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

truck fallen over

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:

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.

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

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

Related Articles:

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’

UPDATE: CPKC denies KCS wrongdoing as rail union polls members on strike

A CPKC union is conducting a strike poll of members, claiming the railroad took advantage of a service crisis to make workplace job changes on the troubled Kansas City Southern network. 

The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) Local 457’s General Committee of Adjustment is polling members on a possible strike vote, General Chairman Samuel Habjan confirmed in a brief phone interview with FreightWaves late Saturday. The results of the poll are expected today. Habjan would not speculate on the results of the poll, or the union’s plans.

An email signed by “union members local 781” and obtained by FreightWaves claimed that the railroad was using the service crisis to cut jobs and reduce some employees’ working hours.

The email said that CPKC (NYSE: CP) was already facing a personnel shortage prior to a botched software changeover in May that caused a service crisis on the former KCS, aggravated by leaner operating practices and aggressive cost-cutting. 

“Earlier this month, SMART-TD reached an agreement with CPKC to permit the temporary use of “loan-out” crews from other territories to help address the shortage,” the email stated. “However, following this arrangement, CPKC management proceeded to cut approximately half of the established yard jobs in Shreveport (La.) Terminal. They placed the loan-out crews on a separate [job] board and began assigning them work in place of long-standing KCS and Louisiana & Arkansas [Railway] employees. 

“This decision has effectively restricted the seniority rights of the union employees already on the property and further strained local operations.”

Seniority is based on an employee’s length of service with a railroad, and often dictates which job assignments an employee can choose from. 

Calgary-based CPKC merged with KCS in April 2023, creating the first single-line carrier serving the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The service disruptions caused significant problems for shippers on legacy KCS lines, including chemical producers in Louisiana, forcing CPKC to deploy personnel to verify the location of individual railcars by hand.

CPKC in a filing last week with the Surface Transportation Board said that local service on the KCS was improving, and that it expects service to return to normal levels later this month.

“From day one of this combination, we have been fully transparent with our unions and worked with them closely concerning operational needs and changes,” CPKC said in an email late Sunday to FreightWaves. “The same has been the case in this situation. Last month, CPKC signed an agreement with the SMART-TD (GCA 457) general chairman to allow the temporary use of CPKC train crews, also represented by SMART-TD, from another CPKC property in order to support the ongoing service recovery in the southern U.S. following the May systems cutover.

“Operational changes put in place during the service recovery and use of the temporary crews have all been done in accordance with the existing collective bargaining agreement for the former KCS territory, as has the application of the June agreement governing the use of temporary crews which was shared with the general chairman. CPKC has met and offered to meet again with local union leaders to discuss their concerns.”

This article was updated July 13 to include a statement from CPKC.

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

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

Rail freight gains in short week

Setback for rail shippers as court vacates switching rule

BNSF, UP clash over new Salt Lake City intermodal service

CPKC paces all railroad freight gains in latest quarter

Borderlands Mexico: U.S. trade with Mexico rises to $74B in May

Borderlands Mexico is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: U.S. trade with Mexico rises to $74B in May; Redwood Logistics opens office in Queretaro, Mexico; and Franke Group opens production plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

U.S. trade with Mexico rises to $74B in May

Bolstered by shipments of computers, cars and auto parts to the U.S., Mexico was the top U.S. trade partner in May at $74.5 billion, according to Census Bureau data analyzed by WorldCity.

It was a 2% year-over-year increase compared to May 2024 and 7% gain compared to April.

Canada ranked No. 2 for trade with the U.S. in May at $57.6 billion, and China ranked third at $27 billion.

Mexico’s exports to the U.S. totaled $46.4 billion in May, a 5% year-over-year increase, while imports from the U.S. to Mexico fell 3% year-over-year to $28.2 billion.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport was the No. 1 spot among the nation’s 450 international gateways for trade, totaling $35.8 billion in commerce during May.

The port of entry in Laredo, Texas, was the No. 2-ranked U.S. trade gateway in May, compared to the same month in 2024, when Laredo was the No. 1 gateway for trade. Trade in the month totaled $30.4 billion, a 4% year-over-year increase.

John F. Kennedy International Airport was the No. 3 international U.S. trade gateway in May, totaling $26.3 billion.

The top U.S. imports from Mexico in May were computers ($7.2 billion), cars and pickup trucks (4 billion) and auto parts ($3 billion).

Top exports from the U.S. to Mexico during the month were gasoline and other fuels ($2.2 billion), computer parts ($2 billion) and auto parts ($1.7 billion).

Redwood Logistics opens office in Queretaro, Mexico

Redwood Logistics has opened an office in Querétaro, Mexico, expanding its presence in the country. 

The new location, situated in Mexico’s central Bajío region, is positioned to support nearshoring efforts and strengthen cross-border supply chains, Redwood officials said. 

“Querétaro is the ideal location to deepen our service capabilities for clients across automotive, aerospace, manufacturing and consumer sectors, Jordan Dewart, president of Redwood Mexico, said in a news release.

The Querétaro office, with plans to expand to 100 employees, will house all of the company’s business divisions, including technology solutions and managed services.

In 2023, Redwood Logistics opened new offices in Monterrey, Mexico. 

Chicago-based Redwood Logistics and Redwood Mexico is one of the fastest growing fourth party logistics providers in North America.

Franke Group opens $82M plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico

The Franke Group recently opened an $82 million manufacturing facility in the Mexican City of San Luis Potosí, according to a news release.

The 333,681-square-foot facility expands the footprint of Franke Foodservice Systems – a division of the Franke Group and a supplier to global quick service restaurants and convenience store chains across the Americas.

The operation will initially create 200 direct jobs, with the potential to expand to 500 positions.

“This new site is a cornerstone of our strategy to localize production, improve supply chain resilience, and better serve our customers across the Americas,” Patrik Wohlhauser, CEO of the Franke Group, said in a statement. 

The Franke Group is based in Aarburg, Switzerland. The company employs about 7,700 people in 35 countries.

Maritime’s early peak masks rising trade and economic uncertainty

Chart of the Week:  Import Ocean TEUs Volume Index – USA SONAR: IOTI.USA

Booking volumes for container imports, as measured by the Inbound Ocean TEUs Volume Index (IOTI), appear to have peaked in early July—about a month ahead of the typical peak shipping season. While “typical” has become a relative term in recent years due to shifting and increasingly normalized shipping behaviors, this early peak offers valuable insight into what transportation markets might expect for the remainder of 2025.

The IOTI is a 14-day moving average index that tracks twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers arriving at U.S. ports from around the world. While it generally follows stable seasonal patterns, 2025 has seen significant disruption due to an emerging trade war initiated by the current administration in an effort to rebalance U.S. trade and support domestic manufacturing.

The IOTI reached a multi-year high of 2,356 following the Fourth of July—roughly 4% higher than last year’s peak of 2,273, which occurred on August 5, 2024.

However, this does not necessarily indicate stronger goods demand compared to last year. A portion of this volume increase likely reflects a recovery from lost time earlier in the year when cost-prohibitive tariffs on Chinese imports, enacted in April and early May, temporarily froze activity. Many importers halted purchases from the U.S.’s largest overseas trading partner due to skyrocketing costs, which led to a 15% drop in the IOTI during May.

A wave of uncertainty

When the tariffs were paused (currently set to expire in August), shippers quickly resumed ordering—both to make up for delayed shipments and to ensure sufficient inventory ahead of potential demand spikes.

This situation presents a double-edged sword for many companies. On one hand, tariffs increase direct import costs; on the other, they contribute to broader economic uncertainty and could suppress consumer demand. The extent to which this trade war will impact the broader economy remains unclear.

So far, it has clearly rattled sentiment, as seen in multiple consumer and business confidence indexes. While the jobs market appears healthy on the surface, deeper analysis reveals underlying weakness. According to ADP, private-sector hiring stalled in June, leading to a net loss of jobs. Retail sales also softened in May, prompting many economists to forecast further weakening in the second half of the year as the full impact of tariffs begins to filter into prices.

Although government employment figures showed gains—thanks largely to state and local hiring—that trend may be overstated, as a growing number of people have exited the labor force in recent months.

Holding the ball

All of this uncertainty has left supply chain managers in a difficult position, balancing how much inventory to procure, how much it will cost, and how much they’ll actually need as consumer health remains in question.

Inventory levels have grown somewhat erratically this year, though they’ve followed a generally upward trend since last summer, according to the Logistics Manager’s Index (LMI). More importantly, inventory costs have risen even faster—driven by tariffs and rising warehousing expenses. This pressure may suppress import volumes in the coming months as companies weigh the cost of holding excess inventory against waiting for more stable economic and policy conditions.

Maritime carriers appear to be anticipating softer demand as well. Early signs of blank sailings have emerged in response to declining bookings.

The Ocean TEU Rejection Index, found in SONAR’s Container Atlas application, shows a recent spike in rejected shipments. While this is a small sample that could reflect a short-term fluctuation, it may also suggest that carriers are starting to manage capacity to prevent rate declines.

This early peak in imports may not signal strength in the same way it once did. Still, that doesn’t necessarily mean surface transportation will weaken in the second half of the year. Rising inventory costs could lead to leaner inventories later on, prompting more last-minute orders. In environments like this, demand forecasts tend to lose accuracy—putting added pressure on transportation networks to remain agile and responsive.

About the Chart of the Week

The FreightWaves Chart of the Week is a chart selection from SONAR that provides an interesting data point to describe the state of the freight markets. A chart is chosen from thousands of potential charts on SONAR to help participants visualize the freight market in real time. Each week a Market Expert will post a chart, along with commentary, live on the front page. After that, the Chart of the Week will be archived on FreightWaves.com for future reference.

SONAR aggregates data from hundreds of sources, presenting the data in charts and maps and providing commentary on what freight market experts want to know about the industry in real time.

The FreightWaves data science and product teams are releasing new datasets each week and enhancing the client experience.

To request a SONAR demo, click here.

Dispatch Handoffs That Don’t Drop the Ball

When dispatch handoffs get sloppy, mistakes multiply and money slips through the cracks. Drivers get left in the dark, loads fall through the cracks, and your business starts to bleed in places you can’t afford. Whether you’re running two trucks or twenty, this article will show you how to build a clean, repeatable dispatch handoff system that keeps your team aligned, your drivers confident, and your operation tight from shift to shift. This isn’t about fancy tools—it’s about discipline, process, and ownership. Because if you’re growing your fleet, you can’t scale chaos. You need clarity.

If your dispatch handoffs are inconsistent—or worse, nonexistent—then your business is leaking money and losing trust somewhere, guaranteed. Don’t blame the driver. Don’t blame the broker. Don’t blame the freight. Blame the system—or the lack of one. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to delegation or trying to build a second shift for the first time. What matters is whether your people can pass the baton without fumbling. Because when they can’t, things break. And in trucking, every mistake has a cost—lost time, lost trust, or lost revenue.

This article is for the owner-operator turning into a small fleet. It’s for the dispatcher stretched thin trying to manage multiple shifts. It’s for the business owner finally stepping back from the day-to-day but tired of getting pulled in every time something slips. No matter your stage, one truth applies: handoffs aren’t optional. They’re not a luxury for big companies. They are the backbone of a professional operation. You want to scale? Then start here.

Why Dispatch Handoffs Matter More Than You Think

Dispatch isn’t just about booking freight and checking ETAs. It’s about managing critical information in real time, making decisions with incomplete data, and coordinating moving pieces across time zones, driver personalities, and shifting customer expectations. It’s fast, it’s stressful, and it leaves zero room for ambiguity. That’s why when information doesn’t transfer cleanly between dispatchers, shifts, or departments, everything downstream gets shaky.

Think about it like a relay race. The fastest runner in the world won’t win if they drop the baton. That’s dispatch. Your team could be made up of smart, hard-working people—but if they can’t pass critical information from one shift to the next without missing a step, you’ll always be reactive. You’ll always be fixing problems that were avoidable.

Handoffs are where good freight turns into bad experiences. They’re where a driver starts doubting your operation. They’re where a broker decides they can’t rely on you anymore. And most importantly, they’re where you, the owner, get dragged back into the weeds. Not because you want to—but because you have to. And that’s a sign of system failure.

What Happens When Handoffs Go Wrong

Let’s get tactical and call out the real symptoms of bad dispatch transitions. These aren’t hypotheticals. These are the pain points that carriers bring up to me week after week:

1. Drivers Left in the Dark

There’s nothing worse for a driver than calling dispatch and realizing the person on the line has no clue what’s going on. “Who dispatched this load?” “Did anyone update the appointment time?” “Why wasn’t I told I needed a TWIC card for this pickup?” It’s exhausting—and it kills morale. When drivers don’t feel supported, they stop trusting dispatch. And once that trust breaks, retention gets shaky.

2. Double-Booked Trucks

One dispatcher thinks Truck 02 is free. Another hasn’t updated the system. Now you’ve got two loads scheduled for the same asset—and no good way to cover both. Canceling means disappointing a broker. Delivering late means upsetting a shipper. Either way, you lose ground. All of it is avoidable with proper coordination.

3. Missed Appointments and Avoidable Fees

Some deliveries are drop-and-hook. Others are strict appointments with late fees if you miss by 15 minutes. If one shift doesn’t flag that for the next, you’re going to pay—literally. Worse, the customer will label you unreliable. It doesn’t take many of those errors to damage your credibility.

4. Paperwork Gaps That Delay Pay

If nobody logs the rate con, scans the signed BOL, or updates delivery notes in your TMS or system of record, you’ve got a mess. Now accounting can’t invoice, you can’t prove delivery, and you’re left chasing paperwork two weeks later with nothing but confusion in the thread.

5. The Owner Gets Dragged Back Into Ops

Let’s call it what it is. When handoffs fail, it’s usually the owner who gets the late call. The angry broker. The missed check call. The confused driver. The lost document. The entire purpose of building a team is to offload that weight. But when your team isn’t aligned, you don’t gain leverage—you just multiply stress.

What a Clean Handoff Should Look Like

A smooth dispatch handoff doesn’t require a six-figure TMS or a massive back office. What it does require is clarity. Everyone needs to know what gets communicated, how it gets documented, and when it must be passed on. This isn’t about micromanaging—it’s about standards.

1. Create Solid SOPs

If you don’t have documented procedures, you’re playing the telephone game. SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) turn tribal knowledge into institutional knowledge. Document how your team transitions shifts. Include what info gets captured, how it’s stored, and what must be communicated—every time, no exceptions.

2. Centralize Information in One Hub

Text threads, sticky notes, and verbal updates don’t scale. Use one centralized system—whether it’s a TMS, a shared spreadsheet, or a project management tool. The goal is simple: one source of truth that every dispatcher can rely on. Real-time updates, driver notes, broker expectations—all in one place.

3. Use an End-of-Shift Checklist

Before a dispatcher clocks out, they should complete a simple but critical checklist. Things like:

  • Load status updated
  • Driver ETAs confirmed
  • Shipper and receiver instructions clarified
  • All documents uploaded
  • Any problems flagged for the next shift

Think of it like a pilot’s pre-flight check. Boring? Maybe. But it prevents catastrophe.

4. Formalize the Handoff Communication

Don’t assume someone will figure it out. Require a formal signoff—voice note, Slack message, or brief huddle. The next person should start their shift with total visibility, not detective work.

5. Keep Drivers in the Loop

Your dispatch shifts might change—but from a driver’s view, it should feel seamless. If a driver needs to re-explain their situation every shift change, you don’t have a dispatch team—you have a liability. Drivers are your field team. They need to feel continuity. Build trust by making transitions invisible to them.

Real-World Breakdown: What It Looks Like When You Don’t Handoff Clean

Maria handles dispatch during the day. James works nights. Simple enough. One night, James gets a call—the driver’s truck won’t start. There’s a 5am appointment on the books. But guess what? No one noted whether the appointment was strict or flexible. No backup plan was in place. The second truck’s location is outdated. James can’t act fast enough.

By morning, the load is missed, the broker’s calling furious, and the driver’s been sitting for hours without a solution. Maria’s frustrated. James feels set up to fail. And the owner is back in the hot seat, once again, cleaning up something that should’ve never happened.

All of it? 100% preventable—with the right handoff system.

How to Build a Bulletproof Handoff System From Day One

Don’t wait until you “need” one. Build it before the cracks start to show. Here’s how:

1. Define Your Workflow in Writing

Map out your dispatch schedule and identify every handoff point—shift changes, role changes, or dispatch-to-driver communication chains. Write out the flow of data: where it starts, where it goes, and who owns each step.

2. Set Clear Non-Negotiables

Make handoffs mandatory. If you don’t complete the checklist and sign off to the next dispatcher, you don’t clock out. Make it part of your SOPs and performance expectations.

3. Train With Real Scenarios

Walk your team through what great (and poor) handoffs look like. Role-play scenarios. Don’t just train people once—review performance weekly. Call out breakdowns. If someone’s dropping the ball repeatedly, it’s not a system issue. It’s a discipline issue.

4. Choose Tools That Fit Your Operation

You don’t need to go buy a top-tier TMS tomorrow. Start with what fits. A well-structured Google Sheet, Trello board, or Slack channel can be enough if your process is clean. Tools don’t fix broken systems—but systems make tools more effective.

5. Make Drivers Part of the Process

Drivers are your best auditors. Empower them to speak up when something falls through the cracks. If they’re left in the dark during shift changes, make it easy for them to report it. That feedback loop is how you refine and improve.

Final Word

In trucking, every load is a promise. Every mile is an opportunity—or a liability. And every handoff is a chance to either build momentum or introduce risk. Dispatch is the glue holding it all together, and when that glue starts to crack, your entire operation gets shaky.

A clean handoff process keeps your team aligned, your drivers supported, and your customers satisfied. More importantly, it keeps you—yes, you, the business owner—from getting pulled back into the chaos every time someone forgets to update a note or relay a message.

So don’t wait for another breakdown. Build your handoff system now. Document it. Train it. Enforce it. Because in this industry, operational discipline is what separates the amateurs from the professionals.

Let’s tighten it up and run it like a business.

Let’s get to work.

Trump announces 30% tariffs on imports from Mexico, EU 

President Donald Trump on Saturday said he will impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union (EU) starting on Aug. 1.

Trump announced the tariffs in letters posted to Truth Social, which he has used over the past week to unveil a flurry of new import levies with dozens of U.S. trading partners.

In his letter to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump cited fentanyl as the main reason for the tariffs.

“Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough,” Trump wrote. “Mexico still has not stopped the Cartels who are trying to turn all of North America into a Narco-Trafficking Playground.”

It’s unclear if goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will remain exempt from the tariffs.

Trade between the U.S. and Mexico totaled more than$840 billion in 2024, making Mexico the top U.S. trade partner for the second consecutive year, according to Census Bureau data. 

Mexico was also the top U.S. trade partner in May at $74.5 billion.

In a letter to the EU, Trump said that the U.S. trade deficit was a national security threat.

“We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,” Trump wrote. “Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the commission will continue to work toward an agreement before the Aug. 1 deadline arrives.

“Imposing 30 percent tariffs on EU exports would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic,” Von der Leyen said in a news release. 

Northwest Seaport Alliance launches zero-emission drayage truck incentive program

Electric truck at the Port of Tacoma

The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) recently announced its first-ever incentive program for zero-emission truck and charging deployment in the Puget Sound region. Zeem Solutions was selected as the subrecipient of the program after a competitive bidding process. This marks Zeem’s first deployment in Washington state.

The program was funded by a $6.2 million grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), and will bring 19 zero-emission trucks and charging infrastructure to the region. The project is part of a larger public-private partnership, with Zeem and its fleet partners contributing a substantial portion of the total project costs.

“We are grateful for the partner we have found in Zeem. This transition is a necessary but expensive one, and we need all the partners at the table that we can get,” said NWSA co-chair and Port of Tacoma commission president John McCarthy.

The Zeem project includes developing a strategically located charging site near the I-5 exit ramp south of SeaTac Airport, along SR-99. The facility will accommodate charging for 250 vehicles daily and provide overnight parking for 70 vehicles. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2025, with zero-emission vehicles expected to be operational by 2026.

“WSDOT is pleased to be part of advancing the use of clean energy for zero-emission drayage trucks,” said Jason Biggs, director of WSDOT’s Rail, Freight and Ports Division. “Projects like this one are key to meeting the state’s climate commitment goals.”

The initiative aligns with the recently released Decarbonizing Drayage Roadmap, which outlines nearly 70 recommendations for transitioning the full drayage fleet to zero-emission vehicles by 2050. The incentive program was designed to minimize financial burden and risk to drivers while ensuring the co-development of necessary charging infrastructure.

Drayage trucks, like their larger full-sized Class 8 cousins, contribute large amounts of both diesel particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions. State, local and municipal governments are looking at ways of reducing emissions, as they disproportionately impact communities near port operations and along freight corridors.

“This is a major milestone, putting the first zero-emission drayage trucks on the road in Washington state,” said NWSA managing member and Port of Seattle commissioner Sam Cho. “We continue to make clear and steady progress, from our overarching strategy with the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy to the Decarbonizing Drayage Roadmap.”

Torc Joins Stanford Center for AI Safety to Advance Autonomous Trucking Technology

(Photo: Torc Robotics)

Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, has announced its membership in the Stanford Center for AI Safety. The collaboration establishes a partnership focused on enhancing AI safety for autonomous trucking applications as Torc prepares for full commercialization in 2027.

Headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, Torc has additional engineering offices in Austin, Texas, and Montreal, Canada. The company also maintains a fleet operations facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and a software developer footprint in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The membership provides Torc with direct access to Stanford’s research findings, symposiums and seminars, enabling the company to sponsor, collaborate in and co-author research. This access is anticipated to help Torc enhance safety protocols for machine learning models within its autonomous driving systems.

“Torc is proud to join the Stanford Center for AI Safety, reinforcing our mission to deliver safe, scalable and trustworthy autonomous solutions,” said Steve Kenner, chief safety officer at Torc, in a news release. “This membership aligns with our commitment to advancing rigorous safety practices in AI development and supports our goal of providing highly reliable technology to our customers.”

The Stanford Center for AI Safety focuses on developing safety protocols and advanced machine learning techniques to mitigate risks in autonomous systems. As a member, Torc will leverage published research to address critical safety challenges in autonomous driving applications, enhancing the reliability of its machine learning models.

“Collaborating with members in our affiliates program allows us to apply our research in AI safety to real-world challenges,” said Duncan Eddy, director of the Stanford Center for AI Safety. “Our work with Torc will include efforts to enhance the safety and reliability of autonomous driving systems, ultimately contributing to the advancement of this transformative technology.”

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How to Build a Bulletproof Safety Binder from Day One

If you’re operating trucks without a complete, organized, and regularly updated safety binder, you’re playing a dangerous game — one that ends with audits, violations, or worse, lawsuits. Too many new carriers treat compliance like an afterthought. They get their DOT number, get insurance, start moving freight, and figure they’ll “clean it up later.” That’s exactly how you get blindsided when the DOT comes knocking or something goes wrong out on the road.

Let’s get one thing straight — your safety binder isn’t paperwork for paperwork’s sake. It’s your defense system. It’s what keeps you out of trouble, keeps you audit-ready, and shows that you’re running a real operation — not a fly-by-night hustle.

And the best time to build it is before you get your first load.

So let’s walk through how to build a bulletproof safety binder from day one — the right way, the smart way, and the way that sets your business up to stay in control, compliant, and scalable.

Why Your Safety Binder Isn’t Optional

Let’s talk about what happens when the DOT walks in and asks to see your safety records — and you don’t have them. Or worse, you have half of them scattered across your inbox, glovebox, and laptop folders. That’s an automatic red flag. And red flags lead to audits, fines, conditional ratings, and potentially even shutdowns.

The safety binder is your insurance policy against that chaos. It shows that you’re proactive, organized, and serious about compliance. It’s not just about checking boxes — it’s about creating peace of mind and avoiding costly disruptions.

What a Proper Safety Binder Actually Does

A real safety binder should do three things:

  1. Protect you in an audit
  2. Keep your drivers on track with FMCSA regulations
  3. Give you quick access to critical info when something goes wrong

This isn’t just for show. When a roadside inspection happens, or a claim hits, or a random audit request comes through, you need to be ready. Not scrambling. Not guessing.

You need to have every piece of documentation ready to go — organized, dated, and signed where it needs to be.

How to Structure Your Binder – The 7 Core Sections You Must Have

Your binder needs to follow a clear format. Whether it’s a physical binder in the office or a digital version on your TMS or cloud drive, the layout should be consistent.

Here’s the exact structure I recommend, broken into seven core sections:

Section 1 – Company & DOT Compliance Info

Start with your foundation.

  • DOT and MC numbers
  • Operating authority letter
  • Certificate of insurance
  • MCS-150 form (updated and current)
  • Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) proof
  • BOC-3 filing
  • DOT drug & alcohol consortium enrollment proof
  • Company safety policy (yes, you need one — even if you’re a one-truck operation)

This is the section auditors flip to first. Don’t make them wait.

Section 2 – Driver Qualification Files

Every driver — including you if you’re the owner-operator — needs a complete qualification file.

Include:

  • Driver application (required by FMCSA)
  • Copy of CDL and medical certificate
  • MVR (Motor Vehicle Record) from the past 30 days at hire
  • Annual MVR review forms
  • Certificate of road test or equivalent CDL proof
  • Signed driver consent for background checks
  • Safety performance history inquiries from past employers (3 years)
  • Driver training certifications (ELDT, safety videos, etc.)
  • Driver policy acknowledgement form

Keep each driver in a separate tab or digital folder. No exceptions. These are the first things an auditor or insurance investigator will ask to see.

Section 3 – Hours of Service & Logs

Even if you’re using an ELD system, you need a physical or digital paper trail.

  • ELD provider registration and user manual
  • HOS policy statement
  • Driver ELD training records
  • Malfunction procedures (how to handle ELD failure)
  • Any logs for exempt drivers (short-haul, etc.)
  • Supporting documents for hours of service verification (fuel, toll, etc.)

Don’t assume the tech will cover you. You still need to show policy, process, and backup.

Section 4 – Vehicle Maintenance & Inspection Records

DOT loves to dig into maintenance records — and if you can’t prove your trucks are road-ready, they’ll shut you down.

Include:

  • Pre- and post-trip inspection forms (DVIRs)
  • Annual DOT inspection reports
  • Maintenance logs (oil changes, tire replacements, repairs)
  • Repair receipts or work orders
  • Preventive maintenance schedule per vehicle
  • Brake system inspection records
  • Out-of-service repairs and clearance documentation

Organize these by truck unit number. Keep it clean. Keep it consistent.

Section 5 – Drug & Alcohol Testing Records

This is a must-have. FMCSA is strict on this — no gray areas.

Include:

  • Proof of consortium enrollment
  • Pre-employment drug test results
  • Random drug and alcohol test results
  • Post-accident test documentation
  • Reasonable suspicion training certificates (if you have supervisors)
  • Refusal records (if any)
  • Chain of custody forms
  • SAP referral and return-to-duty forms (if applicable)

Missing or outdated forms here can result in immediate fines. No excuses.

Section 6 – Accident Register & Investigation Reports

Accidents happen. The question is whether you’re documenting them properly.

  • DOT accident register (even if it’s blank)
  • Accident report forms
  • Witness statements
  • Police reports
  • Photos and damage estimates
  • Post-accident drug and alcohol testing documentation
  • Corrective action plans

Keep these for three years minimum. And yes — even “minor” incidents count.

Section 7 – Training & Safety Programs

This is where most carriers fall short. They never document their safety efforts — so they get no credit when it counts.

Include:

  • Driver onboarding checklists
  • Safety meeting agendas or sign-in sheets
  • Defensive driving course certificates
  • Hazmat or specialized cargo training
  • Quarterly safety review logs
  • Policy updates with driver signatures
  • Cell phone policy, dash cam policy, seatbelt policy — all signed and acknowledged

The more documented effort you put here, the stronger your defense in any claim or audit.

Physical Binder vs. Digital Binder – What Works Best?

Both can work — but you need accessibility, structure, and backups.

A physical binder is great for roadside use or small fleets without tech infrastructure. But it needs to be kept up-to-date weekly. No exceptions.

A digital binder (Google Drive, Dropbox, or inside your TMS) is cleaner, easier to organize, and better for multi-truck operations. Just make sure it’s:

  • Easy to navigate
  • Backed up regularly
  • Shared securely with your team

Pro tip: use naming conventions like “Truck_101_AnnualInspection_2025-06-01.pdf” to keep everything clean and searchable.

Don’t Just Build It — Use It

Here’s where most safety binders go to die: they get built once, then forgotten. Sitting on a shelf or buried in a file folder. That’s not a system — that’s a liability.

Review your binder monthly. Update logs. Add new training. Purge expired forms. The DOT doesn’t care what your binder looked like last year. They care what it looks like right now.

Make it a habit. Set a calendar reminder. Hold your team accountable. Because in safety, consistency isn’t optional — it’s everything.

Final Word

You don’t wait for a fire to build an exit plan. You don’t wait for the DOT to build a binder. If you’re serious about protecting your business, your trucks, and your future — you build a safety system from day one.

The safety binder isn’t just for compliance. It’s a reflection of how you run your business. Are you disciplined? Are you prepared? Are you legit?

Because one roadside inspection, one DOT audit, one incident — that’s all it takes to find out if you were organized or exposed.

Build your safety binder before you need it. Keep it clean. Keep it current. And run your business like it’s built to last.

Let’s get to work.

Broker Transparency – A Fight for Fairness or Just a Flashpoint

When you bring up broker transparency at a truck stop or in an owner-op Facebook group, you’ll see two things happen fast: tension and division. Some drivers will shout, “Show me the money!” Others will tell you it doesn’t matter — that chasing rate details is just noise. What started as a call for fairness has now become a wedge in the trucking community. And depending on who you ask, the fight over broker transparency is either long overdue… or a complete waste of time.

So let’s break it all the way down. Not from a place of outrage or bias — but from a place of context. Because before we can decide what’s fair, we need to understand what’s actually true.

Where It All Began – The Origins of the Rule

To get to the heart of the matter, we have to roll the tape back to 1980 — the year President Carter signed the Motor Carrier Act. This was the moment that deregulated much of the trucking industry, breaking the stronghold of government control over rates, routes, and who could haul what.

Before 1980, brokers and carriers worked under tight federal oversight. Rates were publicly filed with the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission), and everyone knew what was being charged. Back then, transparency wasn’t a luxury — it was baked into the system. But deregulation flipped the switch. It allowed brokers and carriers to negotiate freely. And with that freedom came a new rule: 49 CFR §371.3.

This rule says that brokers must keep a record of every load, and that motor carriers are legally allowed to inspect the record upon request. In theory, this meant carriers could see what the broker made. In practice, it created a gray area that’s still being fought over today.

The Rule That Everyone Knows — But Very Few Follow

Here’s what 49 CFR §371.3(c) actually says:

“Each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review the record of the transaction required to be kept by these rules.”

Sounds simple, right? But there’s no teeth behind it. No enforced penalties. No enforcement mechanism. And brokers aren’t exactly lining up to open their books — especially in a world where tech platforms and digital freight networks have become the norm.

Today, many carriers who request load records get blacklisted. Brokers cite NDAs, privacy clauses, or simply ignore the request. And even if you file a complaint with the FMCSA, nothing usually comes of it. So the rule sits there. Known. Ignored. Weaponized only when convenient. There are some brokers who are openly transparent but not the majority. 

How We Got Here – The Shift in Broker-Carrier Dynamics

In the 1980s and 90s, the broker-carrier relationship looked a lot different. Brokers were often small outfits. They worked closely with the same carriers, sometimes building deep relationships. Many started as drivers themselves. And because rates were more stable, there wasn’t as much fighting over margins.

But as technology took over — and as mega-brokers emerged — things changed.

Freight marketplaces exploded. Load boards multiplied. Brokerages scaled up fast. And what was once a handshake business became a tech-first industry built on volume, margins, and automation. The human connection between carrier and broker took a backseat to load velocity.

Today, most carriers never meet or speak to the people moving their freight. The relationship has become purely transactional. And in that vacuum, distrust grows. Especially when rates drop and drivers start wondering, “If I’m only getting $1.95 a mile, what’s the broker pulling on this?”

That’s the root of this fight. Not just money — but the lack of transparency in how it’s divided.

(Photo: SONAR, CDNCA.USA Carrier Details Net Changes in Trucking Authorities. As broker-carrier trust continues to erode, many small fleets are pulling out of the market altogether. This SONAR chart shows net changes in trucking authorities over the past year, with steep drop-offs in late 2024 and volatile swings through mid-2025—signaling instability and ongoing exit of small carriers. Behind every dip is a carrier that gave up, often not because of freight—but because of a system they no longer trust.)

Why Carriers Are Pushing for Transparency Now

To understand the current wave of frustration, you have to feel the reality of today’s spot market. For many small carriers, rates have dropped to unsustainable levels. Fuel is high. Repairs are high. And brokers — often protected by contracts and tech platforms — are the only ones with full visibility into what the shipper actually paid.

That’s why carriers are asking for transparency. Not out of greed — but out of survival.

They want to know if they’re being treated fairly. They want to protect themselves from getting lowballed. And in a market where shippers are still spending billions, they want to see where the margin is going.

There’s a sense among many small carriers that they’re doing the hardest part — moving the freight — but are the last ones to know the full value of the load. That resentment is real. And it’s what’s fueling this fight.

Why Brokers Push Back – And What They’re Not Saying

Now let’s flip the script.

Brokers will tell you that transparency isn’t realistic. That contracts are confidential. That their margin is their business. And that the market determines the rate, not some secret formula.

They’ll also say this: if carriers get to see what the shipper paid, brokers will lose their competitive edge — and some shippers could just stop using brokers altogether. They argue that brokers bring value by handling billing, compliance, risk, and customer relationships — things carriers may not see but that cost real money.

And they’re not wrong. The best brokers absolutely earn their cut. They cold call countless hours, manage chaos, field late-night calls, and keep freight flowing across thousands of lanes. The problem isn’t that brokers exist. It’s that bad ones hide behind technology and treat carriers like numbers, not partners.

Here’s what most brokers won’t say out loud: they’re afraid that if transparency becomes law, they’ll have to explain their value and it will encourage a race to the bottom for shippers looking to cut costs. Not just in general — but on every load. And for brokers who add value, that won’t be a problem. For the ones who don’t? Game over.

The Truth: Transparency Alone Won’t Fix the Market

Let’s get one thing straight: even if brokers opened their books tomorrow, it wouldn’t magically solve the spot market crisis.

Carriers would still have to deal with rising costs, market volatility, and broker consolidation. Knowing the margin doesn’t guarantee you a higher rate. It just gives you more information — and a possible reason to walk away.

Also, let’s face it, not every single owner operator or small fleet owner is built the same in regards to business.

In fact, there’s a real risk that mandatory transparency could backfire. Shippers might demand margin caps. Brokers might cut service to leaner levels. And smaller carriers might still get left out — only now they’ll be angry and broke.

That’s why some carriers and industry vets are warning: don’t chase a headline fix. Transparency is a step — not the solution.

But Here’s Why It Still Matters

With all that said, transparency isn’t meaningless. It’s a signal — a declaration — that the people doing the actual work deserve a seat at the table.

It’s about fairness. About knowing when you’re being taken advantage of. About pushing back against systems that hide behind complexity.

For carriers, especially owner-ops with one or two trucks, it’s not about seeing every invoice. It’s about respect. About feeling like a partner, not an afterthought. And in a spot market that’s tilted so heavily in cycles, even small steps toward clarity matter.

Because here’s the truth: if a broker is scared to show their margin, it usually means they know it won’t hold up in the light.

What Can the FMCSA Should Do

So where do we go from here?

The FMCSA reviewed public comments on broker transparency, and the industry is waiting to see what comes next. Here’s what could actually move the needle without blowing up the entire market:

  1. Enforce the Rule Already on the Books
    • Require brokers to respond to written record requests within 30 days.
    • Penalize consistent non-compliance with suspensions or fines.
  2. Modernize 371.3
    • Clarify what records must be provided, in what format, and what redactions are allowed.
  3. Encourage Third-Party Verification
    • Allow carriers to request audits through a neutral third party without violating shipper confidentiality.
  4. Create a Voluntary Transparency Certification
    • Brokers who agree to open-book practices could earn a compliance badge — making them more attractive to top-tier carriers.

This isn’t about punishing brokers. It’s about balancing a system that’s lost touch with its roots.

Final Word: It’s About More Than Just a Rate

At the end of the day, this fight over transparency is about something deeper than cents per mile. It’s about ownership, partnership, and accountability.

It’s about small carriers who built their companies from the ground up — often with nothing but grit and a dream — finally saying, “We deserve better.”

But it’s also about being honest: not every broker is the enemy. Not every load is worth fighting over. And not every fix needs to come from Washington.

What we need is a freight culture that rewards fairness, values trust, and encourages carriers and brokers to build relationships — not just transactions. Transparency might not fix everything, but it’s a step toward a market where honesty isn’t seen as a liability.

Let’s keep fighting for that.

The Real Cost of Hiring the Wrong Dispatcher – And How to Avoid It

In this business, your dispatcher can either be your biggest asset or your biggest liability. Period. They’re not just booking freight — they’re controlling cash flow, driver morale, and your company’s reputation with every call they make. And if you hire the wrong one, you’re not just dealing with inefficiency. You’re setting your whole operation up to bleed from the inside out.

I’ve seen too many small fleets go under because they brought in the wrong person and waited too long to course-correct. They confuse “busy” with “productive. They let someone who doesn’t understand cost per mile run the show. And before they know it, they’re stuck with missed loads, frustrated drivers, poor relationships, and profits disappearing into thin air.

So let’s talk about the real cost of hiring the wrong dispatcher — and more importantly, how you can avoid that mistake before it drags your business down.

Why the Dispatcher Role Is More Critical Than Most Realize

Your dispatcher is the bridge between your business and the road. They’re making decisions that directly impact:

  • Which loads you haul (and how profitable they are)
  • How efficiently your trucks move
  • Whether your drivers stay loyal or start looking elsewhere
  • How quickly you invoice and get paid
  • How you’re perceived by shippers and brokers

This is not just a load-booking job. This is an operations-critical, cash-flow-sensitive, leadership-in-the-middle role. If you hire someone who doesn’t fully understand the weight of that responsibility — they’ll break more than they build.

The Real Cost of the Wrong Hire

Let’s break it down. Here’s what the wrong dispatcher can cost you — in hard dollars and hard lessons.

1. Missed Revenue

Booking cheap freight, sitting on the load board too long, or failing to negotiate can cost you thousands in a single month. Multiply that by several trucks, and you’re bleeding tens of thousands in missed opportunities.

2. Wasted Fuel and Poor Routing

Bad dispatchers don’t think in terms of fuel optimization or lane efficiency. They send your trucks chasing low-rate loads across dead zones, stacking up deadhead miles, and destroying your margin before the wheels even turn.

3. High Driver Turnover

Drivers don’t leave companies — they leave dispatchers. A dispatcher who disrespects a driver’s time, runs them recklessly, or communicates poorly will push your team out the door faster than any paycheck delay ever could.

4. Broker and Shipper Reputation Damage

A dispatcher who doesn’t follow up, misses check calls, or fails to communicate updates burns bridges you can’t afford to lose. Shippers and brokers remember who dropped the ball. And when your MC number gets flagged, good freight dries up — fast.

5. Stress on You as the Owner

You started your business to build freedom, not babysit someone who books freight like it’s a guessing game. A bad dispatcher keeps you in firefighter mode — always reacting, always fixing their mess.

Now ask yourself: can your business afford that?

What the Right Dispatcher Looks Like

Now that we’ve talked about what can go wrong, let’s get into what to look for when you’re hiring — or evaluating — a dispatcher for your team.

1. Operational Awareness

A good dispatcher understands margins, not just miles. They can break down the rate per mile, know when to turn down cheap freight, and understand how to make the truck profitable — not just busy.

2. Strong Communication Skills

They know how to talk to drivers, brokers, shippers — and to you. They follow up, they give updates before you have to ask, and they’re professional in every interaction.

3. Real-Time Problem Solving

Things go wrong in trucking every day. A good dispatcher stays calm under pressure, adjusts fast, and never leaves the driver — or the freight — hanging.

4. Lane and Market Knowledge

They know your lanes, your equipment, and your goals. They stay in tune with market shifts and can read the boards with strategy, not desperation.

5. Ownership Mentality

They treat your business like it’s theirs. They take pride in clean dispatches, happy drivers, and maximizing revenue. You don’t have to micromanage them — because they hold themselves to a higher standard.

How to Avoid the Wrong Hire in the First Place

This is where a lot of carriers mess up — they hire out of urgency instead of process. You get overloaded, desperate, and bring in someone who talks a good game but can’t execute.

Here’s how to do it right:

1. Use a Skills-Based Interview Process

Stop hiring based on “I’ve been trucking for 10 years.” Years don’t equal competence. Test them.

Give them real scenarios like:

  • You’ve got a reefer truck in Atlanta on Friday afternoon. What lane do you aim for next and why?
  • A driver is going to miss their 6am appointment. Walk me through how you handle that with the broker and the driver.
  • A load offers $2.05/mile going into Florida. What questions do you ask before accepting it?

If they can’t talk through real-world logic, they’re not ready.

2. Don’t Ignore Red Flags

Late to the interview? Poor communication? Blaming others for past failures? That’s who they’ll be when they’re in your seat. Believe what people show you the first time.

3. Hire for Values, Train for Skill

If they align with your company’s values — integrity, ownership, professionalism — you can train them on tools and lanes. But you can’t teach hustle, honesty, or emotional intelligence. That has to come built-in.

4. Start with a Trial Period

Make it clear upfront: this is a 30- to 60-day working interview. Set KPIs — average revenue per truck, driver satisfaction, on-time performance — and review weekly. If they’re not adding value fast, move on fast.

Build the System, Not Just the Seat

Even the best dispatcher will struggle in a messy system. If your intake process is sloppy, if you’re not using a TMS, or if your driver communication is inconsistent, you’ll set them up to fail.

Before you hire, make sure your foundation is solid:

  • Do you have a structured load intake process?
  • Do you have a TMS or at least a central system for dispatching and tracking?
  • Do you have clear SOPs for driver check-ins, paperwork handling, and broker updates?

Hiring the right dispatcher is only half the equation. You’ve got to build a system they can plug into — one that’s built to win.

Final Word

The wrong dispatcher won’t just slow you down — they’ll sink you. They’ll cost you money, time, drivers, and relationships you spent years building.

But the right dispatcher? They’ll help you scale. They’ll free you up to focus on the business. They’ll protect your margin, lead your drivers, and build a reputation that keeps freight coming to you.

So don’t rush the hire. Vet with intention. Build the right systems. And when you find someone who checks all the boxes, invest in them. Train them. Empower them.

Because in this business, the dispatcher isn’t just part of the team — they’re the engine behind everything you do.

Let’s get to work.

Running on Ice: New partnerships come to the cold chain

Compass Group, a global leader in foodservice and support services, is teaming up with Illuminate Group to transform cold chain management with a new joint venture, “TemperPack+.” The initiative is designed to provide a fully integrated, end-to-end platform for temperature-sensitive product management, from procurement to disposal.

TemperPack+ will offer a full suite of services, including temperature-controlled packaging, real-time tracking, data analytics, fulfillment, and returns. But what sets the platform apart is its closed-loop approach. By integrating services that are often managed separately, like sourcing, kitting, delivery, and product recovery, the new venture promises to reduce packaging waste and lower carbon emissions across the supply chain.

“This partnership is a natural extension of our commitment to sustainability and innovation,” said Shelly Huber, Chief Procurement Officer of Compass Group North America. “By joining forces with Illuminate, we’re helping our clients ensure their cold chain is not only efficient and compliant, but also aligned with environmental goals.”

The joint venture arrives at a time when industries across the board, from healthcare to grocery delivery, are facing growing demand for precise, sustainable cold chain solutions. Illuminate Group CEO Tyler Smith noted the increasing need for a reliable and circular model. “The ability to track and return packaging while maintaining strict temperature control is a game-changer,” he said.

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