Rachel Premack

Rachel Premack is the editorial director at FreightWaves. She writes the newsletter MODES. Her reporting on the logistics industry has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Vox, and additional digital and print media. She's also spoken about her work on PBS Newshour, ABC News, NBC News, NPR, and other major outlets. If you’d like to get in touch with Rachel, please email her at rpremack@freightwaves.com or rpremack@protonmail.com.
Jan - 2024 -
29 January
Rachel Premack

A fond farewell to (almost) 5 years of MODES

Rachel Premack (that’s me) has a new job outside of journalism. This means no more MODES (for a little while).

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26 January
Rachel Premack

The surprising reasons why truck drivers wait hours unpaid

Detention time is one of trucking’s most pernicious issues. Two former retail executives explain why the industry can’t seem to fix it.

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24 January
Rachel Premack

Trucks are getting smarter, and truck drivers aren’t happy about it

Semi-trucks are getting better at monitoring what drivers do and, frankly, driving themselves. Truckers are understandably concerned. 

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23 January
Rachel Premack

Why Walmart pays its truck drivers 6 figures

Walmart is the largest company in the world. Its elite, well-compensated trucking fleet is part of the reason why.

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10 January
Rachel Premack

We got too accustomed to peaceful seas

As the Houthis disrupt Red Sea trade, we’re seeing how fragile our supply chains are (again).

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05 January
Rachel Premack

The disturbing truth behind the Zyn memes

Freight brokers love to love Zyn, but the adoption of yet another way to ingest nicotine reveals a disturbing truth about capitalism.

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Dec - 2023 -
21 December
Rachel Premack

Ramaswamy advocates trucker-friendly policy at Iowa 80

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate, wants to address truck driver retention, broker fraud and parking. 

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19 December
Rachel Premack

C.H. Robinson’s new CEO doubling down on lean management, large language models

The new CEO of C.H. Robinson has never led a freight brokerage. His beginner’s mind might be what the beleaguered company needs. 

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14 December
Rachel Premack

Ramaswamy to roll out trucking policy at Iowa 80

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate, will speak at the World’s Largest Truckstop on Dec. 21.

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Rachel Premack

We’re still at risk for another ‘everything shortage’

We’re still at risk for another “everything shortage” should a new crisis shut down society again. 

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11 December
Rachel Premack

Some Convoy carriers say collapsed startup owes them thousands of dollars

Freight brokerage Convoy shut down in October. Carriers say the brokerage didn’t pay them for loads they completed.

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Nov - 2023 -
30 November
Rachel Premack

Let’s get a truck driver on the OpenAI board

Artificial intelligence will probably change everything about our lives. For truck drivers, it could wipe away their economic stability.

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29 November
Rachel Premack

Protesting Polish truck drivers say EU policy is driving down pay

Polish truck drivers are blocking four key border crossings. They’re hoping to draw attention to a European Union regulatory change.

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24 November
Rachel Premack

The biggest freight brokerage layoffs and bankruptcies in 2023

Freight brokerages typically can stay afloat during trucking recessions. But the ongoing, severe downturn has slammed third-party logistics companies.

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22 November
Rachel Premack

Why trucking embraces alarming turnover rates

I went to Texas to learn about truck driver training — and learned that there’s a major disagreement in how to improve the industry.

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16 November
Rachel Premack

Truck drivers sound off on a bill that could give them overtime

Bipartisan lawmakers introduced a bill that requires employers to give America’s 2 million truck drivers overtime pay — for the first time ever.

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15 November
Rachel Premack

FourKites reshuffles leadership team

FourKites’ president is no longer with the company. He joined in April. The visibility platform announced other new leaders on Wednesday.

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14 November
Rachel Premack

Teamsters unionizes some truck drivers at large US Postal Service fleet

Dozens of truck drivers at 10 Roads Express, a major Postal Service contractor, have voted to join the Teamsters in recent months.

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12 November
Rachel Premack

Bipartisan bill introduced to guarantee truck drivers overtime pay

Legislators want to overturn an 85-year-old law that says companies do not need to pay truck drivers overtime. 

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02 November
Rachel Premack

Increased consumer spending not enough to end trucking bloodbath

After the Great Shopping Spree of 2021, tens of thousands of truck companies will have to shut down to restabilize the industry.

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