Network Transport completes its move into a new, larger company headquarters as part of its expansion strategy, which adds 100 jobs over the next 12 months.

In today’s episode, we talk about the challenges of tracking freight, and how we can change telephone calls into telematics updates. Our special guest is Ryan Rogers, CEO of freight location tracking startup TextLocate.

For many large carriers, communication is automated, but those fleets are in the top 1% of all registered carriers. For the rest of trucking, tracking still involves a phone call. In this episode, we look at ways to make tracking methods transparent and available to all.

Is it possible to make this simpler?

Sandeep Kar, chief strategy officer at Noregon Systems, joins FreightWaves’ Global Supply Chain Week to talk about major changes and challenges facing the automotive industry.

MIT’s David Correll and aifleet’s Marc El Khoury join Thomas Wasson on this episode of Loaded and Rolling to talk about the much-touted driver shortage.

Driver as a service: J.B. Hunt becomes Waymo’s first self-driving freight customer, Commentary: The dangers of dwell, Market update: Outbound tender rejections decline amid rising spot rates

Supreme Court blocks COVID vaccine mandate for large businesses On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that blocked enforcement for vaccine or testing requirements for large private companies over 100 employees. Prior to the decision, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued new guidance, stating the vaccine mandate rule would not apply […]

FreightWaves’ Top 500 Largest For-Hire Carriers list FreightWaves just released the inaugural Top 500 list of the largest for-hire trucking fleets in the U.S. The ranking is based on tractor count and provides information on fleet size regardless of segment. For example, there is not a distinction between flatbed, LTL or dry van carriers; instead, […]

Driver recruiting challenges, pay and demographics trends Driver recruiting remains a key challenge heading into 2022 due to pandemic, demographic and economic trends. Pay and wages remain a central theme in both driver recruitment and retention, with carriers raising base driver pay multiple times in 2021 to keep up with demand. These pay raises are […]

Cybersecurity and large fleets: Risks of cyberattacks on the rise Cybersecurity is becoming a major topic in trucking due to recent publicized ransomware attacks against motor carriers. Ransomware is a type of malware, with users locked out of their systems or files and data held hostage unless the company or user pays a fee to […]

Struggling for capacity: A briefing on fleet availability The holiday season in trucking traditionally sees lower driver activity due to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The driver’s home time and geographic location pose a unique challenge to carriers, as larger fleets have drivers domiciled in locations that may be far from their primary high-volume […]

Trucking trends of 2021: Buying growth, expanding capabilities It’s the end of the year and for the trucking industry, disruption, record profits and new opportunities are all major themes to consider when predicting trends to watch in 2022. The trucking expansions into the LTL space and final mile and acquisitions of regional carriers indicate strategic […]

Capacity crunch: Competition for carriers brings rising costs, new opportunities Continued freight demand and limited truckload supply are allowing trucking companies to be selective with which loads to take, causing greater competition among shippers. Customer characteristics are playing a key role in contract and spot rate negotiations with carriers reevaluating their customer mix based on […]

In today’s newsletter: Enterprise carriers race to innovate; Component shortage delays electric vehicles; ATRI top truck bottlenecks of 2021. Enterprise carriers race to innovate by embracing new technologies and partnerships Trucking companies are racing to catch up to the technological disruption brought by digital load boards and freight tech offerings. For large enterprise carriers, there […]

Central Freight Lines shuts down, U.S. Xpress fires truckload exec and ACT releases driver hiring data Central Freight Lines to shut down after 96 years Central Freight Lines to shut down after 96 years Central Freight Lines is shutting down after 96 years in operation. The LTL carrier based in Waco, Texas, has over 2,100 […]

In this issue: AI Fleet raises $21 million; the American Transportation Research Institute ranks trucking concerns; and the Logistics Managers’ Index is expanded. Trucking in disruption: AI Fleet raises $21 million series A Trucking tech startup AI Fleet recently completed a series A round for $21 million led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Compound, […]

Stephens investment conference trucking equipment highlights Supply chain challenges were the main focus at the Stephens annual investment conference earlier this month in Nashville, Tennessee. Executives said driver recruiting and broader supply chain bottlenecks were slightly easing, but purchasing and procuring equipment has gotten notably tougher.  Lack of trailers becoming new driver shortage: Derek Leathers, […]

ATRI research on truck driver motivations and satisfaction The American Transportation Research Institute released results on its analysis on what motivates truck drivers to become company drivers or owner-operators/independent contractors (OO/IC). The data came from over 2,000 drivers, two-thirds of whom are OO/IC, and includes additional analysis on compensation models and driver satisfaction. Quick rundown […]

J.B. Hunt transload service starts as shippers deal with intermodal and port congestion J.B. Hunt Transport Services has started a transload service in the New York metro area. In a press release, the offering is touted as “a one-stop source for quickly transferring ocean freight into equipment for domestic transport.” The facility, located in Jersey […]

House Transportation Committee hearing on truck driver shortages In remarks to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, MIT Professor David Correll recently outlined yearslong research conducted by the MIT Freightlab, detailing a chronic underutilization of the American truck driver.  Below are some highlights and reporting from the event. Interestingly there was additional research regarding […]

Private trucking fleets expand amid soaring spot rates According to a recent National Private Truck Council Report, private fleets continue to expand due to high spot market rates and dwindling capacity in the market. Less capacity equals less service, and service metrics remain a big driver for in-house transportation. For large common carriers (they haul […]