FreightWaves: 10 stories that grabbed your attention in 2021

A quick look at 10 of the most popular stories from FreightWaves writers in 2021 (as well as a bonus list of 10 popular news items):

Central Freight Lines to shut down after 96 years

FreightWaves reporter Clarissa Hawes broke the news in December that the Texas-based LTL company will cease operations and lay off 2,100 employees — the largest trucking company to shut down since Celadon in 2019. Read the story

TFI to acquire UPS Freight for $800 million

In late January, Nate Tabak reported on TFI International agreeing to acquire UPS Freight for about $800 million in a deal that transformed TFI into a North American less-than-truckload juggernaut. Read the story

Truckers tired of taking blame for port congestion crisis

Reporting from California, Clarissa Hawes put together this feature story on truckers who wanted to make sure their side of the story was heard in regards to the supply chain problems at the state’s ports. Read the story

FedEx Freight prunes 1,400 customers to protect service levels

This story by Eric Kulisch outlines FedEx Freight’s decision to immediately cut service to about 1,400 less-than-truckload customers, affecting thousands of locations, in an effort to reduce terminal bottlenecks and shipping delays. Read the story

Is Carol robbing Peter to pay Paul at UPS?

In this story published in March, Mark Solomon examines the first 10 months of Carol Tomé’s tenure as CEO at UPS. “Tomé’s outsider’s prism has manifested itself in ways that might be jarring to longtime UPSers,” wrote Solomon. Read the story

What’s it like hauling nuclear weapons across the country?

In this AskWaves file, Noi Mahoney details one of the toughest and most secretive jobs in the transportation industry: hauling nuclear bombs and other dangerous material as a Nuclear materials courier. Read the story

FMCSA head commits to boosting oversight of trucking

Reporting from Washington, John Gallagher reports on the September nomination hearing of FMCSA administrator Meera Joshi, who told lawmakers she is committed to taking concrete steps to reduce deaths and injuries from large-truck crashes. Read the story

Uber Freight to acquire Transplace for $2.25 billion

John Kingston examines the July marriage between Uber Freight, a company aimed primarily at carriers, and Transplace, viewed as a “shipper down” operation. Read the story

Billion-dollar lawyer speaks: Here’s what happened in tragic Florida wreck

In August, John Kingston spoke to attorney Curry Pajcic, who provided many details about what happened in the series of truck wrecks in 2017 that took the life of Connor Dzion and led to the billion-dollar judgment. Read the story

Sources: Mexican B-1 visa truckers conducting illegal runs in US

Noi Mahoney with the scoop that trucking companies in the United States and Mexico are violating cabotage rules by misusing Mexican B-1 visa drivers to deliver loads from point to point within the U.S. Read the story