Playbook: Featured

When many drivers hear “local route,” they picture early starts, dinner at home, and steady pay. But when it comes to local food service trucking, that image misses a lot of what it really takes. This isn’t dry van drop-and-hook. This is backbreaking work, punishing schedules, constant hustle, and hours behind the wheel — all […]

“What did the shipper pay on that load?” It’s a question that’s lingered in truck stop diners, dispatch offices, and group chats for years — and if you’ve ever booked a load through a freight broker, you’ve probably wondered the same thing. You get a rate confirmation. You move the load. You get paid. But […]

If you’ve been sitting at a fuel island wondering when this market’s going to flip, you’re not alone. And you’re not crazy for thinking it still feels off—because it is. At a recent industry event, the annual FTR Transportation Intelligence Conference, two heavy-hitters in trucking leadership said what many folks in our Playbook community have […]

The U.S. International Trade Commission has ruled in favor of Motive, rejecting Samsara’s claims of patent infringement.

You’d think the market was rebounding, but all signs show we’re still in a fragile place. Rates aren’t climbing. Volumes are spotty. And OTRI (tender rejections) is stuck in the single digits, which usually means brokers are in full control of the market. So why are so many used trucks being bought right now? Let’s […]

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Wednesday removed three more electronic logging devices from its registered list, giving affected fleets until Nov. 3 to swap out the non-compliant systems before facing enforcement action.

Every trucker knows when the freight slows down—you don’t need a chart to feel it in your wallet. But if you’re a small carrier trying to make sense of why your phone’s not ringing and your loads are paying pennies, you need to understand what’s coming down the pipe. One word: tariffs. Yeah, I know. […]

A fatal crash in Florida involving a non–English-speaking CDL holder set off a political firestorm—and it didn’t take long for Washington to respond. With headlines stacking up and safety advocates calling for accountability, newly appointed Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy issued a hardline directive: states must begin strict enforcement of English proficiency rules for commercial […]

If you’ve been watching the headlines lately, you know immigration is once again front and center — not just in politics, but now on the asphalt. According to reports first published by the New York Post and echoed across Fox News and other major outlets, Florida has officially turned all 27 of its commercial truck […]

For years, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) has pushed one of the most recycled headlines in transportation: “We’re facing a historic driver shortage.” If you follow industry media, you’ve seen it. If you’re an owner-operator or small carrier, you’ve probably posted a comment on X or Facebook in debate of someone who recycles this message. […]

That 1.7 Million Space “Shortage” Might Not Be Real According to Truck Parking Club’s August 2025 research report, the trucking industry has been looking at the parking problem all wrong. Here’s the traditional view: For years, that’s been the gospel. FMCSA, OOIDA, and even members of Congress have pushed funding and legislation to build more […]

“You Feel It Before You Read It” You don’t need a SONAR chart, Wall Street analyst, or FMCSA stat sheet to know that something’s been off. You feel it in your deadhead miles. You feel it when you sigh before grabbing another low paying load. You feel it in the way your truck payment hits […]

If you’ve been behind the wheel long enough, you’ve probably got your own DEF horror story. Maybe it was a sensor going out halfway up a mountain grade, forcing you into limp mode at 5 mph while traffic backed up behind you. Maybe it was a clogged DPF that threw you into a forced regen […]

Corrugated boxes, linerboard, medium, coated boxboard—this is the packaging that everything else rides in. When mills run hotter, converters buy more rolls, warehouses stack more cartons, and the truck market usually follows. When mills cool down, that heat fades out on your trailer a few weeks later. Cardboard is the heartbeat of goods demand. The […]

New survey data from Truckstop.com and Bloomberg Intelligence shows small fleet operators and brokers maintaining cautious optimism about freight market recovery despite challenging first-half conditions. While only 16% of carriers reported revenue growth year-over-year, most expect conditions to improve or stabilize heading into the second half of 2025.

Since June 25, more than 1,500 truck drivers have been put out of service for failing English-language proficiency tests during roadside inspections. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) says the vast majority worked for U.S.-based carriers. Some see this as a long-overdue safety measure. Others see it as a political stunt aimed at a […]

Introduction: The Gearshift That Sparked a Divide There’s an unspoken line drawn in the dirt at every truck stop in America: those who drive automatics, and those who swear by a stick. It sounds like a preference—but it runs deeper. One side sees convenience, consistency, and progress. The other sees lost skill, lazy entry, and […]

If you’ve been watching the freight headlines lately—or reading the comments on socials—they all seem to circle back to the same loaded question: Should drivers who can’t speak or read English be allowed behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound truck? It’s a fair question. But the deeper you dig, the more complicated the answer becomes. […]

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 […]

If you’ve ever wondered how a company with trucks falling apart and drivers dodging scales can stay in business—don’t blame the carrier. Blame the system that let them in and never bothered to check if they belonged. The FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) is supposed to be the gatekeeper of safety in our industry. […]