Record Pistachio Harvest and Freight Fraud’s Billion-Dollar Blind Spot

California just wrapped a monster pistachio crop, 1.5 billion pounds of premium product hitting the market, with expanded exports to Mexico and Brazil on deck. The American Pistachio Growers are celebrating quality yields and strong demand. The immediate thought among freight professionals is that cargo theft hit record highs in 2024, according to CargoNet, and nuts remain among the most targeted commodities in the game.

We’ve known about sophisticated nut theft operations since at least 2006. I was brokering freight after being a driver when almond theft started to rise. We’ve seen organized crews steal $10 million worth of California almonds and pistachios between 2013 and 2017 alone. We’ve documented the playbook, fake trucks, fraudulent bills of lading, identity theft, and phony carrier authorities. Armenian Power got linked to it. Federal investigators even traced almond theft proceeds to Pakistani terror funding.

Nearly two decades later, the problem hasn’t been solved. It’s gotten worse.

I’ve written about these systemic failures on my Substack. Danielle Chavin covers it. Others in the private sector constantly hammer away at freight fraud. The narrative is finally building to hold bad carriers and drivers accountable and to out the fraudsters operating behind legitimate-looking DOT numbers, but narrative pressure only matters if someone has the authority and the will to act on it.

That’s where the whole system falls apart.

Freight fraud is a form of theft often committed in interstate commerce. That’s federal territory. You’d think the FBI would jump on a case involving hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of stolen cargo crossing state lines. We recently had a client hit with freight fraud. We told them to file with the FBI. The FBI said it wasn’t their jurisdiction, call local police. Local police have already sent them to the FBI. Local police said interstate commerce falls under federal jurisdiction. Nobody touched it. The load was gone. The fraudsters moved on to the next victim.

This isn’t an isolated incident. It’s often standard operating procedure. Freight fraud frequently exists in an enforcement dead zone where federal agencies point to state jurisdiction, state and local cops point to federal authority, and nobody actually investigates unless the dollar amount is astronomical or someone gets hurt.

This is part of the reason why freight fraud has gone from a manageable problem to an epidemic.

The sophistication level is off the charts now. These aren’t tweakers boosting TVs from a dock. These operations involve sophisticated people and networks who understand trucking logistics, computer security, identity theft, and international shipping. In some cases, they’re hiring legitimate drivers through legitimate channels, paying them $180 for a pickup, and those drivers have no idea they’re part of a felony theft ring until they get arrested. After all, for under $2000, you can get a broker authority with a financed bond and have unlimited access to freight in less than 3 weeks from anywhere in the world.

Nuts check every box for organized theft operations. California produces 80% of the world’s almonds, is the second-largest producer of pistachios and walnuts globally, and the nut industry generates over $9 billion annually. Nuts have high market value worldwide, excellent shelf life, can’t be traced with serial numbers or electronics, and possession isn’t inherently illegal. It’s a non-violent crime with massive payoffs and minimal risk.

A single truckload can be worth $500,000. The methods are wildly elegant. Fake carrier authorities registered with FMCSA, fraudulent insurance certificates, financed broker bonds, stolen driver and carrier identities, forged bills of lading. The criminals scout legitimate freight boards, monitor shipping patterns, and strike when high-value loads are moving through California’s San Joaquin Valley. By the time the real carrier shows up for pickup, the load is gone, and by the time anyone figures out it was fraud, those pistachios are already on a container ship headed overseas or getting repackaged for resale in domestic markets.

The industry has tried to adapt. Shippers now fingerprint and photograph truckers. They verify vehicle information against FMCSA databases. Some use RFID tags to track shipments. Law enforcement conducts aerial and ground surveillance in high-theft areas. None of it has stopped the bleeding.

From four incidents worth $500,000 in 2012, reported nut theft jumped to 31 incidents valued at $4.5 million in 2015. By early 2016, more than $10 million in nuts had been stolen from central California in just a few months. That’s just what got reported in California, and that’s just nuts. Literally. Expand that to electronics, pharmaceuticals, retail goods, and building materials getting jacked from trucks nationwide, and you’re looking at a multi-billion-dollar crisis.

The chaos in trucking creates perfect cover for freight fraud. Post-pandemic capacity whiplash left the industry flooded with new entrants, many operating on thin margins with questionable safety records and compliance standards. FMCSA’s enforcement mechanisms are stretched thin. Carrier vetting often comes down to checking a SAFER score and verifying insurance, both of which are easily faked with forged documents.

When freight fraud happens, the victim, who is usually the shipper or broker, is left holding the bag financially while also being told to figure out the jurisdictional maze themselves. Most companies don’t have in-house investigators or legal teams equipped to navigate the boundaries between federal and state law enforcement. They file police reports that go nowhere, submit claims to insurance companies that fight payouts, and eventually write off the loss.

The fraudsters know this. They’re counting on it. Meanwhile, the drivers who actually get arrested are usually the low-level guys taking $180 gigs off sketchy load boards, using fake IDs and paperwork they were handed by someone they’ve never met. Law enforcement calls them “small fish” while acknowledging the masterminds remain at large. Even when arrests happen, like Alberto Montemayor getting busted in 2021 with 42,000 pounds of stolen pistachios in a parking lot, mid-repackaging operation, it barely makes a dent in the overall problem.

The core issue is, who actually has the authority to investigate and prosecute freight fraud, and why aren’t they doing it?

Interstate theft should trigger federal jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 659, which criminalizes theft of property in interstate shipments. That’s FBI territory, but the FBI has limited resources and generally won’t touch cases under $500,000 unless there’s an organized crime or terrorism angle. Even then, as we’ve seen, they often decline to investigate.

The DOT Inspector General could potentially investigate fraud involving carriers with federal operating authority, especially when it involves forged documents and identity theft related to FMCSA registration. The DOT-OIG focuses primarily on grant fraud, safety violations, and internal department corruption, not individual cargo theft cases.

State and local law enforcement lack jurisdiction over interstate commerce crimes and typically don’t have the resources or expertise to investigate complex freight fraud schemes that span multiple states and potentially international borders.

The result? A massive enforcement gap that criminals exploit with near impunity.

First, we need clear jurisdictional authority to investigate and prosecute freight fraud. Whether that’s expanding FBI resources and lowering case thresholds, empowering DOT-OIG to pursue carrier fraud more aggressively, or creating a dedicated task force that coordinates federal and state efforts, something has to give. Right now, everyone assumes someone else is handling it, which means nobody is until someone is.

Second, FMCSA needs to tighten carrier authority registration and verification processes. Too many fraudulent authorities get registered with forged insurance and non-existent principals. Enhanced vetting, biometric verification for carrier officers, and real-time insurance validation could close some of these gaps, and we’re seeing real change in approved carrier applications with FMCSA’s new Idemia verification process. I actually failed the process when I attempted to open a new entity.

Third, the industry itself needs mandatory verification protocols. Shippers and brokers should be required to use carrier verification services, validate insurance directly with carriers, and implement callback procedures to confirm pickup authorizations. Make it standard practice, not optional best practice. My argument has always been about blockchain secure transactions.

Fourth, we need real consequences for freight fraud that go beyond catching the guy driving the truck. Follow the money. Prosecute the organizers. Seize assets. Make it a high-risk, low-reward crime instead of the current low-risk, high-reward setup.

Finally, transparency matters. CargoNet, Genlogs and other cargo theft tracking organizations provide valuable data, but most freight fraud goes unreported because companies don’t want the publicity or don’t think reporting will accomplish anything. We need industry-wide reporting requirements and data sharing that help identify patterns and bad actors before they hit their next victim.

California’s record pistachio harvest is excellent news for growers and shippers looking to expand into new markets. Still, without addressing the freight fraud and cargo theft crisis, every one of those 1.5 billion pounds represents a potential target for organized criminals who’ve been refining their playbook for nearly 20 years while law enforcement plays jurisdictional hot potato.

Nut thefts aren’t new. Freight fraud isn’t new. What’s new is the scale and sophistication, and the growing recognition that the current system isn’t just failing to stop it, it’s practically designed to enable it.

Until someone actually has the authority to investigate these crimes and the political will to prosecute them aggressively, we’ll keep seeing the same story of record harvests, record thefts, and zero accountability for the people running the show.

The industry deserves better. Legitimate carriers deserve better, and shippers hauling California pistachios to Mexico and Brazil deserve to know their product will actually arrive at its destination rather than disappear into the cargo theft black hole that law enforcement refuses to acknowledge, let alone address.

We’ve identified the problem. We’ve documented the methods. We’ve arrested the small fish. Now it’s time to figure out who’s actually going to catch the bigger ones, and give them the authority to do it.

Engine Overhaul or New Truck? A Brutally Honest Guide for Small Carriers Facing the Big Diesel Decision

Is it time to overhaul… or walk away?

This ain’t just about paying the bill. This is about making the best decision for your long term business. Because when your engine starts tapping, blowing smoke, or throwing codes like a Vegas slot machine, you’re not just facing downtime—you’re facing a financial fork in the road that could make or break your business.

We’re going deep into that decision today.

When Your Diesel Engine Is Screaming for Help

Let’s start with some of the warning signs.

Most overhauls don’t come out of nowhere. Your engine whispers before it screams. And if you’re paying attention, it’ll give you time to plan before it forces you off the road.

Here are some of the most common signs that you’re approaching overhaul territory:

Excessive Oil Consumption: If you’re adding a gallon of oil every couple thousand miles, your rings or valves could be failing.
White or Blue Smoke: Blue means burning oil. White could mean coolant (could be a head). Either way, that’s a repair bill coming.
Poor Compression or Power Loss: You push the pedal, and the truck feels like it’s lost power it once had? Time to check compression. A dyno test can also point out this.
Fuel Economy Drops Off a Cliff: If you’re down to 4–5 MPG and can’t trace it to the trailer or load, your engine may be starting to wear down.
Frequent Regens or Fault Codes: Your emissions system (DPF, DOC, SCR) is under stress, which usually means your engine is too.
Metal in the Oil Filter: This one’s self-explanatory. Metal shavings = internal wear.

Here’s the deal: A failing engine rarely fails quietly. But too many small carriers ignore the signs (some have no choice as money gets tight), trying to squeeze another 10,000 miles out of something that’s already dying. That gamble can lead to catastrophic failure—and catastrophic cost.

What’s Inside an Overhaul (and Why It’s So Expensive)

Let’s break it down.

A full in-frame or out-of-frame engine overhaul usually includes:

Pistons and liners
Cylinder head service
Crankshaft and camshaft inspections
New gaskets and seals
Turbocharger evaluation or replacement
EGR and DPF system work (depending on mileage)

Now for the cost.

Depending on your make/model, shop labor rates, and parts pricing, a quality overhaul can range from $12,000 to $25,000+—and that’s if there are no surprises inside. Some quotes we’ve seen even hit $40,000 when you factor in emissions components.

Pro tip: Don’t go bargain shopping here. Poor workmanship can turn an overhaul into a rolling disaster.

If the shop can’t show you a build sheet, part numbers, terms, and before/after compression readings… walk.

How to Know If an Overhaul Is Worth It

You’re now at a crossroads. Here’s how to evaluate your options with clarity:

Choose an Overhaul If:

You own the truck outright or have low payments
Your transmission, frame, and drivetrain are solid
Your truck has sentimental or business value (e.g., pre-ELD, pre-emissions, or customized sleeper)
You have documentation on the truck’s service history
You’re confident in the shop and parts warranty

Walk Away If:

Your truck is in poor condition mechanically, constantly in the shop, or in simple terms, outdated
You’re leasing or still upside down on a high-interest loan
The repair cost exceeds 50–60% of the truck’s current market value
Your cash flow can’t handle the downtime + rebuild + catch-up bills
The emissions system has been problematic even when the engine was strong

Don’t get romantic. This is a business decision. If your overhaul is just delaying the inevitable—and draining working capital in the process—it might be smarter to re-invest into a newer, better-spec’d truck.

Here’s the Math:

Let’s say a truck’s market value is $60,000.

If the overhaul quote is $35,000, and you’re still facing transmission, DPF, or body work repairs on top of that… it may not pencil out.

On the flip side, a $28,000 overhaul on a well-maintained truck with a known service record can extend your asset life by 3–5 years. That’s leverage.

How Overhauls Affect Your Operations and Taxes

Let’s not forget the non-mechanical side.

1. Downtime

A quality overhaul takes 2–4 weeks minimum. That’s a month without revenue. Are your reserves deep enough to float payroll, insurance, truck note, and home bills?

2. Warranty

Shops vary wildly here. Look for:

1 year/100,000 mile minimum
2 years/200,000 for premium kits
Nationwide coverage (not just local shop support)

3. Tax Implications

Overhauls are capital improvements, not write-offs like tires or PMs. That means depreciation instead of expense. Talk to your accountant.

You might depreciate the engine work over 3–5 years or use Section 179 if your business qualifies. Don’t assume—ask your tax pro.

Extending Life After the Rebuild

If you choose to overhaul, protect the investment:

Break in the engine properly: Be sure to follow the tech instructions specifically, no idling for long stretches, and no heavy loads at low RPMs, etc.
Flush and replace fluids at required intervals: That includes coolant, DEF, and transmission fluid. Don’t trust “lifetime fill” claims.
Monitor boost, temps, and oil pressure: An engine gauge cluster is your early warning system.
Use quality oil and fuel: Aftermarket additives are optional, but clean fuel and factory-spec oil is non-negotiable.
Track everything: Keep a dedicated folder (digital or paper) with receipts, compression test results, and warranty documents.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I finance an overhaul?

Yes. Many shops work with lenders like CAG Truck Capital or offer their own payment plans. Expect to show business financials and insurance. APRs vary from 7% to 20%.

Q: Is it better to get a reman engine instead?

Depends. Reman engines (like those from Detroit, Cummins, or Cat) often come with better warranties but cost more—up to $50,000 installed. A reman can be a safer bet if your block or head is compromised.

Q: Should I buy a used truck instead?

Used doesn’t mean better. You’re trading known problems for unknowns. And if it’s a pre-2020 emissions truck with no overhaul records? You might just inherit someone else’s ticking time bomb.

Q: Will an overhaul increase my truck’s resale value?

Slightly—but not dollar for dollar. You’ll retain value better and attract more buyers, but you won’t get 100% ROI unless it’s a rare truck or the market is tight.

Final Thought: Think Like a CEO, Not Just a Driver

Look—this industry doesn’t hand out second chances easily. If your truck is waving the white flag, it’s not the end of the road. But it is a crossroad.

Some will overhaul and extend the life of a paid-off workhorse. Others will cut bait and start fresh with better specs and lower emissions headaches.

The key is not emotion—it’s facts.

Run the numbers. Ask the hard questions. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a truck if it’s dragging you into debt. But also don’t fall for the lie that new always means better.

In the end, the right call is the one that keeps you in the game… profitably.

Are Some Brokers Willingly Using Known Non-Domiciled Drivers to Save Margins?

There’s a tweet making the rounds this week that says more about our industry than some 10-page white papers ever could.

While the right decision was made here, you can bet it doesn’t end up this way with others. Some will take the $500 extra bucks and not think twice…. https://t.co/cyDcqPIBHV
— Adam L. Wingfield 🚛👨🏾‍💻 (@adamlwingfield) October 24, 2025

That one post sums up the quiet corner-cutting that’s been happening in our industry for far too long. And it poses a serious question no one wants to answer out loud:

Are brokers knowingly choosing cheaper capacity from non-domiciled CDL holders — even when they know the risks?

Let’s break it down.

The $500 Question

In this case, a broker is getting quoted rates from drivers or carriers with non-domiciled CDLs — and the price difference is real.

We’re talking about $400 to $500 cheaper per load.

Now multiply that across 20–50 loads a week and you’ve got savings of $10,000 to $25,000 per week. In a margin-compressed environment where brokerages are fighting to stay afloat, that kind of money turns into temptation real quick.

But it’s not just about the savings. It’s about what brokers are willing to risk to get it.

What Is a Non-Domiciled CDL, Again?

Let’s clarify the definition, because not everyone in freight understands what’s at stake.

A non-domiciled CDL is a Commercial Driver’s License issued to someone who isn’t a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, often issued in states where the driver doesn’t actually live. Most of these CDLs are held by immigrants under temporary legal status — some with asylum claims, some with work permits, others with questionable documentation altogether.

In theory, if the driver is legally authorized and meets federal training standards, they’re allowed to operate.

But in practice? It’s become a loophole. A soft target. And some bad actors have taken full advantage.

The Problem: Known Risk, Ignored

Let’s not pretend this is a mystery. Everyone in freight knows what time it is:

Brokers sometimes know which carriers operate with non-domiciled drivers.
Carriers know which drivers are harder to verify.
Shippers know from the moment the driver checks in and has difficulty communicating with the guard at the guard shack.

Yet, when the market tightens and margins dry up, risk tolerance magically grows.

And here’s the scary part: it’s not just about whether a driver is “legal.” It’s about how much due diligence is being ignored.

Due Diligence or Deliberate Blindness?

Most freight brokers require a carrier packet, insurance, and a DOT number. But very few go beyond that to verify:

Driver CDL origin and match to home state
Language proficiency required under FMCSA rules
Residency documentation
Whether that carrier is actually compliant

And sometimes, that’s by design. Because the deeper they dig, the fewer $1.85/mile carriers are left.

Let’s be honest. If you’re moving cheap freight, you can’t afford to get too picky. That’s the ugly truth of it.

But Is It Legal?

That’s where it gets complicated.

Since the FMCSA approved a non-domiciled CDL, then technically — yes — the driver can operate commercially.

But right now, we’re seeing the largest crackdown ever on these licenses. The feds say they’ve been issued improperly. States like California and Illinois are under scrutiny. And if the FMCSA decides to cancel even 25% of those CDLs, you’ll see tens of thousands of drivers removed from the road.

If a broker continues to use those drivers — knowing their status is questionable — it opens up a world of liability.

Let’s say one of them gets into a fatal crash (which, unfortunately, we’ve already seen). Now it’s not just a tragedy — it’s negligence.

And if there’s one thing trial lawyers love more than truck insurance… it’s fraud plus negligence.

So, Are Brokers Responsible?

The short answer? Not totally.

Brokers aren’t required to validate the legal status of individual drivers. They contract with motor carriers, not drivers. It’s the carrier’s job to vet their people.

But here’s the thing: brokers do have a duty of care. And if you repeatedly select carriers that have known red flags, it becomes hard to say “we didn’t know.”

Especially if those same carriers magically undercut the market by $500 a load.

The truth is, many brokers don’t want to know. Because once they know, they’d have to stop booking them.

The Cost of a Bad Call

The tweet was right: $500 is not worth losing your business or risking the motoring public.

One bad call can mean:

Freight claims and lawsuits
Shipper bans
Permanent damage to your MC number
And even criminal charges if fraud is uncovered

But it’s not just a broker issue. Small carriers face the same test.

If you’re tempted to contract that cheaper truck — ask yourself:

Can I afford to defend this in court?
Can I explain this to my insurance provider?
What happens if something goes wrong?

Because let’s face it — things do go wrong.

What This Means for Small Carriers

If you’re a small carrier trying to stay compliant while others are obviously cutting corners, it can feel like you’re playing with one hand tied behind your back.

But don’t flinch.

Because the winds are shifting.

The FMCSA is already:

Investigating states who issued improper CDLs
Updating enforcement around English proficiency and residency
Reviewing fraud patterns tied to certain regions

If you’ve been doing things the right way, believe your day is coming. Once the crackdown hits and capacity drops, shippers will turn to trusted carriers — the ones who have clean files, valid CDLs, and verified safety records.

That’s where you win.

Final Thought: Knowingly or Negligently?

So, are brokers knowingly using cheaper, non-domiciled drivers?

In some cases, yes.

But even when they’re not knowingly doing it — the failure to check still creates real-world risk.

And when the crash happens or the lawsuit comes? “I didn’t know” won’t cut it.

This is the time to sharpen your eyes. Ask questions. Vet every driver. Track CDL origin. Protect your business like your family depends on it — because it does.

Because in trucking, what you don’t know can hurt you — and what you ignore can destroy you.

Kalitta Air deploys 1st 777 converted freighters for dedicated customers

A white Kalitta Air cargo jet with black lettering sits on the tarmac on a sunny day.

Kalitta Air is putting its newest fleet additions, the first-ever Boeing 777 aircraft converted from passenger to cargo configuration, to work for Israel-based cargo airline Challenge Group and long-time customer DHL Express.

Ypsilanti, Michigan-based Kalitta Air last month received the initial two of seven converted freighters under a long-term lease from AerCap after they were retrofitted by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) with a large cargo door and other features that enable containers to be transported on the main deck.

Kalitta was the launch customer for the IAI converted 777 freighter. The airline currently operates four 777-300 converted freighters, with three additional aircraft scheduled to enter service before year-end, said Heath Nicholl, Kalitta’s chief operating officer, in an email.

Industry publication Cargo Facts first reported that Kalitta Air has now taken possession of its fifth 777-300 and expects to have all seven on order by the end of the year.

Challenge Group last week announced it has contracted with Kalitta Air to operate one of the 777 converted freighters on its behalf between Tel Aviv and Hong Kong via Dubai, a route the carrier has operated for five years with its own aircraft. The capacity arrangement gives Challenge Group a head start evaluating the 777’s operational performance and gaining hands-on experience with the platform until its own 777 converted freighters are delivered by AerCap and IAI.

“This partnership with Kalitta Air . . . provides us with the opportunity to test and familiarize ourselves with this new aircraft type, ensuring that when our first converted aircraft arrives, we are fully prepared to operate it at the highest standards. This will ultimately allow us to offer our customers a more efficient, flexible, and environmentally responsible air cargo solution,” said Or Zak, chief commercial officer at Challenge Group, said in a news release.

The transportation services agreement with Kalitta Air is currently set up to run for several months. The aircraft conducts multiple rotations per week carrying mostly e-commerce products, Gianluca Marcangelo, head of industry relations and marketing, said in an email.

Challenge Group operates 10 aircraft (six Boeing 747-400s and four 767-300s) across three airlines licensed in Israel, Belgium and Malta. Its main hub is at Liege Airport in Belgium, where it has a 430,500-square-foot cargo terminal. A logistics subsidiary also handles middle-mile delivery to distribution centers at European destinations.

Challenge has committed to take six 777-300 passenger-to-freighter conversions. The airline expects to receive its first 777 from AerCap by the end of the year, said Marcangelo. It will register the 777-300 under its Maltese air operator’s certificate.

The redesigned jets are dubbed the “Big Twin” because of the 777’s size and two GE-90 engines. With 25% more interior volume than a 777-200, the 777-300 Extended Range freighter is well suited for lightweight e-commerce shipments that take up a lot of space and don’t weigh as much as other commodities. It has 14% more volume than a 747-400 converted freighter and is 21% more fuel-efficient, according to IAI.

U.S.-based aerospace startup Mammoth Freighters is also in the final stages of Federal Aviation Administration certification for its own 777 conversion design. The company has dozens of orders from several customers.

Kalitta Air earlier this month began operating three of the Big Twins on trans-Pacific routes for DHL, according to aircraft database Flightradar24. Records show three freighters routinely operate from Tokyo and Hong Kong to DHL’s hub in Cincinnati, as well as to Chicago, Los Angeles, New York’s JFK airport and Miami. Kalitta also operates factory-built 777s and 747s in DHL’s air network.

Nicholl said additional converted freighters are available now for wet lease (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance bundle) and charter flying.

Kalitta Air operates 21 Boeing 747-400 cargo jets and 10 factory-built 777 freighters,

“We have not retired any 747s as a result of the 777 introductions. The [converted freighters] are supplementing our widebody network, leveraging their fuel efficiency and payload-range advantages where they best fit customer demand,” Nicholl told FreightWaves.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Israel’s Challenge Group prepares to fly all-new 777 converted freighter

CVSA Brake Week 2025 Results Show 15% Failure Rate

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance just released results from the 2025 Brake Safety Week, and if you’re experiencing déjà vu, you’re not alone. Inspectors pulled 2,296 commercial vehicles off the road during a single week in August because their brakes were so defective they could not operate legally, resulting in a 15.1% out-of-service rate.

That’s virtually identical to 2024’s results, when 2,370 vehicles were placed OOS out of 15,752 inspections for a 15% failure rate. Different year. Same problem.

During Aug. 24-30, 2025, inspectors across 52 North American jurisdictions conducted 15,175 commercial vehicle brake system inspections. In the U.S., 13,700 inspections yielded 2,035 brake-related OOS violations, for a 14.9% failure rate. Canada’s 1,459 inspections produced 260 violations, a 17.8% failure rate. Mexico conducted 16 inspections with one violation at 6.3%.

The most common violation? Twenty percent or more of the vehicle’s service brakes were out of service. Inspectors identified 1,199 such violations, a 52.2% OOS rate within that category alone.

Beyond that, inspectors documented:

375 other brake violations
306 brake hose and tube defects
199 steering axle violations
100 air loss rate failures

This year’s focus on drums and rotors revealed 113 violations, with 39 vehicles placed OOS specifically for rotor or drum defects. The breakdown: 22 broken rotors on air disc brakes, 50 rusted rotors, 32 broken drums on S-cam brakes, plus multiple hydraulic system failures.

Broken rotors. Rusted rotors. Broken drums. These aren’t components that suddenly failed without warning. These deteriorated over time while someone, a driver, a mechanic, a fleet manager, looked them over during inspections and decided they were good enough to keep rolling.

Compare 2025 to 2024 and the pattern is wildly predictable:

2024: 15,752 inspections, 2,370 OOS violations, 15.0% failure rate
2025: 15,175 inspections, 2,296 OOS violations, 15.1% failure rate

We conducted essentially the same enforcement effort, found essentially the same failure rate, and will presumably do absolutely nothing different about it. CVSA has already scheduled next year’s Brake Safety Week for Aug. 23-29, 2026, where we’ll almost certainly see the same results again. This is a systemic issue.

Fifteen states deployed performance-based brake testers during this year’s enforcement week, conducting 528 inspections. They measure actual braking performance against a minimum 43.5% efficiency standard required by federal regulations.

Twenty-five vehicles, 4.7%, failed to meet that minimum standard. These trucks couldn’t adequately brake to pass a mechanical test, yet they were operating on public roads until an inspector stopped them.

Think about that. These vehicles weren’t borderline cases where a mechanic might disagree with an inspector’s judgment. They literally couldn’t generate enough braking force to meet the minimum safety threshold, yet they were out there anyway.

Every truck pulled over for brake violations during CVSA Brake Week passed through multiple failure points that nobody wants to discuss:

Pre-trip inspections: Federal regulations require drivers to conduct pre-trip inspections and document defects. How many of these 2,296 vehicles had brake issues that drivers either didn’t check or didn’t report?
Periodic maintenance: Carriers must maintain vehicles in a safe operating condition. When was the last time these vehicles received proper brake inspections? What did maintenance records show, or were they fabricated after the fact?
Management oversight: Someone in each carrier’s operation is responsible for ensuring vehicles are safe before dispatch. Did anyone actually verify brake conditions, or did they just assume everything was okay?

The enforcement action stops at the roadside. The inspector finds bad brakes, the vehicle gets placed out of service, the carrier fixes the brakes, and the vehicle goes back in service. There’s rarely any follow-up investigation into how those brakes got that bad or who was responsible for letting a vehicle operate in that condition.

We treat brake violations as maintenance issues when they’re actually compliance failures, revealing systemic problems within carrier operations.

CVSA notes that 84.9% of inspected vehicles didn’t have OOS brake violations. The industry will spin that as success; most trucks passed!

That framing is dangerous nonsense.

An 85% pass rate during a focused enforcement week when carriers know inspections are happening means the actual brake compliance rate during normal operations is almost certainly worse. Even under ideal inspection conditions, with inspectors specifically looking for brake problems, 15 out of every 100 trucks checked were found to be unsafe to continue.

CVSA conducts approximately 4 million inspections annually among hundreds of millions of commercial vehicle trips. The vast majority of trucks never get inspected, meaning defective brake systems can operate indefinitely until they either cause a crash or are randomly caught.

Brake-related violations consistently rank as the most-cited out-of-service vehicle violation during roadside inspections. We know this. CVSA dedicates an entire week each year to brake safety through its Operation Airbrake Program, specifically to reduce brake failures through inspections and education.

Yet here we are in 2025, still pulling 15% of inspected vehicles during a week when the industry should be at its best. What does that tell us about brake conditions during the other 51 weeks when the spotlight isn’t shining?

Brake failures don’t just result in OOS violations and tow bills. They result in crashes, injuries, and fatalities. An 80,000-pound truck traveling at 65 mph needs approximately 525 feet to stop under ideal conditions with properly functioning brakes. Add defective brakes, worn drums, rusted rotors, or air system leaks, and stopping distances increase dramatically, often beyond the driver’s ability to avoid a collision, even with early hazard recognition.

We see it repeatedly in crash investigations: brake defects identified post-crash that were clearly pre-existing conditions. Drums worn through. Rotors with cracks. Air system components have been leaking for weeks. All conditions that inspection should have caught before a crash occurred.

When a vehicle is placed OOS for brake violations, the immediate fix is performed: the carrier repairs the defects, the inspector clears the vehicle, and operation resumes. What doesn’t happen is any meaningful investigation into compliance failures that allowed those defects to develop.

What should happen:

FMCSA reviews maintenance records to determine if brake problems were previously reported and ignored
SMS scores get updated to reflect brake system maintenance failures
Repeat offenders face escalating enforcement, including safety audits and potential authority revocation
Carriers with patterns of brake violations get flagged for enhanced inspections

What actually happens:

Vehicle gets fixed
The carrier pays the fine
The truck goes back in service
Everyone moves on until the next inspection

There’s no systemic accountability for carriers that consistently put defective vehicles on the road. There’s no enhanced scrutiny for drivers who keep signing off on pre-trip inspections despite obvious brake defects. There are no consequences for mechanics who approve inspections while components are visibly deteriorating.

CVSA’s 2025 Brake Safety Week results aren’t surprising. They’re virtually identical to 2024. Fifteen percent failure rate then, 15% now, and almost certainly 15% again when inspectors conduct next year’s enforcement week Aug. 23-29, 2026.

We have adequate regulations, trained inspectors, and enforcement mechanisms. What’s missing is the institutional will to hold carriers accountable for operating vehicles with defective safety systems.

Carriers know brakes matter. Drivers know brakes matter. What’s missing are consequences meaningful enough to make properly maintaining brake systems more attractive than running them until they fail or get caught.

We’ll inspect another 15,000 vehicles next August, pull another 15% for brake violations, publish another report, and move on without addressing why this keeps happening year after year.

Meanwhile, trucks with defective brakes continue operating on public roads, drivers continue signing off on pre-trip inspections without actually checking brake conditions, carriers continue dispatching equipment with known maintenance issues, and we all pretend the next safety initiative will somehow fix what is fundamentally a compliance and accountability crisis.

Brake Safety Week proves we know how to find defective brakes. What we apparently don’t know, or don’t want to know, is how to prevent them from being on the road in the first place.

State of Freight takeaways: some signs are pointing higher

CHATTANOOGA–With the October State of Freight webinar being done in person before an audience here at the FreightWaves Festival of Freight (F3), it had the odd juxtaposition of being a mostly bullish presentation in a sea of freight executives who are otherwise suffering through the tail end of a third year of a freight recession that started sometime in the spring of 2022.

But both FreightWaves and SONAR CEO Craig Fuller and SONAR director of freight market intelligence Zach Strickland said there are indications that the market has at least the chance of turning higher but with a few areas where trucking still faces significant headwinds.

Here are five takeaways from the October webinar held at F3.

Drivers are staying home

The discussion about intermodal and its reliance on rail traffic coming out of the west coast ports led to a focus on the drivers who haul goods coming out of that region when it goes on a chassis pulled by a tractor. Strickland said the trucking market in Southern California “has been extremely erratic this year,” given the back-and-forth of U.S. tariff policies that have led to surge and collapse in imports. “It’s been an up and down market,” he said.

That led Fuller to note a large percentage of drivers who are involved in the SoCal drayage business “tend to be in the very population that the administration is focused on” in its deportation efforts. Some of those drivers are non-domiciled and are working illegally, but another group, he said, are “fully documented, have all their papers, been here for many years and should not be subject to deportation because they’ve paid all their taxes.”

But now, Fuller said, “they’re scared to drive.” In some cases it has led to bankruptcies and “what’s happened is there has been a washout of a lot of capacity.” Fuller estimated that about 70% to 80% of the Southern California trucking market is driven by immigrants.

But “we’re seeing some of our legitimate, fully documented drivers who are scared to drive due to their fear of deportation.” The result has been that “the spot rates in certain markets are starting to melt up.”

He said many of the increases have been “in pockets of cities. It was in the Midwest, Chicago, it was in Southern California, perhaps even Dallas was having that as well,” Fuller said.

How are so many people staying in business?

Fuller cited a recent Morgan Stanley study that said every mile a trucker operates is actually at a loss. “How are they staying in business?” Fuller said.

Looking at the non-domiciled drivers who have been disappearing from the roads and will find their route to a CDL blocked by various policy decisions, “what we’re learning is that those drivers do not care about the consequences of breaking the Hours of Service rules.”

“These guys will run 18 to 20 hours per day when legitimate drivers are only allowed 11,” Fuller said. “So they’re able to run at operating cost below the market, which means you have people out there who are bottom feeding.”

But concerns in that community about operating against the law may be starting to shift. The “strong stance” of the administration against immigrants and non-domiciled drivers “is intimidating to any of these operators, and you’re seeing drivers that would normally drive and not care about rules are either driving and staying in full compliance, or not driving at all,” Fuller said.

Getting ready for a bull market

With various indices pointing higher, including rates and the Outbound Tender Rejection Index (OTRI), Fuller cautioned that the long salad days that shippers have enjoyed may be coming to an end. “If we get a volume surge, the economists will tell you that there are a lot of reasons to be bullish,” Fuller said. He cited various reasons for that: tax cuts hitting next year, a possible improvement in the mortgage and auto markets, and mostly strong earnings reports so far.

Strickland said those improvements are coming against strengthening in the OTRI.

The groundwork is being laid for that strengthening to continue, Fuller said. “What I do know is that we continue to lose capacity, and when we lose operating authorities out of the market, that is when you could be on the cusp of a trucking super cycle,” Fuller said.

One thing that’s different this time: the trucking industry would enter it after a prolonged downturn. And the normal rush to buy trucks and add capacity won’t be present. “That scarring from the past few years is going to prevent banks and entrepreneurs and fleet executives from expansion,” he said. On top of that could be the 25% tariff on imported heavy duty trucks.

Capacity in a recovery will be slow to rise, Fuller said. “I think we will look back and say the recovery actually started sometime in the middle of 2025, when we started to see some of these changes,” Fuller said. “And we will look back and say it was slow to start with, and then there was some inflection point.”

But with the memory of the great freight recession in their mind, “at that point, I think carriers are going to be reluctant to add capacity, because they’re going to be like, well, this is short lived,” he said.

What the SONAR volume indicates say about manufacturing

It wasn’t all positive. SONAR measures the Outbound Tender Volume Index for short-haul versus long-haul freight. Fuller said the sharp divergence of the two in recent months is an extremely bearish sign for manufacturing in the U.S.

After Strickland showed a chart showing a collapse in long-haul volume versus short-term volume, Fuller noted that the short-term volume “is highly correlated to distribution and retail.”

“And the reason that it is so highly correlated is that it’s local within 100 miles,” Fuller said. “It’s typically retail goods being distributed locally.” Fuller, a heavy user of X formerly known as Twitter, said he has been criticized online on that forum by people who say “wait, retail sales are doing OK, and e-commerce sales are at record highs. How can you possibly say that the goods economy is bad?”

Noting that the long-haul volume index is down 30%, Fuller said “that long haul stuff is a lot of manufactured goods that are moving through the economy, and that tends to be a large piece of the over the road truckload market.”

Given the divergence, Fuller said “if you’re in local distribution, you’re OK. The consumer has not slowed down its spending.”

But that isn’t the case with manufacturing. “There is an absolute utter collapse in the manufacturing business economy,” Fuller said. He said the irony is that the Trump administration has focused on a revival of U.S. manufacturing, “and what the data tells us is the exact opposite.”

Coming off a strong earnings report out of J.B.Hunt, Fuller said the bottom line at the trucking company that is also a huge intermodal operator suggests there is a sign of “sort of an intermodal renaissance.”

J.B. Hunt told us “their intermodal business is doing well, and they’re bullish on it,” he said. Intermodal in general has picked up significant market share, and Fuller said the efficiencies that would be generated by a merger of Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) is likely to accelerate that trend.

“And this is what the truckers are fighting right now and this is what brokers are fighting, a deterioration in the volume available to them because of intermodal,” Fuller said.

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New UP-NS Louisville intermodal hauling for GE Appliances

Norfolk Southern on Monday said that its new domestic interline service with Union Pacific out of Louisville is now shipping for anchor customers including GE Appliances.

The bi-directional service opens a new gateway connecting Kentucky’s manufacturing base to key domestic markets and global trade corridors via western and southwestern ports.
“This new service underscores our commitment to helping American manufacturers expand and compete in new markets,” said Ed Elkins, Norfolk Southern executive vice president and chief commercial officer, in a release. “Kentucky is a pivotal production and distribution hub, and, if approved, a true coast-to-coast railroad stands to unlock even greater opportunities for growth and connectivity in the years ahead.”

The railroads in late July announced an agreement for UP (NYSE: UNP) to acquire NS (NYSE: NSC) in an historic deal that would create the first coast-to-coast transcontinental freight railroad. The merger requires approval by the Surface Transportation Board, which could receive the railroads’ formal application as soon as November.

Carriers cite Kentucky manufacturing momentum

Kentucky is a national leader in consumer goods manufacturing, ranking in the top 10 states with more than 6,000 facilities employing 260,000 contributing $47.5 billion annually to the state’s GDP. It specializes in electric vehicle battery production, automotive, aerospace, and bourbon exports. Louisville offers direct access to major highways, rail lines, and inland ports, along with ample skilled labor.

Norfolk Southern in Louisville has so far focused on international intermodal, and has modified its terminal footprint to expand parking and track capacity to better serve the domestic market.

“Louisville is the heart of American manufacturing and the intersection where location, innovation and logistics meet to ship goods and services to people across the country and around the world,” said Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, in the release. “Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific’s investment to build a new domestic rail service between Louisville and key West Coast and Southern markets is proof that the future of business and manufacturing runs straight through our city.”

GE Appliances, a Haier company, in Louisville operates its Appliance Park campus of five major manufacturing plants and the company’s global headquarters. The site contributes $12.8 billion annually to Kentucky’s gross domestic product, and supports more than 38,000 jobs. GE’s recent investments include a $490 million expansion to bring washer production back to the United States with smart factory technologies such as automation, robotics, and vertical integration. The expansion will also create 800 new full-time jobs.
“The Norfolk Southern Appliance Park domestic intermodal ramp is a strategic gateway for GE Appliances, supporting our continued growth,” said Adam Wiseman, senior director of logistics responsible for strategy, inventory & deployment at GE Appliances, in the release. “This service strengthens our ability to deliver innovation at scale and reach customers faster and more efficiently while also removing trucks from the highway.”

Scalable service across a range of industries

The rail service will deliver scalable capacity and flexible solutions for customers across a range of industries including automotive, consumer goods, food and beverage, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Norfolk Southern will interchange with UP and its western network via the latter’s new Kansas City Intermodal Terminal, with onward connections to Los Angeles, Lathrop, Calif., Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City and Houston. NS serves a range of destinations via 54 intermodal ramps including major ports on the East and Gulf coasts, and Great Lakes.
“Our customers want optionality and fast, reliable freight service that allows them to compete and expand into new markets. This new intermodal service gives them a critical transportation tool to win, providing reliable access to western and southern markets, while leveraging Union Pacific’s expanded Kansas City Intermodal Terminal in the Midwest,” said Kenny Rocker, executive vice president – marketing and sales at Union Pacific, in the release.

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Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

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USPS tried to ban immigrant truck drivers — it went horribly

US Postal Service long-haul truck on the highway.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean P. Duffy recently announced an emergency interim final rule to restrict non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs), causing significant disruptions in the trucking and supply chain industries. Issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on September 29, 2025, the rule addresses widespread abuse in the issuance of these licenses to immigrants. The rule requires that states immediately stop issuing new non-domiciled CDLs, but created a two-year phase in period before all non-domiciled CDLs are invalidated.

Non-domiciled CDLs, originally intended in 2017 to allow drivers residing in one state to obtain a license in another, evolved to include non-U.S. residents, sometimes without proper work permits. A DOT audit revealed that at least 200,000 such licenses were issued, with over 25% in California improperly granted.

In March 2019, FMCSA provided regulatory guidance stating that foreign drivers with employment permits or unexpired passports and CBP Arrival/Departure Records could obtain non-domiciled CDLs. However, many states failed to verify permits or align expiration dates, leading to concerns over fraud and safety.

The growth of these licenses coincided with an explosive increase in trucking capacity, contributing to the longest freight recession in history due to a glut of truck drivers.

USPS Implementation and Rapid Reversal

A few weeks ago, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) implemented a policy banning the loading of contractors using drivers with non-domiciled CDLs, aligning with evolving federal guidelines on immigration and transportation. Facilities were instructed not to load trailers hauled by such drivers as part of efforts to improve safety across a network of asset carriers and brokers handling local, regional, and cross-country work.

The policy’s impact was immediate, resulting in canceled loads and widespread disruptions. USPS operations, heavily reliant on these drivers, saw trips missed and sorts delayed, exposing vulnerabilities in the postal linehaul network.

Within days, USPS reversed the ban, deeming the service and cost impacts too severe for an abrupt change. This highlighted the critical role non-domiciled drivers play in mail delivery reliability.

Key Insights from Leadership

Pete Routsolias, USPS SVP of Logistics, addressed suppliers in a call, explaining the reversal: “We didn’t understand the magnitude of how many people were using non-domiciled CDLs, and quite honestly, the amount of omits was astronomical. And right now, I am not willing to impact service that bad.” He added, “What we’re announcing is, as of right now, you can go back to using non-domiciled CDL drivers,” while emphasizing that other rules—such as English proficiency and two drivers per truck—still apply.

Initially, USPS planned a delayed ban until January 1, but supplier pushback led to indications that a full ban currently has an uncertain implementation date.

The proliferation of non-domiciled CDLs to immigrants has caught so many veteran trucking executives off-guard. For years, the trucking industry has been trying to understand how capacity had grown so substantially.

Since the FMCSA permitted foreigners to get a non-domiciled CDL in March 2019, over 200,000 have been issued. In that same period, the trucking industry has added more than 310,000 trucks, flooding the market with way too much capacity.

Due to the massive surge of trucking capacity, the trucking industry has been suffering from the longest downturn in history, we dubbed the Great Freight Recession. This freight recession started in March 2022 and has continued unabated ever since. The primary culprit: a way oversupplied trucking market. The elimination of non-domiciled CDLs pool will have a significant impact on the freight market as these drivers leave the service. After all, depending on how many of the 200,000 non-domiciled CDLs are currently active and hauling freight, it could wipe out 5%+ of all truckload capacity in the market.

The Administration’s other policies, including the English Language Proficiency (ELP) rule could have a big impact on capacity over time, as truck drivers that fail to speak, read, or understand English get put out of service. An insurance executive at a large agency suggested that at least 10% of the truck drivers on the road would fail an inspection if tested on their English language proficiency.
With all of the regulatory pressure to remove truck drivers from the industry which either have a non-domiciled CDL or lack English proficiency, a capacity crunch may happen sooner than later.

DAT execs in two forums discuss how it seeks to reshape the freight sector

CHATTANOOGA–Roper Technologies has a large portfolio of technology-focused companies. But on its third quarter earnings call Thursday, it was DAT that took center stage in the presentation by Roper executives who were overwhelmingly positive about how the loadboard giant–now a lot more than that–is performing.Coincidentally, Bill Driegert, the executive vice president of the Convoy Platform at DAT, spoke in a fireside chat with FreightWaves and SONAR CEO Craig Fuller a day before the earnings release at the FreightWaves Festival of Freight (F3), discussing the “load board wars.”

Fuller said DAT for many years was perceived as “this really big company that isn’t doing anything, like a sleepy friendly giant. It was sort of a benign monopolist.”

“I recognize that the company is making an effort to make their products better,” Fuller said. “The acquisitions show a road map that was not apparent before.”

The financial performance of DAT was not broken out in the Roper earnings call Thursday, a day after the Driegert fireside chat.

But even as praise was being heaped on the segment, Roper management conceded the Convoy data stack DAT recently bought from Flexport is not profitable. Optimism was the prevailing management view about the ability of the Convoy acquisition to pay off in the long term.

No profits from Convoy purchase yet

Neil Hunn, president and CEO of Roper (NASDAQ: ROP), said in his prepared comments on the earnings call that the acquisition of Convoy was “an unusual transaction for us as it is currently not profitable, but we expect the financial returns over the next several years to be extremely attractive,” according to a transcript.

The tech stack acquired from digital broker Convoy, which shut its doors two years ago, is a prime candidate to scale up, Hunn said. It will do so, he said, by “leveraging DAT’s advantaged customer unit economics for both brokers and carriers to drive sustained growth and profitability.”

Hunn discussed broader trends in AI that are impacting various Roper subsidiaries. These subsidiaries are “already seeing measurable yet early product and commercial results.”

“DAT exemplifies this strategy in action, evolving from a traditional freight matching network to a fully automated freight marketplace powered by AI,” Hunn said. “Through this transformation, DAT is unlocking significant efficiency and economic value for brokers and carriers alike, positioning itself for improved high-quality growth.”

A trifecta of deals

The Convoy tech stack was not the only recent DAT acquisition. It purchased Trucker Tools in December and Outgo in May.

The Trucker Tools app has a wide variety of applications, some as mundane as a guide to truck stops but others more complex like the ability to book a load on the platform.

Outgo is an online tool that offers payment and other financial services to drivers and fleets.

A slide about DAT’s structure presented in conjunction with the earnings report said DAT has “all the components to transform the freight ecosystem.” It listed those capabilities: load board scale, data & analytics, visibility & tracking, payments platform and an automation & compliance platform, with many of those coming out of the recent acquisitions.

The end result is what DAT says is “one-click automation.”

Hunn offered some statistics on DAT. It has more than 1.2 million loads posted and 15 million rate views each day.

Now, with the recent acquisitions in the fold, Hunn said, “DAT is building capabilities across the entire freight automation workflow from carrier vetting to broker carrier matching to AI-driven rate negotiation, load management tracking and finally, payment and settlement.”

The anticipated savings from the capabilities provided by these tools will produce savings of $100 to $200 per load “while giving carriers greater predictability and faster payments on their invoices,” Hunn said.

The Trucker Tools app has a wide variety of applications, some as mundane as a guide to truck stops but others more complex like the ability to book a load on the platform. Outgo is an online tool that offers payment and other financial services to drivers and fleets.

The strategy of the recent acquisitions and folding them into DAT, Hunn said, is the next step after the deep penetration of DAT into the trucking market, and then looking “how do you just scaffold more value on both sides of the network.”

Hunn said the goal is to “integrate the capability into the TMS of every broker so it’s native.” He said early results of the expanded capabilities of the DAT system were “sold out on the broker front.”

Building a Convoy substitute would have been tough

Responding to an analyst’s question, Hunn said the Convoy acquisition was “very much a buy versus build” choice. The algorithms in the Convoy system are “very complicated and complex,” describing them as more machine learning than AI.

“There’s a very large group of talented engineers that came with the acquisition,” Hunn said. “They’re now part of the DAT sort of franchise. And so it’s unique in that it’s money losing at the moment, but it’s like the final piece to sort of manifest the strategy of DAT.”

Driegert said recent management changes that began about two years ago were first focused on stabilizing the main load board, which had experienced various difficulties. But after that, he said, a focus began to switch to product development which became the “acquisition-driven strategy” that manifested itself in the purchases of the Convoy tech stack, Trucker Tools and Outgo.

He added that the Convoy acquisition has been “particularly beneficial” in DAT’s efforts to fight fraud on its platform. Additionally, Trucker Tools provides a wealth of data about its users that can then be integrated into the DAT platform to identify potential scammers. “We can start to parse that all together to get a more accurate data set,” Driegert said.

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Is Union Pacific Trump ballroom donation Vena’s merger knockout punch?

Not only is Union Pacific Chief Executive Jim Vena a former locomotive engineer who literally built his career from the track up, he’s also a former hockey player who often boasts publicly about mixing it up along the boards in order to move the puck.

So it came as little surprise when it was revealed that UP (NYSE: UNP) was on a list of 37 donors who have contributed toward construction of President Donald Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom.

No details including the amounts of the donations were disclosed from donors that include Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and T-Mobile. Trump has said that the project would be privately funded.

Contractors last week demolished most of the White House’s historic East Wing to clear the way for the 90,000-square foot President Donald J. Trump Ballroom.

It’s the latest move in a public campaign by Vena to win support for the historic $85 billion acquisition of eastern carrier NS (NYSE: NSC) in July. If approved, the merger would create the first U.S. transcontinental freight railroad and reshape the North American rail industry.

A Union Pacific spokesperson told FreightWaves that the company had no comment.

Some observers inside and outside railroading have all but conceded that approval is a foregone conclusion. But the merger has failed to generate sustained excitement on Wall Street, where UP’s shares are trading more than 10% lower than when the deal was first announced.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick earlier praised the plan, as did Trump during a visit by Vena to the Oval Office visit in September. Prior to that Trump fired Robert Primus, a Joe Biden appointee and former chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, which will approve or deny the merger. Primus was the only vote against the Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CPR)-Kansas City Southern merger in 2023.

Vena also won the backing of SMART-TD, UP’s largest labor union, in exchange for post-merger job guarantees. Some of the largest intermodal companies that stand to benefit the most from a single-line coast-to-coast rail route have also blessed the deal.

The Justice Department will ultimately make a recommendation on the merger to the STB; the formal application could be filed as soon a next month.

UP’s western rival, BNSF, has been vocal in its opposition to mergers in general. Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett of parent Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) has said that the company won’t bid for NS or other eastern Class I carrier CSX (NASDAQ: CSX). The latter’s then-CEO Joe Hinrichs rejected initial merger overtures from UP, which led to his being replaced by Steve Angel.

Chemical and petroleum shippers have kept up a steady drumbeat opposing the merger, saying it will result in poor service, reduce rail competition and higher freight rates.

During Trump’s first administration, at least one railroad industry trade association seeking approval of its legislative agenda booked an event at Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel, which soon became a point of entry for entities seeking to curry favor with the federal decision-making machinery.

Trump sold the hotel after he was defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 election.