased operations in 2019.

Waco, Texas-based Central Freight Lines has notified drivers, employees and customers that the less-than-truckload carrier plans to wind down operations on Monday after 96 years, the company’s president told FreightWaves on Saturday.

“It’s just horrible,” said CFL President Bruce Kalem.

A source close to CFL told FreightWaves that CFL had “too much debt and too many unpaid bills” to continue operating, despite exploring all available options to keep its doors open.

Kalem agreed.

“Years of operating losses and struggles for many years sapped our liquidity, and we had no other place to go at this point,” Kalem told FreightWaves. “Nobody is going to make money on this closing, nobody.”

Central Freight will cease picking up new shipments effective Monday and expects to deliver substantially all freight in its system by Dec. 20, according to a company statement.

A source familiar with the company said he is unsure whether CFL will file Chapter 7 or “liquidate outside of bankruptcy,” but that the LTL carrier has no plans to reorganize.

The company reshuffled its executive team nearly a year ago in an effort to stay afloat, including adding the company’s owner, Jerry Moyes, as CFL’s interim president and chief executive officer. Moyes remained CEO after Kalem was elevated to president in July.

“I think it was surprising that there wasn’t a buyer for the entire company, but buyers were interested in certain pieces but not in the whole thing,” the source, who didn’t want to be identified, told FreightWaves. “Part of it could have been that just the network was so expansive that there was too much overlap with some of the buyers that they didn’t need locations or employees in the places where they already had strong operations.”

Third-party logistics provider GlobalTranz notified its customers that it had removed CFL as “a blanket and CSP carrier option immediately, to prevent any new bookings,” multiple sources told FreightWaves on Saturday.

CFL, which has over 2,100 employees, including 1,325 drivers, and 1,600 power units, is in discussions with “key customers and vendors and expects sufficient liquidity to complete deliveries over the next week in an orderly manner,” a CFL spokesperson said. Approximately 820 employees are based at the company headquarters in Waco.

Despite diligent efforts, CFL “was unable to gain commitments to fund ongoing operations, find a buyer of the entire business or fund a Chapter 11 reorganization,” another source familiar with the company told FreightWaves.

Kalem said the company had 65 terminals prior to its decision to shutter operations.

FreightWaves received a tip from a source nearly two weeks ago that CFL wasn’t renewing its East Coast terminal leases but was unable to confirm the information with CFL executives.

Another source told FreightWaves that some of the LTL carrier’s West Coast terminals had been sold recently, but that no reason was given for the transactions.

At that time, Kalem said the company was “working to find alternatives” and couldn’t speak because of nondisclosure agreements. He said executives at CFL, including Moyes, were trying to do everything to “save the company.”

“Jerry [Moyes] pumped a lot of money into the company, but it just wasn’t enough,” Kalem said.

Kalem said he’s aware that a large carrier is interested in hiring many of CFL’s drivers but isn’t able to name names at this point.

“Central Freight is in negotiations to sell a substantial portion of its equipment,” the company said in a statement. “Additionally, Central Freight is coordinating with other regional LTL carriers to afford its employees opportunities to apply for other LTL jobs in their area.”

As of late Saturday night, Kalem said fuel cards are working and drivers will be paid for freight they’ve hauled for the LTL carrier until all freight is delivered by the Dec. 20 target date.

“I’m going to work feverishly with the time I have left to get these good people jobs — I owe it to them,” Kalem told FreightWaves. “We are going to pay our drivers — that’s why we had to close it like we’re doing now. We are going to deliver all of the freight that’s in our system by next week, and we believe we can do that.”

During the outset of the pandemic, Central Freight Lines was one of four trucking-related companies that received the maximum award of $10 million through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This occurred around the time that CFL drivers and employees were forced to take pay cuts, a move that didn’t go over well with drivers.

“It all went to payroll,” Kalem said about the PPP funds. “Yes, our employees and drivers did take a pay cut over the past few years, and we gave most of it back, even raised pay over the past several months, but it just wasn’t enough to attract drivers.”

FreightWaves staffers Todd Maiden, Timothy Dooner and JP Hampstead contributed to this report.

Watch: Central Freight Lines’ impact on the LTL market

FreightWaves CEO and founder Craig Fuller reacts to the Central Freight Lines news:

“With Central struggling for many years and unable to reach profitability, it makes sense that they would want to liquidate while equipment and real estate are fetching record prices.”

Central Freight Lines statement

Here is the statement given by Central Freight Lines to FreightWaves late Saturday after reports surfaced of its impending closure:

“We make this announcement with a heavy heart and extreme regret that the Company cannot continue after nearly 100 years in operation. We would like to thank our outstanding workforce for persevering and for professionally completing the wind-down while supporting each other. Additionally, we thank our customers, vendors, equipment providers, and other stakeholders for their loyalty and support.

“The Company explored all available options to keep operations going. However, operating losses sapped all remaining sources of liquidity, and the Company’s liabilities far exceed its assets, all of which are subject to liens in favor of multiple creditors. Despite diligent efforts, the Company was unable to gain commitments to fund ongoing operations, find a buyer of the entire business, or fund a Chapter 11 reorganization. Given its limited remaining resources, the Company concluded that the best alternative was a safe and orderly wind-down. As we complete the wind-down process, our primary goal will be to offer the smoothest possible transition for all stakeholders while maximizing the amount available to apply toward the Company’s obligations.

“Central Freight is in negotiations to sell a substantial portion of its equipment. Additionally, Central Freight is coordinating with other regional LTL carriers to afford its employees opportunities to apply for other LTL jobs in their area. Discussions are ongoing and no purchase of assets or offer of employment is guaranteed.”

Brief history of Central Freight Lines

1925	Founded in Waco, Texas, by Woody Callan Sr.
1927	Institutes regular routes in Texas between Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin.
1938	Dallas facility opens as world’s largest freight facility.
1991	Receives 48-state interstate operating authority, expands into Oklahoma.
1993	Joins Roadway Regional Group and begins service in Louisiana.
1994	Expands into Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Mississippi.
1995	Consolidation of Central, Coles, Spartan and Viking Freight Systems into Viking Freight Inc. is announced. Central’s Waco corporate HQ starts closure.
1996	Becomes the Southwestern Division of Viking Freight Inc.
1997	Investment group led by senior Central management purchases assets of former CFL from Viking Freight and reopens as a new Central Freight Lines.
1999	Expands into California and Nevada.
2009	CFL Network provides service to Idaho, Utah, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
2013	Acquires Circle Delivery of Tennessee.
2014	Acquires DTI, a Georgia LTL carrier.
2017	Acquires Wilson; new division created with an increase of 80 terminals.
2020	Wins Carrier of the Year from GlobalTranz. Acquires Volunteer Express Inc. of Dresden, Tennessee.

Source: Central Freight Lines

Warehouse cramming is about to begin — Freightonomics

nVision Global, is a leading Global Freight Audit, Supply Chain Management Services company offering enterprise-wide supply chain solutions. With over 4,000 global business “Partners”, nVision Global not only provides prompt, accurate Freight Audit Solutions, but also providing industry-leading Supply Chain Information Management solutions and services necessary to help its clients maximize efficiencies within their supply chain. To learn more, visit www.nvisionglobal.com

Warehouse space is at a premium right now and with peak season right around the corner, shippers are starting to scramble for space.

Zach Strickland and Anthony Smith look into what shippers are doing to prepare for the end-of-year crunch. They welcome Zac Rogers from Colorado State University to the show to talk through the industry tightness.

The three also talk about the latest Logistics Managers Index results and what they mean for the fourth quarter of 2021.

You can find more Freightonomics episodes and recaps for all our live podcasts here.

Seasonality pushing rejections and rates higher ahead of the Fourth

This week’s DHL Supply Chain Pricing Power Index: 75 (Carriers)

Last week’s DHL Supply Chain Pricing Power Index: 70 (Carriers)

Three-month DHL Supply Chain Pricing Power Index Outlook: 70 (Carriers)

The DHL Supply Chain Pricing Power Index uses the analytics and data in FreightWaves SONAR to analyze the market and estimate the negotiating power for rates between shippers and carriers.

The Pricing Power Index is based on the following indicators:

Load volumes: Absolute levels positive for carriers, momentum neutral

The Outbound Tender Volume Index at 15,980 is nominally higher now than basically at any point in the past 12 months with the exception of the week prior to Thanksgiving/Black Friday last year. OTVI captures all electronic tenders, including rejected ones, so when accounting for the rejection rate, we can get an even more accurate look at volumes.

OTVI rose through the back half of May into the national holiday and has risen even further since. Throughout the back half of May and into the middle of June, tender rejections declined substantially. Meaning, current volume throughput is actually understated when comparing OTVI now to OTVI in November 2020. After adjusting for rejected tenders, the accepted outbound tender volume index is just 2.2% below the 2020 peak in November. At that time, OTVI surged towards 17,000, but the rejection rate moved in-kind towards its natural ceiling of 28%. So, the total accepted freight tenders in mid-June is comparable to the peakiest of peak seasons in 2020. Incredible.

However, since the middle of June, tender rejections have begun increasing again heading into Independence Day, a time when many drivers spend time off the road with their families. The move higher in OTVI this week has been driven primarily by higher rejection rates, rather than higher freight demand.

Over the past month, the drivers of freight volumes have continued to be imports and from just about every port. The west coast continues to provide seemingly non-stop container ships, while Houston, New Orleans, Miami and Savannah are seeing very strong throughput as well.

It is van volumes that are driving freight markets higher right now. The Reefer Outbound Tender Volume index has tumbled 25% since its all-time high in the weeks after the polar vortex in February. Since Memorial Day, ROTVI has fallen another 10.5%. This is likely a factor of declining grocery demand, but I would expect the trend to reverse course in the near future as summer festivities accelerate.

Dry van volumes pushed higher in the back half of May and into June while reefer volumes have declined significantly.

SONAR: VOTVI.USA (Blue); ROTVI.USA (Green)

The congestion at our nation’s ports has spread from Los Angeles and Long Beach to Oakland, California. The California coastline is a parking lot of container ships, most of which are full to the brim with imports, awaiting berth. As detailed in the economic section, there are some signs that the reversion is underway with Americans paring back spending on pandemic superstar categories in favor of airlines, lodging and entertainment. But spending remains strong despite the moderation, and low inventory levels offset much of the decline that will occur from slowing demand. Real inventories are 3% higher now than pre-pandemic, but real sales growth is far outpacing inventory growth, leading to the lowest inventory-to-sales ratio in decades.

On the manufacturing side, the ISM Manufacturing PMI expanded in May after declining in April. We’ve been in expansionary territory for 12 consecutive months. New orders, production, imports/exports and employment are all growing. The major issues should come as no surprise: Deliveries are slowing, backlogs are growing and inventories are too low.

In all, there are many, many catalysts to keep freight demand strong for the foreseeable future. Americans are traveling and spending on services at a high clip, but the high savings rate is enabling it to occur without a massive detriment to goods spending.

SONAR: OTVI.USA (2021 – Blue; 2020 – Green; 2019 – Orange; 2018 – Purple)

Tender rejections: Absolute level and momentum positive for carriers

After declining steadily from mid-March to mid-May, the Outbound Tender Reject Index has reversed course heading into Independence Day. This is typical for a national holiday as carriers selectively choose loads to bring drivers closer to home. OTRI now sits above 25% for the first time in June.

One of our newest indices in SONAR gives us the ability to compare markets on as close to an apples-to-apples basis as possible. FreightWaves’ Carrier Trend Market Score indices are divided into two perspectives – shipper/broker and carrier. The scores are positioned on a scale from 1-100 and have values measuring van and refrigerated (reefer) capacity. The higher values represent more favorable trends for whichever perspective. For instance, a value near the high-end of the range would suggest very favorable conditions for carriers in our carrier capacity trend score index.

For the past several weeks, capacity disparities have been driven by import volumes. The markets with the tightest carrier capacity coincide with the nation’s busiest ports. Ontario, California, Savannah, Georgia, and Atlanta all have carrier capacity trend market scores of 100.

SONAR: Capacity Trend Market Score (Carriers – VAN)

By mode. Reefer rejection rates tumbled from it’s all-time high in March to under 35% in mid-June before popping higher over the past two weeks. Reefer rejections are still quite high from a historical standpoint at 38%, but are significantly lower than just three months ago when reefer carriers were rejecting half of all electronically tendered loads.

SONAR: VOTRI.USA (Blue); ROTRI.USA (Orange)

Dry van tenders make up the majority of all tenders, so the van rejection rate mirrors the aggregate index closely. Van rejections have surged from ~23% to ~26% over the past two weeks.

Yes, one-in-four loads being rejected is not ideal, but it’s better than 30%. I am unaware of any meaningful signals that capacity is being added at a rate that would change my outlook. With so many catalysts for demand, and many constraints on drivers including the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, driver training school closures and continued government unemployment benefits, the outlook is tight throughout this year and into 2022. That’s not to say we won’t see improvement as consumers revert to pre-pandemic spending habits and drivers enter or reenter the market. But I’m not expecting any quick reversal of this environment; there are simply too many catalysts driving volume and suppressing capacity.

SONAR: OTRI.USA (2020/21 – Blue; 2020 – Green; 2019 – Orange)

Freight rates: Absolute level and momentum positive for carriers

Throughout June, spot rates have moderated while contract rates have pushed higher. The Truckstop.com dry van rate per mile (incl. fuel) has fallen from $3.21 to $3.11 since the beginning of June, while FreightWaves van contract rates have risen from $2.50 to $2.59/mile, exclusive of fuel.

I still believe the Truckstop.com dry van national average will not retest the post-vortex surge pricing that brought spot rates up to an all-time high of $3.30. But, there aren’t many catalysts to bring spot rates down anytime soon either. Demand is unwavering with continued strong consumer goods demand, humming industrial recovery and a potentially cooling, yet still sizzling, hot housing market. And carriers can’t fill enough trucks to keep up with demand.

Prior to the seasonal movements we’re seeing in tender rejections, routing guides generally had been improving through Q2. We should continue to see a convergence between spot and contract rates, but spot rates will remain historically very elevated throughout the summer as demand simply outstrips capacity.

SONAR: TSTOPVRPM.USA (Blue); VCRPM1.USA (Green)

Economic stats: Momentum and absolute level neutral

Several economic releases this week are worth noting.

Weekly jobless claims were released Thursday and give us one of the best close-to-real-time indicators of the overall economy. This week, the data was again very promising as the labor market continues on a bumpy but trajectorially stable recovery path.

First-time filings totaled 411,000 for the week ended June 19, a slight decrease from the previous total of 418,000 but worse than the 380,000 Dow Jones estimate, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Initial claims have held above 400,000 for consecutive weeks after falling to a pandemic low of 374,000 three weeks ago. As things stand, the current level of initial claims is about double where it was prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The good news on the jobs front is that continuing claims are on the decline, falling to 3.39 million, a drop of 144,000. That number runs a week behind the headline claims total.

Initial jobless claims (weekly in May 2020-May 2021)

At the time of writing, the newest weekly data for the week ending May 29 had not been updated in SONAR. This week, claims fell from 405,000 to 385,000.

SONAR: IJC.USA

Consumer. Turning to consumer spending, as measured by Bank of America weekly card (both debit and credit) spending data, total card spending (TCS) in the latest week accelerated to 22% over 2019. This is the first time in June that TCS has topped 20% over 2019, but spending has been running up 16-19% consistently on a two-year comp for months. For contect, the average pre-pandemic two-year growth rate was about 8% (from 2012 to 2019).

The Bank of America team highlighted service spending in the nation’s two largest state economies, California and New York, which are now fully reopened. Spending at restaurants is now well above 2019 in both states, and the team believes there is more capacity for spending to accelerate in the states that were slower to reopen given pent-up demand.

There was also a notable acceleration in spending on clothing this week, according to Bank of America. It could be a reversal from some softening in the early weeks of June, or an indication of people refreshing wardrobes ahead of a return to work, more travel and vacations. One tepid statement for freight markets from this week;s report: Leisure spending is on the rise and durable goods spending is flatlining.

FreightWaves’ Flatbed Outbound Tender Reject Index, both a measure of relative demand and capacity, moves directionally with the ISM PMI.

SONAR: ISM.PMI (Blue); FOTRI.USA (Green)

Manufacturing. Over the past two weeks, regional manufacturing surveys have reported generally positive readings amid logistical challenges. The New York Fed’s Empire State business conditions index declined 6.9 points to 17.4 in June, retreating from strong readings the past two months. The Empire State Index is a diffusion index with a baseline of zero; any reading above zero indicates improving or expansionary conditions.

Delivery times lengthened to a new record during the month, new orders and shipments fell, and inventories entered negative territory. The supply chain and transportation challenges are as visible upstream as downstream, but overall the manufacturing sector is handling. Growth continued throughout the second quarter in both the Empire State and Philly Fed indices.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s business activity index edged lower to a still robust 30.7 in June from 31.5 in the prior month. Unlike NY, the pace of shipments growth accelerated in the Philly region during June. The employment subcomponent rose to a very healthy 30.7 from 19.3 last month, the regional bank said.

Record-long lead times, wide-scale shortages of critical basic materials, rising commodities prices and difficulties in transporting products are continuing to affect all segments of the manufacturing economy, but demand remains strong.

For more information on the FreightWaves Freight Intel Group, please contact Kevin Hill at khill@www.freightwaves.com or Andrew Cox at acox@www.freightwaves.com.

Check out the newest episodes of our podcast, Great Quarter, Guys, here.

Project44 acquires ClearMetal to strengthen predictive tools

Project44, a leader in real-time visibility of the global supply chain, announced on Thursday it has acquired ClearMetal, a San Francisco-based supply chain planning software company that focuses on international freight visibility, predictive planning and overall customer experience. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

ClearMetal, founded by top software engineers and data scientists from Stanford, Google and other Silicon Valley elites, has created a “continuous delivery experience” that leverages proprietary machine learning algorithms that can forecast supply chain disruptions.

In an interview, Jason Duboe, chief growth officer at project44, explained that bringing in ClearMetal’s elite team is essential for the company’s future predictive solutions.

“Their team construct is fundamentally different. When you look at their data science, machine learning and computer science background, they are best in class,” he said. “Applying the team to solve really interesting challenges, starting with highly predictive ETA and deeper exception management to create more predictive analytics is really a key component here.”

Project44 recently acquired Ocean Insights to gain global supply chain vessel visibility and has announced it has expanded its truckload tracking services within Asia. Bringing on this new team of engineers will allow the company to capitalize on strong predictive tools, strengthening the supply chain of its customers.

“We’re going to be expanding deeper into Asia, and from a port perspective, getting data much earlier than competitors,” explained Duboe. “Our freight forwarder integrations will give us much deeper visibility from an end-to-end perspective in these regions.”

Along with the acquired skills the ClearMetal team will bring to project44, it brings a large book of customers, including large CPGs, retailers, manufacturers, distributors and chemical companies. These advanced use cases will strengthen the predictive planning tools, and project44 continues to expand into different customer markets.

“What we gain from ClearMetal is a holistic platform for anybody that joins the platform in the future,” said Duboe. “They have large customers with incredibly demanding and advanced use cases. So when it comes to order and inventory, functionality, supplier onboarding, and moving upstream into those processes, we can capture exceptions earlier on.”

Click here for more articles by Grace Sharkey.

Project44 expands real-time visibility into China

Project44 reels in Ocean Insights in ‘largest acquisition in visibility space’

‘Project44’s vision has always been global’

UPS-owned Happy Returns expands network to 10,000 drop-off locations

A man wearing an orange vest loads cardboard boxes labeled Happy Returns onto a truck with a pallet moving tool.

United Parcel Service subsidiary Happy Returns has reached 10,000 drop-off locations where shoppers can return e-commerce purchases, making the retail returns process more convenient while improving economics for one of the nation’s largest consolidated returns networks.

Happy Returns announced on Tuesday that it has added 1,700 locations at Annex Brands and PackageHub Business Centers to its network of stores that accept box-free and label-free returns. The company now has 10,000 return counters, including at UPS Stores (NYSE: UPS), Staples and Ulta Beauty outlets. The storefronts benefit from the foot traffic and transaction revenue.

According to the company, 79% of the U.S. population now lives within five miles of a so-called Return Bar, up from 76% previously. Additionally, more than a quarter of Americans now live within one mile of a convenient drop-off location.

“With these authorized shipping outlets, we’re filling in coverage gaps to reduce the driving time in many states, where people are more dependent on vehicles and cars” than in urban areas, said Chief Operating Officer Juan Hernandez Campos, in a phone interview.

“We think that the more convenient the location, the more somebody is going to be willing to make that return faster, too. If you’re agonizing about making that 30 minute drive in traffic, you might postpone. We are incentivizing the shopper to return that thing sooner,” which helps retailers resell it, he added.

An estimated 19.3% of online lines in the U.S. were returned in 2025, according to a report by the National Retail Federation and Happy Returns. Retailers report that online returns are 21% higher than overall return rates.

The majority of e-commerce returns in the United States involve a parcel carrier shipping label provided by the retailer and are shipped individually from collection points where customs drop items. The carrier delivers return packages, along with other inbound packages, to the retailer’s fulfillment center.

Individual parcel returns are more common with smaller merchants, but consolidation is becoming the dominant model — especially for large retailers, said Chris Sheridan, director of supply chain services at parcel shipping consultancy LJM.

“Returns today aren’t really one-size-fits-all anymore. Many large retailers are pushing returns through consolidation networks first and then moving them in bulk. It’s mostly about cutting costs, improving processing efficiency, and handling reverse logistics at scale,” said Sheridan, who spent 34 years at UPS.

Other returns consolidation platforms, such as Loop Returns and Narvar, are also building networks of drop-off points where returns are sorted and sent back to the retailer in pallets or reusable containers. FedEx last spring launched its own no-box, no-label consolidated returns service called Easy Returns. It has about 3,000 drop spots at FedEx Office and Kohl’s outlets.

Big retailers like Target, Walmart, and Kohl’s are also leaning into this approach, using stores or regional hubs to consolidate returns before sending them back in bulk, Sheridan said.

Amazon also offers boxless returns at in-person drop-off points.

How items move through Happy Returns

Retailers that opt for consolidated returns trade speed for reduced cost. Relying on UPS’s integrated logistics network, Happy Returns says a package dropped off by a consumer can reach retailers in as little as 3.6 days, with an average return transit time of seven days across all customers.

Happy Returns, which pioneered the QR code for returns and was acquired by UPS in 2023, manages returns for hundreds of retailers, including Gap, footwear company OluKai, Under Armour and Shein. In preparation, Happy Returns integrates custom software into its partner’s system to seamlessly manage the return, provides training materials to the associates and brings locations into the network in a phased manner, Campos said.

At drop off, store associates scan the item barcode, physically verify the return and issue an immediate refund. An AI fraud-detection tool operating in the background applies behavioral risk scoring, partly based on internal and retailer data about a shopper’s return history, to help flag and audit potentially suspicious returns. Items are placed in a poly bag and then in 18”x18” containers for transport. UPS delivery vans pick up the containers and the company routes them through its system to Happy Returns distribution centers.

Happy Returns operates three automated returns facilities in Valencia, California, near Los Angeles; South Haven, Mississippi, near Memphis, Tennessee; and in Shoemakerville, Pennsylvania. Shipments are sorted and transported in bulk to the merchant’s warehouse by truckload or less-than-truckload carrier, depending on their volume. Customized software and automation allow Happy Returns to design shipping schedules based on a retailer’s needs, including same-day out for some large accounts.

Campos said that in order to be profitable and satisfy the retailer, a B2C reverse logistics business needs to have sufficient volume across its access points to get the necessary economies of scale.

“If you don’t have enough volume in your network, when somebody drops off a return at a place and you don’t get another return the next day and they slowly trickle in, by the time that consolidated shipment leaves the access point it could be several days or a week before it gets full” and is shipped to a consolidation warehouse, he said. From there, it takes several more days before items reach the retailer and can be put back in inventory.

Some e-commerce customers are small enough that they just use Happy Returns for intake and to ship by parcel directly from the Return Bars.

And more non-consolidated services are on the horizon. UPS envisions rationalizing its return offerings under one umbrella, with easy-to-use Happy Returns software managing the process, Campos said.

Consolidated returns works well for soft goods, like apparel and shoes, but fragile or high-value goods like electronics, are great candidates for consolidation because they break easily or have high-inventory turnover, requiring fast return.

“So part of what we’re trying to do is bring some of those software-enabled solutions to those customers that don’t have that today. It’s not for consolidation, but it’s just the ability to be able to create a return online, have easy-to-use drop-off points, and not needing to print a label,” Campos told FreightWaves.

Insulating retailers from fraud risk

Return fraud is a growing problem. Retailers surveyed by the NRF and Happy Returns said that 9% of all returns are fraudulent.

Companies that provide print-label solutions often see scammers alter the address on the label or the PDF document to make it look like the item got delivered to the retailer’s warehouse even though it got delivered to someplace like a neighbor’s house. That’s not a problem when QR codes are used instead of labels, but people still send empty boxes, deliberately swap items, overstate quantities and otherwise try to exploit the returns process.

The Happy Returns AI system, called Return Vision, begins anomaly detection as soon as someone initiates a return online, looking for returns requested soon after a delivery is made, entries from people with multiple linked email addresses or previous suspicious behavior. It also compares the image of the item received with the catalog image to make sure the return is legitimate. If someone, for example, returns 10 pairs of Nike shoes of different sizes it would identify that as an abnormal transaction.

*Return Vision technology audits returned goods for fraud. (Photo: Happy Returns)*

“The AI is able to catch subtle things that a human usually may gloss through, such as the type of fabric or the number of buttons on a piece of apparel,” the COO said. Humans at the return centers make the final call on whether to reject a refund.

Happy Returns views its anti-fraud tools as a differentiator from other parcel carriers. It launched a pilot program with four customers in November to validate the fraud detection technology and now most customers get a risk score on every single return. The reverse logistics company is flagging just under 1% of returns for review and finding fraudulent products in about 20% of those cases,

“Every other party is outsourcing that piece or they’re not doing that altogether. That’s a distinct capability that we can deliver and why we’ve been investing to ingest that information from a 3PL, from a customer, from ourselves, from anybody. Because it’s an important part of the returns process to reduce the cost and liability to the retailers,” Campos said.

“We’re already using our hubs to stop returns, prevent refunds from happening. Our vision is to continue enriching the breadth of the dataset. Over time we expect to have more customers and more partners on this (anti-fraud) platform, a more end-to-end solution that is insulated from bad actors. And if bad actors really want to do fraud, it’s not gonna be with Happy Returns because it’s going to be too difficult.”

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

Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

Uber Eats launches retail returns feature

Amazon takes delivery convenience to next level

FedEx offers lower cost no-box, no-label returns

Nippon Express $1.6B Canada deal leads logistics investment wave

From billion-dollar acquisitions to EV fleet deployments and distribution network expansions, Canada is seeing a surge of logistics investment tied to its role in North American supply chains and cross-border trade.

Nippon Express targets Canadian 3PL to expand North America footprint

Japan-based Nippon Express Holdings is moving to significantly scale its North American logistics presence through the planned acquisition of Canada’s Metro Supply Chain Group, according to a news release.

The deal, valued at up to $1.6 billion, would give Nippon Express a stronger foothold across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., while expanding its contract logistics capabilities.

Metro Supply Chain Group is a third-party logistics provider offering end-to-end solutions for brands in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Metro Supply Chain services a broad range of industries, including consumer goods, automotive, manufacturing and healthcare.

Nippon officials said the acquisition aligns with its long-term strategy to build a global logistics platform, with Canada serving as a key gateway market for cross-border freight flows and customer expansion.

The transaction is expected to close by December.

Tokyo-based Nippon Express is a global logistics services company with 739 worldwide locations and more than 33,000 employees.

Coke Canada accelerates electric fleet rollout

Coca-Cola Canada Bottling is expanding its electric trucking fleet, adding seven Volvo VNR Electric trucks in Quebec and British Columbia.

The additions bring the company’s national electric fleet to nearly 40 vehicles, supporting regional delivery routes where predictable operations align with EV capabilities, according to a news release.

The trucks can travel up to 273-miles per charge and are being deployed on high-frequency distribution routes, supported by new charging infrastructure in both provinces.

The Volvo VNR Electric truck is a Class 8 electric vehicle, typically priced around $400,000–$420,000+ each.

Toyota Canada investing $300M in distribution, HQ expansion

Toyota Canada plans to invest more than $300 million to build three new facilities, including two Western Canada parts distribution centers and a new head office in Ontario.

The new distribution facilities include the 210,000 operating square feet British Columbia Parts Distribution Centre in Richmond, British Columbia, and the 220,000 Alberta Parts Distribution Centre in Calgary, Alberta.

The distribution centers are designed to improve service levels for dealerships across Western Canada and enhance access to major transportation corridors.

Both facilities are scheduled to begin operations in 2028.

Registrar Corp expands cross-border compliance services into Canada

U.S.-based Registrar Corp. is strengthening its regulatory footprint in Canada through the acquisition of consulting firm Dell Tech.

The move is aimed at helping companies navigate Health Canada requirements and market access rules, which remain a major barrier for cross-border trade in regulated industries such as food, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

“Welcoming TechniCAL into the Registrar Corp family enables us to deliver unmatched regulatory and safety support for companies producing shelf-stable packaged foods and beverages,” Raj Shah, CEO of Registrar Corp., said in a news release.

As tariffs, compliance rules and nearshoring accelerate supplier shifts, regulatory friction — not just transportation — is emerging as a key bottleneck in cross-border supply chains.

Dell Tech’s expertise in Health Canada regulations, product licensing and safety testing will be integrated into Registrar Corp’s broader compliance platform, which already serves more than 35,000 clients across 180 countries.

Evaaro builds cross-border keg logistics platform

Private equity-backed Evaaro is expanding into North America through the acquisition of Keg Logistics (U.S.) and North Keg (Canada), according to a news release.

The deal creates a multi-region keg pooling and logistics platform spanning the U.K., EU, U.S. and Canada, with a customer base of nearly 3,000 brewers globally.

The global keg logistics market is estimated at $1.9 billion to $3.2 billion, with pooling services accounting for roughly $1.1 billion.

Fastfrate acquires international freight forwarder

Toronto-based Fastfrate Group announced that it has completed its acquisition of freight forwarding and customs brokerage firm Omnitrans, Inc.

Fastfrate is one of Canada’s largest privately held transportation and logistics providers, operating 46 locations across North America. It provides intermodal, trucking, drayage and parcel delivery services.

The deal expands Fastfrate’s service offering to include 230 global trade lanes, helping customers move freight between Asia and North America. The company now offers end-to-end transportation and logistics services from international origin to final-mile delivery.

Financial terms of the transaction were not provided.

Headquartered in Montreal, Omnitrans is a licensed Canadian and U.S. customs broker with offices in China. The deal includes its subsidiaries—Metro Customs Brokers and Omnitrans China.

Omnitrans will continue to operate under current leadership as a standalone unit of Fastfrate.

Scotiabank acted as lead financial adviser to Fastfrate. Stifel Canada was the exclusive financial adviser to Omnitrans.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

Xpress Global Systems celebrates 40 years of moving the trickiest freight in America

Dalton, Georgia, the carpet capital of the world, has long been ground zero for one of logistics’ most demanding niches: moving massive, damage-prone rolls of flooring that traditional less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers simply couldn’t handle. Forty years ago, in 1986, a company was born here to solve exactly that problem. Originally called Crown Transport, today’s Xpress Global Systems (XGS) has grown from a regional carpet consolidator into a national specialized carrier with a 30-center network, cutting-edge technology, and ambitions that stretch far beyond its founding commodity.

The story begins with the explosive growth of the U.S. flooring industry in the 1980s and 1990s. Home Depot was rapidly becoming the largest single consumer of rolled carpet in the country, accounting for roughly one-third of all carpet sold nationwide. Yet the freight itself was brutal: average rolls weighed 1,300 pounds, couldn’t be stacked, and refused to mix with any other commodity. Traditional LTL carriers struggled with the high service expectations of installation crews waiting on job sites. Crown Transport was created precisely to fill the trucks of its sister companies — Covenant Logistics and U.S. Xpress — with this specialized freight.

Micky Miller, who ran Southwest LTL before starting Crown, remembers the era well. The region was carpet-obsessed and just-in-time transportation was everything. “Carpet was such a big deal through the ’90s,” notes one early insider. The company built a defensible niche by perfecting the handling of oversized, damage-sensitive materials that others avoided.

Strategic acquisitions accelerated growth. In 1994, U.S. Xpress Enterprises acquired Crown Transport and operated it as a specialized LTL division. The following year, Crown purchased West Coast rival CSI Reeves — whose founder, Tiny Reeves, had gone to prison for tax evasion — and the combined operation became CSI/Crown. In 1997 it absorbed Rosedale Transport’s U.S. floorcovering LTL business, the largest competitor in the North Georgia market, dramatically expanding its Northeast and Midwest footprint.

By the late 1990s, XGS (still operating under the CSI/Crown name) had begun providing warehousing and distribution services for The Home Depot in Las Vegas, forging what would become one of the industry’s most important partnerships. In 2000 the company acquired Dedicated Transportation’s airport-to-airport business and officially rebranded as Xpress Global Systems, signaling an early push into diversification beyond flooring.

The diversification experiment proved short-lived but instructive. The airfreight operation, which competed head-to-head with Forward Air, was ultimately divested in 2005. The sale refocused XGS squarely on its core floorcovering expertise and allowed a network restructuring. “We’ve always lived to fight another day,” reflected Greg Laminack, current XGS President and a 21-year veteran who spent 14 of those years under U.S. Xpress ownership. “This company is resilient.”

Network expansion continued under private equity. The 2008 acquisition of Pinner Transportation added service centers in Tampa, Louisville, Albuquerque, and Boston. A year later, XGS converted several Mohawk Industries distribution centers — in Little Rock, Albuquerque, Portland, Spokane, and Jacksonville — into its own facilities, deepening ties with the world’s largest flooring manufacturer.

The relationship with Home Depot reached new heights in 2015. A pilot expedited carpet program launched in Baltimore that year was called a “game changer” for the flooring industry. It expanded to Chicago early in 2016 and rolled out nationwide by November. XGS was no longer viewed as just another LTL carrier; it had become a strategic partner to the world’s largest floorcovering consumer.

That same month, U.S. Xpress divested XGS to private-equity firms PCH and Mosaic Investments. The move to independent ownership in April 2015 brought sharper focus and faster decision-making. Aterian Investment Partners acquired the company in December 2018, injecting capital for technology and scale.

The 2021–2022 acquisition spree, including Delta Distribution (largest Midwest competitor), 7 Hills Transportation (adding asset-based capacity), and Pacific Coast Distributors (strengthening the West Coast and Pacific Northwest), dramatically enhanced geographic reach and service consistency. In 2023 XGS expanded into full-service 3PL solutions and general commodity capabilities, deliberately growing non-flooring revenue toward 25 percent of the business. The goal was to create greater density in strategic lanes while still delivering the white-glove service flooring customers demand.

In 2025, LRT Group acquired XGS under parent company XGS Freight, LLC. The strategic owner brings shared resources and long-term stability, opening what executives call “the next phase of growth.” LRT sees XGS as a crucial part of its diversified transportation portfolio, which already includes freight brokerage and truckload assets, and has plans to transform it into a regional LTL for general freight.

Today XGS operates 30 service centers plus corporate headquarters in Dalton, one true cross-dock in Tunnel Hill, Georgia, and a network of long-term agent partners. On-time performance consistently sits in the mid-to-upper 90s. The company has built a robust technology stack with heavy integration into major retailers like Home Depot — offering real-time visibility, instant quoting, and customer portals that were once unimaginable in specialized LTL.

Flooring itself has evolved. Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and luxury vinyl plank (LVP) have grown more than 20 percent annually for the past decade. Much of that volume now arrives as pallets rather than rolls, introducing both new competition and new opportunity. XGS is actively importing LVP and handling related products like doors, windows, cabinets, vanities, molding, and piping that share similar damage-sensitive characteristics.

Laminack, who has witnessed multiple ownership changes and market cycles, sums up the cultural shift: “We went from being in survival mode — ‘I just want to keep my job’ — to ownership, where people grow and thrive.”

Leadership has emphasized operational knowledge in sales, elevated terminal-level accountability, and moved from transactional relationships to true partnerships. A dedicated business-intelligence team now processes data and makes proactive recommendations to customers. Marsha Stone, one of the company’s earliest employees and until recently serving as executive assistant and HR matriarch, embodies XGS’s institutional memory and management continuity. The leadership team remains deeply rooted in North Georgia, a staying force for four decades.

Across every chapter, from the carpet boom of the 1980s to the PE era and now the LRT chapter, XGS has clung to a clear strategic throughline: specialization over commoditization, service reliability in complex freight, and scalable growth without losing hard-won expertise.

As the company enters its fifth decade, executives talk openly about reaching $300–400 million in revenue within three to four years through continued strategic acquisitions and deeper penetration into customers’ supply chains. They are large enough to deliver custom solutions yet small enough to remain agile and customer-obsessed.

In an industry increasingly dominated by mega-carriers chasing scale at any cost, XGS proves there is still tremendous value in doing one difficult thing exceptionally well. Forty years after those first carpet rolls left Dalton, the company that started by filling someone else’s trucks now moves the nation’s flooring, and much more, on its own terms.

Happy 40th anniversary, XGS. Here’s to the next 40 years of white-glove logistics in some of the country’s toughest freight segments.

Rate table complexity meets generative AI in new platform

White semi-trucks traveling in convoy on a multi-lane highway with green hills and trees in the background.

For decades, mid-market trucking fleets have grudgingly accepted a painful reality: Their transportation management systems handle about 80% of their rating needs. The remaining 20% demands spreadsheets, calculators and manual intervention.

BeyondTrucks CEO Hans Galland calls this the “last mile problem” in coding. His company’s new AI RateAgents aim to solve it by letting carriers build custom rate formulas without calling a single engineer.

The Limitations of Traditional Rate Tables

Rate tables are the functions that price every activity a carrier completes. This includes miles driven, detention tickets, fuel surcharges and accessorials. Ultimately, these charges determine what appears on a customer invoice. The challenge is that every shipper structures pricing differently.

“The carrier is at the behest of the shipper to accommodate those mathematical formulas in which they price their activity,” Galland said. “And so the challenge is really that built TMS functions are not exhaustive enough to cover all the gazillion permutations that exist in the market to calculate the stuff automatically.”

One result? Carriers with 100 to 1,000 drivers feel trapped. They can automate most billing through their TMS, but a stubborn slice requires manual work.

“So that leaves you, as you said, typically as a mid-market carrier, I can do 80% on TMS, but then there’s 20% I need to do in a spreadsheet or with a calculator,” Galland said.

Legacy TMS Providers and Custom Rate Table Costs

Legacy TMS providers have spent 40 years building rate table functionality. Part of that size and business model involves monetizing that complexity. When a carrier needs a custom formula embedded in their system, the process is neither quick nor cheap.

“They will take two weeks to turn around the quote. It will cost you $10,000 or $15,000, maybe $20,000,” Galland said. “And next time you upgrade the TMS, it will cost you another $15,000 in maintenance. And then they will take two or three months to actually generate it.”

The financial incentive to maintain this status quo is clear.

“[They] will not develop this. Why? Because they have revenue attached to this problem,” Galland said. “If they develop this, their revenue for custom engineering will go away.”

Galland compared the disruption to Amazon’s impact on traditional bookstores like Borders Books. Legacy providers have made carriers dependent on custom engineering services and monetized it heavily, while BeyondTrucks puts the customer first by placing power directly in the hands of the operators themselves.

How BeyondTrucks RateAgents Automate Fuel Surcharges

The fuel surcharge calculation illustrates just how arcane these formulas become. Galland walked through an example from a large cement company, showing how their carriers must calculate fuel surcharges based on regional Department of Energy indices.

“They say, well, to calculate the fuel surcharge, you actually will want to take the current diesel price in that region, deduct $2.27 per gallon, divide it by 2.27, and then multiply it by 14.1%,” Galland said. “Well, guess what? Once you go from [X] Materials to [Y] Materials or whatever it is, this looks very different.”

With RateAgents, carriers can paste contract language directly into the tool. The AI interprets the instructions, identifies the relevant DOE fuel indices and generates functional code.

“Think of a large language model like Claude or Gemini actually taking this instruction, which usually lives somewhere in the contract with the customer,” Galland said. “Now what it does, it says, OK, I generated the code.”

Users can review, test and modify the code before deploying it. The system validates security and confirms functionality before embedding the formula into the TMS.

Limits of AI in Mission-Critical Trucking Operations

Not everything should be left to AI. Mission-critical safety rules require “black and white” logic with zero tolerance for error.

“If you haul halal, the trailer must stay halal,” Galland said. “We have a customer that hauls chocolate. One of their specialty products is nut-free chocolate. Well, you don’t want to haul nut-containing chocolate before the nut-free chocolate gets loaded on the trailer because you’d kill someone.”

BeyondTrucks maintains traditional deterministic software for these scenarios while deploying AI to bridge the pricing complexity that rigid code cannot handle.

Mid-Market Fleets Gain Enterprise-Level Rate Agility

The implications go beyond operational efficiency. Mid-market carriers can now gain the pricing agility that previously required enterprise-scale investment.

“Knight Swift, you know, you work with Oracle, and Oracle probably gives you like 54 deployed engineers who will do this on payroll for you,” Galland said. “So Knight Swift doesn’t really need this.”

Fleets with 700 to 900 trucks, however, might have one overworked technical staff member. RateAgents allow individuals to do work that previously required 30 or 40 engineers. The agentic AI levels the competitive playing field, giving mid-market carriers the same API connections with shippers who demand sophisticated billing integration.

The company plans additional RateAgents applications beyond fuel surcharges.

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

Aerial image show container vessel, cranes, containers, muddy water, dock, trucks.

WASHINGTON — Not even six months into her term leading the maritime regulator, and Federal Maritime Chairman Laura DiBella is confronting transformational crises from within and without.

“Every every major, shall we say, conflict or issue around the world largely incorporates the maritime space,” DiBella said in an interview at FMC headquarters. “We are playing either a lead or supportive role in nearly everything that is going on right now. The Middle East, Strait of Hormuz, the situation at the Panama Canal, Chinese ship detentions, flags of convenience, issues with Spain … it’s like it’s never-ending right now. And I don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it. I’d rather be busy than not and certainly be involved, and try to help support any and every which way that cargo can move more efficiently — U.S. cargo, in particular.”

DiBella went from FMC nominee to commissioner to chairman in just four months, a mercurial dash for the avid marathoner. She’s been tasked by President Donald Trump to lead a federal regulator that, along with the Maritime Administration, is now squarely in the eye of the global shipping storm.

In her office, Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Laura DiBella poses in front of a painting of the steamer *S.S. United States*. (Photo: FreightWaves/Stuart Chirls)

The agency’s priorities have been re-shaped by the pandemic supply chain crisis, forcing a wider, more global approach. “What is taking more of our time, right now, is what’s happening abroad than here in the continental United States,” she said.

Geopolitics and a changing mindset were at the heart of the commission’s latest decision when it rejected Maersk’s request, for the third time, for special permission to implement emergency fuel surcharges without the statutory 30-day waiting period. Maersk (OTC: AMKBY) and other companies urgently claimed the rapid rise in bunker prices since the start of the Iran war in late February were severely straining operations. DiBella says carriers should have known better.

“I’m sensitive and empathetic to the need to absorb these costs,” she said. “The carriers certainly are absorbing [increases], and shippers are, too. I don’t want to say that that’s been largely ignored but it is a major factor in all this. The disruption was very big on the shipper’s end, especially in the beginning [of the war].”

Maersk’s requests were denied after the Danish company repeatedly failed to provide details on just how higher fuel prices were affecting its business.

But DiBella, who comes out of a commercial background as Florida Secretary of Commerce and chief executive of Enterprise Florida, a public-private development office, said that shippers’ concerns have been overlooked by the focus on crude oil and naval blockades.

“It’s not that this [war] started out of nowhere,” said DiBella. “There was an awareness that this was coming, and that there was potentially a conflict arising. There were a lot of threats around Trump wanting to take action should negotiations go sideways. There was an inherent risk built-in to certain charges.”

DiBella noted that this represented an important first test since the authority to grant special permissions requests was taken away from staff level and elevated to a commissioner vote.

“I think it allows for better accountability across-the-board, accountability for not only us here at the FMC, but also for the carriers and shippers. From an accountability standpoint I would like to be extraordinarily transparent to the shipping community as to why we vote the way we do.”

DiBella ascribes that to the FMC’s service to the public, as far as consumer protection is concerned.

“I’d like to say we’re helping people understand fully the reasoning behind our decisions. I’m not going to say that every request that’s going to come in is going to be a ‘no’. Give us more and help us help you get to a ‘yes’.”

One-size regulation does NOT fit all

Surprisingly, DiBella said she has the least regular communications with ocean carriers. “I hear a lot from the shippers, and from truck drivers. There’s just a whole host of challenges around that last mile, the handoff, the transitions from the terminal, from the rail yard to the [intermodal] chassis.

“It’s such a complicated, century-old system that it’s very hard to regulate, because it’s tied to an ocean contract. We are authorized to regulate that space, but it’s very hard to, ultimately, implement any broad regulation because everything is local. What happens at Maher Terminals [in Newark, N.J.] is completely different than what happens in Memphis. So, there’s not a one size fits all scenario that satisfies, as far as I can see, all of the issues that exist in that element.

“I don’t want to say I’m having a hard time with it, but I have spent the majority of my time trying to wrap my head around the best way to approach that right, and I’ll probably continue to do so for until the end of my tenure here.”

Further complicating the situation, said DiBella, is a progressive evolution that is seeing more carriers enter the multimodal transportation operator (MTO) space, single-contract service providers that coordinate the movement of goods from origin to destination over at least two different transportation modes.

“You’re seeing more and more vertical integration by the carriers. It adds to our regulatory oversight of the entire system. [The cargo] is off the ship but now you have the terminal operators, such as MSC [Mediterranean Shipping Co.] or whomever, charging detention and demurrage but also the port authority. And then there are the relationships they have with the chassis companies. I would rip my hair out! You know, if you’ve seen a port, you’ve seen a port. But I’m really having a hard time saying, okay, this regulation will work for everyone.”

DiBella said that the process relies on sharing as much information as possible, and getting into the weeds of the maritime supply chain.

“I think we’ve largely identified the pain points in a sense, but I like to really understand the problem, and therefore try to try to back into some sort of solution to alleviate all of this. Do we want to put more regulations in place? No, but in the end, the evolution of shipping practices just continues to keep us on our toes. It’s a constant education and awareness of what’s happening.”

Expert help points the way forward

To help improve communications, DiBella pointed to the FMC’s Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services (CADRS), a customer-facing bureau which takes in initial complaints and decides how best to go about dealing with those issues.

“One thing that is not probably not advertised enough, that I’m reinforcing at every chance I get, is availing of the team to talk to shippers ahead of time. To basically help consult on the best way forward for them, given the uncertainties that are out there, and to be proactive instead of reactive.

“That’s something that I don’t think the shipping public knows, that we have some really great experts that are from the transportation space that can help provide some guidance. Shipping is full of uncertainty, now it’s probably a bit more acute. They’re a free service to those that have questions and just want to know the best way forward.”

SHIPS Act and Maritime Action Plan

While Marad is guiding support for potentially transformative SHIPS Act legislation and the Trump administration’s Maritime Action Plan plan, to advance American shipping and shipbuilding, DiBella said “I think we’re in a good place. I think the right conversations are happening, across-the-board, on the Hill. Now, it’s a matter of putting resources towards the effort.”

While the prospects for meaningful development are generational in scope, DiBella said there is evidence that change can occur in years, not decades. India, for example, has garnered its first orders for large ships, expanded its registry to include major liners, and formulated plans for a national carrier.

“What’s happened in India is remarkable, really, really remarkable, but they are proof-positive that this could be done, because they did it. They’re standing up their industry in a matter of years.”

This is Part 1 of a two-part interview.

Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

FMC Chief: Ocean carriers knew war could increase fuel prices

Green light for Strait of Hormuz shipping could take six months after war’s end

Average March volume was actually good news for the Port of Los Angeles

This U.S. state just banned public funding for port automation

Canada Post pre-tax loss nearly doubles to $1.1 billion

A stone-sided Canada Post office with red sign next to it.

Canada Post reported Monday evening that its pre-tax loss widened by 87% in 2025 to US$1.15 billion as strike activity by mail carriers drove parcel volumes to competitors, sharply reducing revenue collections. It was the eighth consecutive annual loss for the government-owned corporation and the largest loss before tax on record.

Revenue for the year fell 4.7% year over year.

The postal operator blamed the labor dispute for delaying modernization of outdated work rules and policies it is now implementing as part of a comprehensive turnaround strategy after reaching a tentative contract agreement with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers in December.

Canada Post last week announced a timetable for phasing out residential home delivery and shifting to centralized community boxes. It also has begun planning for closing rural and other post offices to improve efficiency, save money and make the national post self-sufficient. The Canadian government loaned Canada Post $755 million last year to help cover operations through March 2026. The funding was insufficient, and early this year the government approved another loan of similar amount.

Other planned reforms include building more flexibility into pricing for letter mail and diversifying revenue sources.

In 2025, parcel revenue and volumes fell by more than 30% compared to the prior year. Management said it must overhaul the way it operates to become more competitive and have a chance of recapturing shipper business.

Regular mail revenue rose 26% to $412 million as volumes increased 2.4% from the prior year. While mail continues to be in a secular decline, the business line benefitted from a postage rate increase in January 2025, as well as a volume bump related to election mailings and a temporary surge following a national strike in late 2024.

Direct marketing mail revenue declined 4.5% as volumes fell by nearly 10%, which Canada Post attributed to the labor disruptions such as a ban on the delivery of bulk mail in the second half of the year. Businesses also reduced volumes to avoid having time-sensitive mail stuck in the postal network.

Purolator, Canada Post’s express parcel subsidiary, recorded a pre-tax profit of $187 million, down 12.9% compared to the prior year.

Since 2018, Canada Post has lost $4.5 billion

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

Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

Canada Post mobilizes to end home deliver, close post offices

Trimble roundtable focuses on supply chain resilience

White semi-truck and container ship at a shipping port with digital binary code and cloud technology overlays, representing data-driven supply chain logistics.

A growing trend in logistics is no longer about preventing disruptions. The new focus is recovering from disruptions faster than competitors. That was the central message from Trimble Transportation and Logistics executives during a virtual roundtable.

In the presentation, company leaders outlined how their expanding carrier-shipper network is helping transform supply chains from reactive to proactive, all driven by data.

“Connected systems share data and shared data then can serve as an equalizer so that all parties in the network actually have the same level of information and they can all react based on the same information to the challenges that then occur,” said Philipp Pfister, sector vice president for Trimble’s Transporeon business.

The platform now connects more than 1,500 shippers and retailers with over 180,000 carriers worldwide. It’s creating what executives describe as a single global ecosystem where technology becomes the foundation for faster decision-making.

Trust and stakeholders are the real barriers to transformation

“Transformation is hard in the daily operations. It is not because of the technology. It is actually because of the amount of stakeholders involved and also the data silos that are there,” said Anne Lielahti, who leads customer experience for Trimble’s Transportation business. “Change is hard. So there is definitely also resistance to change.”

Consider Nestlé, which manages approximately 4 million shipments annually across a highly fragmented setup with different systems and processes in various countries. Limited visibility made coordination difficult both internally and with carriers.

“Together with Nestlé we moved them to a global platform. We integrated to their IT landscape and most importantly what we did is that we enabled the collaboration in that huge global network,” Lielahti said. The result was fewer manual steps, faster coordination with carriers and better visibility across regions. Another critical benefit was faster reaction times when disruptions hit.

The trust barrier was a different challenge at Asics, where manual freight auditing processes had created skepticism about automation. The company’s team feared losing control.

“Instead of them losing control they actually did gain control,” Lielahti said. “It was more transparency, it was better cost control and also more time for actually the high-value work with their customers.”

Going from a system of record to system of action

“Where we anchor Trimble and Transporeon solutions is we are the system of action,” said Bernhard Schmaldienst, who leads product and engineering. “Those companies come out again on top that just do not know only what happened — that was the rate — but how that rate got along, like how did the negotiation go, who submitted what, when, where is the market right now, should I change something.”

This shift allows for real-time adjustments: rerouting trucks, swapping carriers or automatically rebooking time slots. The value compounds across the network.

“This is a classical scenario where one plus one can be three,” Schmaldienst said. “If you nail it for yourself then that is fine and with a network you can get approximately up to two, but you can never go full scale without really sharing there.”

Benchmarking data is fully anonymized, requiring multiple data sources before aggregation to ensure competitive information remains protected.

Tackling freight fraud and geopolitical disruptions

On fraud, Pfister described Trimble’s approach: vetting companies before they participate in an RFQ or tender “to make sure that these are real companies.” Real-time visibility alerts operators to abnormal behavior such as unexpected detours.

Regarding current market conditions, Schmaldienst noted that carrier rejection rates are climbing — “typically the earlier indicator of saying like yeah I cannot commit to my contracted loads to the same extent that I want to anymore.” He predicted capacity challenges would peak in May, though he acknowledged the situation remains fluid.

“We have not seen the spike yet and that will continue,” Schmaldienst said. “The situation can change daily but in the current trend scenario we will see that situation happening specifically in May.”

North America vs. Europe: bridging logistics differences

“Trimble from a backstory brought along this amazing carrier network, Transporeon, the shipper piece of it,” Schmaldienst said. “And the key item here was bringing those together technically from an interoperability perspective and sharing that data as a first piece.”

One key difference is market structure. The prevalence of freight brokerage is greater in the United States compared to Europe, where a larger number of smaller carriers deal directly with shippers. Pfister noted that regulatory fragmentation also creates complexity.

“In the US some standards are more widely adopted,” Pfister said. “You have the DOT that provides fuel indications. In Europe you have 26 different types of DOTs because every country does this differently.”

Cultural approaches to technology adoption also differ. Schmaldienst observed a “way bigger openness in the US to adopt changes on the technological frontier than there is in Europe.”

Practical advice on using data to build resilience

For companies evaluating data strategies, Schmaldienst offered direct guidance: “Pick your pain points or think about where you can benefit most by changing behavior and then just pick that item.”

Lielahti emphasized the importance of aligning stakeholders before launching digital transformation initiatives.

“We need to make sure that everyone understands and has the same understanding what is the problem we are here to solve,” Lielahti said. She added that companies should carefully map their current “as-is” processes, which often reveal numerous exceptions.

The modular “pay what you use” approach eliminates massive upfront investments. “You get started and basically you pay when you get the value extracted from our solution,” Schmaldienst said. “We are not in there for long implementations that are heavy. We want quick implementations. We want you to have transactions that drive value for you.”

Carrier shutters New Jersey hub, cuts over 175 jobs

Freight transportation provider Alan Ritchey Inc. is closing a logistics facility in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and laying off nearly 200 workers, marking the company’s second major workforce reduction this year tied to lost U.S. Postal Service business.

According to a WARN notice filed with state labor officials, the Valley View, Texas-based company will terminate 176 employees at its Phillipsburg Logistics Center, with layoffs taking effect July 17.

The facility, a 511,200-square-foot distribution hub completed in 2021, handles mail and logistics operations and employs roles such as forklift operators and shippers.

The closure stems from the nonrenewal of a contract with the U.S. Postal Service, a longtime customer for Alan Ritchey’s mail transportation division. The company has provided USPS-related services since 1964, operating dedicated routes and emergency logistics programs across its network.

Second major USPS-driven layoff in 2026

The New Jersey shutdown follows a much larger workforce reduction earlier this year in Aurora, Colorado, where Alan Ritchey ceased operations at a USPS regional transfer hub.

In January, the company announced layoffs of 729 employees after the Postal Service opted to insource operations at the Denver-area facility as part of a broader network overhaul. The move was tied to USPS efforts to streamline its logistics network and reduce reliance on contractors by consolidating transfer hubs and bringing operations in-house.

Combined, the two events represent more than 900 job losses across Alan Ritchey’s network in 2026, highlighting the ripple effects of USPS restructuring on third-party logistics providers.

Freight and contract exposure

Alan Ritchey operates as a carrier and logistics provider across multiple sectors, including government, industrial and agricultural markets, with authority to haul general freight and U.S. mail. The company maintains a fleet of power units and drivers supporting interstate operations and contract logistics services.

The back-to-back closures underscore the risks tied to heavy reliance on large government contracts, particularly as USPS accelerates efforts to internalize logistics functions.

Application process opens for federal CRISI rail grants

Applications are now being accepted for $2.04 billion in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grants for the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday.

Applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. on June 22, 2026.

The Federal Railroad Administration’s CRISI grant program has become a significant source of funding for infrastructure projects for short lines, regional railroads, and passenger rail operations, providing almost $6 billion since 2017. Full information on this year’s Notice of Funding Opportunity, including eligibility and other details,is available here.

The DOT media release says the agency will support projects that:

— Reduce congestion
— Jump-start ridership growth on passenger railroads
— Improve regional railroad infrastructure
— Develop safety programs to prevent trespassing and reduce injuries and fatalities

FRA Administrator David Fink said at last week’s American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association conference that the release of the CRISI funding notice was imminent, as well as one still to come for the Railroad Crossing Elimination program.

“I strongly encourage all eligible entries with critical needs to submit competitive applications,” Fink said, “keeping in mind that CRISI and RCE are both chronically oversubscribed. In other words, we receive applications which seek considerably more funding than Congress makes available.”

Additional background on the CRISI program is available here.