Planned US-Mexico rail route advances with environmental report

The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis has issued its final Environmental Impact Statement for the Green Eagle Railroad, a 1.3-mile line that would be part of a new 19-mile rail route and bridge connecting Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negas, Mexico.

The Green Eagle Railroad would be part of a secure corridor for BNSF and Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) traffic, including a new double-track bridge across the Rio Grande.

The report addresses two route alternatives, the Southern and Northern rail alternatives, and recommends mitigation action in three areas: Sound barriers on bridges to address noise; archaeological surveys and monitoring of construction sites to address possible archaeological deposits; and measures to protect potential threatened or endangered species and migratory birds.

A preliminary report had been released in March. The final report was developed after a comment period that included 104 written or verbal submissions from 92 commenters; the final report says none of those comments “required additional analysis or substantive changes to the text of the draft EIS.”

The 150-page final document is available here, with 709 pages of appendices available here. The matter now goes to the STB for a final decision.

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DHL moves early to renew Cargojet contract until 2033

Yellow DHL cargo aircraft rest beside a blue-white Cargojet freighter at an airport, with tugs on the ground.

Canadian airline Cargojet has extended its long-term transport agreement with integrated carrier DHL Express until March 31, 2033, and reduced DHL’s potential ownership stake in the company from 9.5% to 6.6% in exchange for renewing the deal two years before it expired, the companies announced Wednesday.

The revised freight services contract is projected to deliver $2.3 billion in revenue for Cargojet. DHL has the right to extend the agreement two times for two-year terms, potentially stretching the deal until March 2037.

In early July, Cargojet extended its contract with Amazon for four years. The contract now runs until March 31, 2029. 

Cargojet began flying in DHL’s express package network in 2005. It now provides bundled lease packages that include aircraft, crews and mechanics to fly freight; crew and maintenance in cases where DHL provides its own freighter aircraft; and charter service for short-term capacity needs. Cargojet has a fleet of more than 40 Boeing 767 and 757 freighters. Some of DHL’s volume moves in Cargojet’s domestic Canadian overnight network in which capacity is shared by various customers. 

Cargojet’s current contract with DHL was signed in March 2022 and was scheduled to run five years. The companies cemented their partnership with the issuance of warrants giving DHL 9.5% of Cargojet shares after a seven-year vesting period. 

Cargojet operates five to six flights per day from its hub near Toronto to DHL’s hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), and supports DHL’s express network with daily flights between CVG and Mexico, South America and the Caribbean.

Cargojet Executive Chairman Ajay Virmani told analysts during an earning’s presentation the following day that the refreshed partnership agreement benefits both sides by reducing ownership dilution for Cargojet and reducing the number of warrants DHL needs to buy to secure a minority investment, while also lowering the strike price from CA$150.

“The contractually different is that the warrants that we have now reissued, which are a lot less, the strike price is different. And the most importantly, the revenue associated with warrants that they have been delivered is more geared towards growth than maintaining the business. So the interest aligned from that, that they’re interested in growing with us based on our performance, our flexibility, our willingness to do more than anybody else. And we wanted to make sure that we refreshed the agreement two years early,” he said. “we could have lived with an outdated agreement that did not motivate the customer or us to do anything different. So a two-year earlier renewal refreshes the whole agreement, the commercial terms, adds the minimum block hours, adds the minimum number of planes and certainly rejuvenates the whole partnership.”

Under the expanded partnership, DHL will continue to guarantee a minimum amount of paid flight hours per month and give Cargojet preference to fly additional routes as it adjusts its global network to meet shipping demand. Cargojet will also terminate the warrants to acquire more than 1.6 million voting shares and instead issue warrants giving DHL the right to acquire 1 million shares at a price of $67.90 per share over a period of eight years, with vesting tied to DHL delivering up to $3.2 billion in business volume during the period. 

(Updated on Aug. 7, 2025, at 12 p.m.)

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

Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

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In brief comments, Trimble CEO introduces new product for matching capacity with shippers

Quarterly earnings at the Transport & Logistics (T&L) segment of Trimble Inc. for the second quarter were the first for a full quarter since it closed the sale of its telematics division in February.

But while that complex divestiture was impacting some of its financial numbers, the earnings report also gave Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) an opportunity to signal a new upcoming offering from the T&L segment, Freight Marketplace. 

On the earnings call with analysts, Trimble CEO Rob Painter mentioned Freight Marketplace briefly, saying the company was “accelerating our rollout in the U.S.” There was no other mention of it during the call or in the company’s earnings release.

Freight Marketplace, Painter said, “enables real time capacity sourcing for shippers, carriers and brokers.”

On the website dedicated to Freight Marketplace, Trimble described the product as one that “empowers shippers and carriers to seamlessly connect, negotiate, and succeed with a global network.”

“Combining the functions of a procurement solution with the dynamics of a marketplace to enable real-time capacity sourcing and collaboration,” the company said about Freight Marketplace on the website. “Expand your network, gain higher win rates, and optimize your ability to unlock unprecedented growth with our digital freight marketplace.”

It isn’t a load board

If that sounds something like a load board, a spokeswoman for Trimble said that was not the case.

A load board, the spokeswoman said in an email to FreightWaves, has as a drawback that “shippers and carriers do not necessarily know who they’re dealing with, and have to manage through volatile freight rates & negotiations, capacity constraints, carrier reliability issues, etc.”

The capabilities of Freight Marketplace, she added, include “AI-enabled carrier verifications of documents and certifications to reduce time and risk; ability to find trusted partners with detailed service offerings, verified information, and specified expertise; (and) fair and competitive bidding transparency for better RFQ, mini bid or spot request outcomes.”

Freight Marketplace was made possible through the Trimble acquisition in 2023 of Transporeon,  which at the time was Europe-based. Freight Marketplace is built on the Transporeon platform.

The rollout of the product is in “early adoption,” the spokeswoman said.  “There will be more news on Freight Marketplace coming very soon.”

As to the earnings report, figuring out how well Trimble’s T&L group did in the second quarter requires something other than an apples-to-apples comparison, given Trimble’s sale earlier this year of its telematics business that included its ELD product offering.

On the surface, the T&L group, which is a major provider of transportation management systems, saw a large drop in revenue in the second quarter of 2025 compared to 2024. But that would be expected, given its sale of the telematics business, known formally as Trimble Mobility, to venture capital-backed Platform Science. The sale closed in February.

That deal was not a cash transaction. Instead, Trimble took back a 32.5% stake in Platform Science.

Revenue at T&L fell to $132.7 million from $191.8 million a year earlier. Operating income declined to $28.6 million from $35.9 million. 

Telematics divestiture may be positive for margins

But in one regard, the sale may have made the T&L segment more profitable. Operating margin at the T&L segment in the second quarter of 2025 was 21.6%. A year ago, with the now-sold telematics business still in the segment, the margin was 18.7%.

For the first half of 2025, the operating margin was 19.6%, compared to 18.7% in the first half of 2024. 

In the company’s revised–and improved–forecast for the rest of the year, Trimble said the T&L segment is projected to have 8% organic revenue growth and 8% annual recurring revenue growth, the latter being an improvement on first quarter numbers. It also said its current margins were impacted by stranded costs from the divestiture of Mobility. 

Surging stock price

Trimble’s stock has been on a roll for many months. The stock rose $1.43 Wednesday to $84.13, an increase of 1.73%. That marks a 12-month increase of 63.3%, a 3-month increase of 32.9, and a one-month increase of 6.7%, according to Barchart.

The relatively small increase in the Trimble stock price Wednesday came despite a stronger forecast for the rest of the year. Trimble’s updated outlook is to generate revenue for the company as a whole of between $3.48 and $3.56 billion this year, with non-GAAP earnings per share between $2.90 and $3.06. Its earlier forecast was revenue of $3.37 to $3.47 billion and non-GAAP earnings of between $2.76 and $2.98.

T&L is the smallest of the three segments. Its AECO segment had revenue in the quarter of $350.3 million, and its Field Systems segment brought in $392.7 million. AECO is derived from Architects, Engineers, Construction and Owners, the target audience. 

Field Services primarily sells its products to the surveying industry as well as construction activities related to that. The AECO segment primarily serves customers working in architecture, engineering, construction, design, asset management, operations, and maintenance.

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Waabi introduces mixed reality testing system for autonomous truck safety

Waabi autonomous truck

Waabi, an autonomous trucking technology leader, has introduced a new mixed reality testing (MRT) system that transforms the way autonomous vehicles are tested. The technology works by blending physical test environments with sophisticated virtual scenarios.

In an interview with FreightWaves, Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO of Waabi, recently talked about how this technology creates virtual scenarios for autonomous trucks operating on physical test tracks.

“In the industry, we often talk about driving in the physical world as one type of testing, and we also discuss simulation, where we run scenarios in the cloud at scale,” said Urtasun. “But one aspect that’s discussed less is how safety testing is really done today, and that’s where mixed reality comes in.”

Traditional safety testing for vehicles has remained largely unchanged for a century. Testing teams bring vehicles to closed tracks and conduct a limited number of scripted scenarios that require complex coordination similar to movie stunts. A downside to this approach is that it yields minimal test diversity, offers poor repeatability and avoids truly dangerous scenarios to prevent damage to test vehicles. It’s also expensive.

Waabi’s MRT system overcomes these limitations by intercepting sensor data from the physical world and blending it with simulation. This creates an environment where autonomous trucks can safely encounter virtually unlimited dangerous situations without physical risk.

“Imagine putting goggles on a self-driving vehicle so it sees things that aren’t there but reacts to them,” Urtasun explained. “Suddenly, you can expose the system to unavoidable accidents and scenarios impossible to stage safely in the real world.”

In a blog post, Waabi adds that the technology enables instantaneous creation of complex scenarios including traffic jams, dangerous driving behaviors and unpredictable pedestrian movements.

The secret sauce is the use of generative AI and neural simulations rather than traditional physics-based simulation to achieve the required level of realism. This allows Waabi to create thousands of tests as vehicles drive continuously on a test track, generating precise performance metrics automatically.

This technology has significantly accelerated Waabi’s development process as the company reached feature-complete status earlier this year. Waabi’s autonomous system now has all capabilities needed to operate without a human driver. Only Waabi and Aurora have reached this milestone in long-haul trucking.

These developments come as Waabi announced back in February a strategic partnership with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks. To date, Toronto-based Waabi has raised a total of $280 million, with its most recent round, a $200 million Series B back in 2024, including participation from strategic investors Nvidia, Volvo Group Venture Capital, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Scania Invest and Ingka Investments, among others.

Fresh Del Monte and CMA CGM shift to containerized produce to improve quality

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. and the CMA CGM Group have unveiled a strategic shift in the transport of bananas and pineapples from the Philippines to Northeast Asia by adopting containerized shipping, a move intended to enhance cold‐chain logistics and raise quality standards for perishable exports. The partnership marks a departure from traditional breakbulk methods that have typically been used in these routes.

Under the new arrangement, the two companies are deploying full refrigerated containers on two key shipping corridors. The JP8 route now delivers produce directly from Davao to Japan’s major ports, Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, and Moji, while the BMX service provides a stable weekly connection to Busan in South Korea. These routes are operated through CNC, CMA CGM’s intra‑Asia short sea specialist. 

Historically, bananas and pineapples destined for Japan and Korea were loaded and unloaded multiple times aboard breakbulk vessels, exposing them to temperature fluctuations and handling stress. This method has been associated with increased spoilage rates and inconsistent fruit quality. The new containerized model places produce inside climate‑controlled units that function as mobile cold‑rooms throughout transit, minimizing handling, sustaining consistent temperatures, and reducing waste.

Raul Saca, Senior Vice‑President of Global Logistics at Fresh Del Monte, said in a news release, “Customer satisfaction starts long before the fruit reaches the shelf—it begins with how we move it. By transitioning to dedicated container vessels, we’re not only improving cold chain reliability and minimizing damage but also creating a more agile, scalable logistics model that better serves our retail partners across Asia.”

Incorporated into the new shipping system are CMA CGM’s CLIMACTIVE controlled‑atmosphere containers and smart container technologies. These systems slow down ripening, preserve nutritional content, and enable real‑time monitoring of conditions during transit, offering extended visibility over the cold chain.

 Bo Wegener, Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM Asia Pacific, added that the collaboration reflects both firms’ shared, “This partnership with Fresh Del Monte reflects our shared commitment to innovation, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. In addition to benefits from containerization, CMA CGM’s expertise in fruits and fresh produce logistics offers improved solutions that add value to both producers and consumers.”

Beyond quality improvements, the containerized approach delivers environmental advantages. Its greater operational efficiency lowers carbon emissions by minimizing unnecessary handling and streamlining logistics. CMA CGM has pledged to reach net‑zero carbon by 2050, while Fresh Del Monte is committed to science‑based emissions reduction targets.

Maersk warns US against unilateral shipping rules

Maersk Evora

WASHINGTON — A unilateral strategy to prevent foreign ship owners and operators from undercutting America’s trade interests could backfire if US regulators decide to take that approach, shipping giant Maersk warns.

In comments filed in response to the Federal Maritime Commission’s flag registry investigation, Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) recognized the need to crack down on flag states with weak regulations and enforcement measures that can be exploited by vessel owners and operators to undermine fair competition.

But FMC’s effort to raise standards for so-called flags of convenience – registries with relatively little regulatory oversight – could be potentially harmful for the industry, according to Maersk, if the agency were to create its own enforcement regime, such as a national list of “approved” or “unapproved” flag registries.

“International shipping is inherently a cross-border global industry, and only international rules can secure a level playing field,” the company told the agency.

“A situation whereby countries or regional entities start to develop their own lists of approved or banned flags would in our opinion lead to potential situations where certain regions may weaponize national flag lists, also against U.S. interests. This would inevitably lead to more inefficient and more costly global trade patterns.”

Maersk acknowledged that some flag states lack the ability or political will to rigorously enforce standards. It pointed out, however, that existing oversight by the International Maritime Organisation and other international agreements provide a framework for improvement.

“Only by reinforcing the existing international regime can we maintain a level competitive playing field while safeguarding the safety of seafarers, the environment, and the integrity of global trade.”

Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research group specializing in trade-based financial crime, believes the FMC should take the opposite approach. It recommends that the agency establish its own regulations to address the issue.

“GFI believes that [FMC] efforts to influence responsible flagging laws outside the United States will be ineffective,” wrote GFI President and CEO Tom Cardamone, in comments to the agency. “Rather, the United States should take measures … to inoculate against harmful practices most associated with [flags of convenience] ships.”

To support that strategy, Cardamone cited research GFI conducted in 2022 on seizures made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of goods taken from foreign vessels. Between 2018 and 2021, in instances where CBP publicly disclosed the name of the ship, more than half of the cases revealed that the ship was flying a flag of convenience, GFI’s research found.

“Given that about 30 percent of commercial vessels globally fly flags of convenience, we see the higher incidence of [flag of convenience] ships related to CBP seizures as significant,” Cardamone stated.

Based on this data and reports linking flag of convenience ships with a higher likelihood of operating unsafe and non-compliant vessels, GFI recommended, among other things, that FMC, CBP, and the U.S. Coast Guard deem ships flying flags of convenience as “having an inherent increased risk to the United States,” and that the FMC implement regulations that require mandatory safety inspections for all such ships.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.

What Brazil’s ‘Egg King’ Buying Hillandale Farms Means for US Eggs and Freight

Brazilian entrepreneur Ricardo Faria, dubbed the “Egg King,” has acquired one of America’s largest egg producers, Hillandale Farms, for $1.1 billion through his Global Eggs company. The March 2025 deal wrapped up in May and marks another significant foreign acquisition in the US food sector, following a pattern that has seen Smithfield Foods sold to China’s WH Group in 2013 for $4.7 billion and Anheuser-Busch acquired by Belgian-Brazilian InBev in 2008 for $52 billion.

The acquisition comes at an important time when egg prices have been volatile due to repeated bird flu outbreaks, supply chain disruptions, and fires at major production facilities. For the freight industry, this sale represents a shift in control over one of the most transportation-intensive food products in the US.

The Hillandale Empire Moves Huge Freight Volume

Hillandale Farms ranks as the fourth largest egg producer in the US, housing 18.34 million layers across production facilities in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast. What made Hillandale unique in the industry was its fully vertically integrated operations the company controlled everything from breeding chickens and producing feed to transportation and distribution.

Hillandale operates a fleet of approximately 250 trailers to transport eggs throughout New England, from Maine down to the Carolinas, with about 40 trucks and 100 trailers primarily traveling major highways through large cities. This extensive transportation network moves millions of dozens of eggs weekly to major retailers and distributors, making it a significant player in food freight.

The company’s transportation-intensive model extends beyond just egg delivery. As a fully integrated operation, Hillandale also manages:

  • Feed transportation from mills to farms
  • Live chicken transport between facilities
  • Equipment and supply distribution
  • Waste and byproduct hauling

Foreign Food Control

The Hillandale sale continues a trend of foreign control over critical US food infrastructure. China now controls more than a quarter of US pig production through Smithfield Foods, while Brazil-based JBS has a 14% market share, meaning two foreign companies control two-fifths of US pig production.

The deal will double Global Eggs’ production output, giving the combined company 2024 revenue of about $2 billion. As part of the acquisition, Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual will invest $300 million in Global Eggs in exchange for an 11% stake.

Unlike the Smithfield acquisition, which faced significant political resistance, the Hillandale sale has received minimal mainstream media coverage despite occurring during a period of elevated egg prices and supply concerns.

Hillandale has faced significant operational challenges in recent years that likely influenced the sale decision:

Bird Flu Devastation: The company’s Ohio facilities were hit by bird flu outbreaks that resulted in the culling of roughly 3 million chickens, disrupting production and requiring expensive biosecurity measures.

Catastrophic Fires: In early 2023, a fire at Hillandale’s Connecticut facility killed an estimated 100,000 hens, further straining supply.

Facility Closures: The company permanently shut down its Turner, Maine operations in December 2024, citing high costs of doing business in Maine and expensive feed transportation. Since 2015, the Maine facility had scaled down production by approximately two-thirds, from 2.3 million birds to under 500,000.

These setbacks contributed to the broader egg supply issues that have plagued American consumers, with wholesale egg prices reaching as high as $8.16 per dozen earlier this year before recent declines.

Transportation and Freight Implications

The sale has several implications for freight and transportation, especially for small carriers and owner-operators who rely on payment terms to keep their cash flow flowing. When Inbev purchased Anheuser-Busch payment terms went to 180 days, which removed many small fleet operators from the AB Inbev freight ecosystem unless they had serious backing or a terrific factor. 

Brazilian Import Competition: US imports of Brazilian eggs surged 93% in February 2025, as the US has boosted imports from Brazil due to domestic supply constraints. With a Brazilian company now controlling a major US producer, questions arise about future import strategies and potential supply redirection during crises.

Vertical Integration Under Foreign Control: Hillandale’s integrated model means the new Brazilian owners control not just egg production, but the entire supply chain, including transportation networks, feed mills, and distribution systems.

Regulatory Oversight: Hillandale operates under multiple USDOT numbers across different states, with transportation operations that will now ultimately answer to foreign ownership.

Supply Chain Security: During the 2022-2023 egg crisis, Hillandale’s integrated model and transportation capabilities were crucial for maintaining supply to major markets. That infrastructure is now foreign-controlled.

The Freight Data Reality

The egg industry represents a significant portion of agricultural freight. According to industry data:

  • Total truck tonnage is projected to rise from 11.27 billion tons in 2024 to 13.99 billion tons in 2035
  • Agricultural freight, including perishable foods like eggs, faces increased costs with maintenance averaging $14,000 annually for owner-operators

The Brand Reality Behind Egg Production

A little-known industry reality is that many premium organic and cage-free brands source from the same large producers, with differences often coming down to feed composition and housing systems rather than entirely separate operations. Store brand trailers regularly load alongside organic name-brand eggs that sell for four to five times the price at the same grocers.

Industry analysis shows Hillandale operates as “an industrialized organic brand that focuses on profit margin rather than dedication to organic ideals,” providing outdoor access strips rather than true pasture systems. This raises questions about whether Brazilian ownership will maintain even current welfare standards.

Concentration and Control

The acquisition transforms Global Eggs into a major international player with significant presence in North America, South America, and Europe. Faria noted plans for a potential IPO of Global Eggs on the New York Stock Exchange.

US antitrust enforcers are already investigating whether America’s top egg producers are engaged in illegal price fixing, with wholesale egg prices spiking 255%. In comparison, only 15% of the egg-laying flock was killed by bird flu.

The Hillandale sale represents more than just another corporate transaction. It’s the latest transfer of critical American food infrastructure to foreign control, with significant implications for supply chains, transportation networks, and ultimately food security. The freight industry should closely monitor how these ownership changes affect routing, pricing, and supply reliability in the months ahead.

The deal’s low profile compared to previous high-profile foreign acquisitions of American food companies may reflect timing and media attention cycles. Still, the implications for transportation and food security are no less significant.

Trimac expands flatbed offering with Searcy Trucking acquisition

a flatbed trailer with center beams being pulled by a tractor on a highway

Canadian bulk hauler Trimac Transportation announced on Wednesday that it has acquired flatbed and heavy haul carrier Searcy Trucking.

Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Searcy operates a fleet of more than 120 trucks and 170 trailers, serving the construction, agriculture and manufacturing industries. The 56-year-old company also has 20,000 square feet of storage space and provides transloading, warehousing and distribution services.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal closed last week.

“By combining strengths, we are creating even more value for customers and expanding what is possible for our teams across North America,” said Matt Faure, Trimac president and CEO, in a news release.

Searcy will continue to operate under its current banner, with its leadership team remaining in place.

Trimac said the deal improves its flat deck, less-than-truckload and specialized transportation offerings in Western Canada and in the U.S. Midwest. Trimac acquired flatbed carrier Watt & Stewart in January.

“Becoming part of Trimac allows us to carry that legacy forward with a partner who respects where we’ve come from and shares a vision for where we’re going,” said Norm Blagden, president of Searcy Trucking. “This is the right next step for our employees, our customers and the future of specialized transportation.”

Trimac operates more than 140 locations in the U.S. and Canada with a team of 3,400 employees.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

From event to improvement: 7 steps for turning dash cam alerts into driver coaching

truck driver getting into a truck

Dash cameras are great at capturing risky moments on the road, but the real power lies in what happens after the footage rolls.

“A well-structured coaching workflow transforms dash cam events into meaningful behavior change, reducing risk and building a culture of safety,” says Tom Bray, senior industry business advisor at J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc..

That transformation isn’t hypothetical. A 2019 Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study found that carriers using video-based coaching saw major improvements. One group reported a 49% average drop in DOT crash rates, while others saw double-digit improvements in their CSA BASIC scores for unsafe driving and crash indicators.

So, how do carriers move from alert to actual improvement? Here’s how fleets can make the most of dash cam data—without turning the process into a recordkeeping spiral.

Step 1: Start with smart detection

Good coaching starts with the right tools. Modern dash cams do more than just record—they flag incidents like speeding, hard braking, rolling stops and tailgating. The best systems use AI to tag what happened and why, then serve up short video clips to help managers assess what’s really going on.

A strong dash cam system includes road- and driver-facing views, real-time alerts and tools designed with coaching in mind.

Step 2: Decide what deserves attention

Not every alert needs immediate follow-up. Focus on the moments that signal serious risk, like texting while driving or blowing through a construction zone. Look for patterns: Is this a one-off or part of a bigger issue?

Here’s a sample list based on FMCSA disqualification criteria, crash prediction research and CSA severity weights:

High priority (immediate action required) 

  • Use or possession of drugs/alcohol in a CMV
  • Leaving the scene of an accident
  • Texting while driving
  • Reckless driving
  • Speeding 15+ mph over the limit
  • Failure to wear a seatbelt

Medium priority (coaching required)

  • Following too close
  • Failure to yield right of way
  • Improper lane change
  • Failure to obey traffic control devices
  • Speeding in a construction zone

Low priority (monitor or coach as needed)

  • Rolling stops on private property
  • Occasional and minor lane drift
  • Incomplete signaling

A tiered approach can help prioritize what gets coached right away versus what gets monitored over time. The key is making sure the response matches the severity of the behavior.

Step 3: Make coaching a conversation

Coaching is where the change happens. It should be timely, specific and collaborative. This isn’t about scolding, it’s about building safer habits together.

Start by watching the clip with the driver. Talk about the risk the behavior poses, then work together to find a better approach for next time. Keep the tone constructive: “What could you do differently?” works better than “Don’t ever do this again.”

Step 4: Assign targeted training when needed

If a behavior needs more than a quick conversation, it’s time for corrective action training (CAT). That might mean assigning a short, focused course—like one on following distance for drivers who tailgate or a refresher on attention management for those caught distracted.

These modules aren’t just check-the-box exercises, they’re targeted tools to help drivers get back on track.

“By focusing on CAT for improvement, carriers can reduce accidents, eliminate down time and foster a culture of continuous improvement,” Bray said.

The key to effective corrective action training is keeping the modules short, focused and relevant to the behavior, ensuring the main message doesn’t get overlooked. 

Step 5: Follow up

One conversation doesn’t fix a pattern. After coaching or training, carriers should circle back. This means reviewing new dash cam clips, scheduling a check ride or simply monitoring performance over time. Managers should let the driver know they are keeping an eye out. Accountability reinforces improvement.

Step 6: Document the whole process

Coaching only counts if there’s a record. If something goes wrong down the line and there’s no documentation, it can look like the company ignored red flags.

“If there are events in your system, but no records indicating that you counselled, coached and corrected the drivers involved, it appears that you are aware of — or should have been aware of — drivers that were underperforming, but took no action,” Bray said. “This could become an issue should a driver be involved in a serious crash that can be tied back to the behaviors that were evident in the events that you didn’t act upon.” 

To protect everyone involved, a good dash camera program should set a sunset date for each record. That way, old events don’t haunt drivers and carriers indefinitely.

Step 7: Celebrate the wins

This step often gets overlooked, but it matters. Carriers should recognize driver improvement. A quick shoutout when a driver handles a tough situation well can go a long way. Positive feedback helps shift the dash cam program from a punishment tool to a partnership for safety.

The bottom line

Dash cam alerts are just the beginning. With the right workflow in place, fleets can turn video events into lasting improvements—on the road, in driver habits and across the entire company culture. It’s not just about catching mistakes. It’s about building better drivers, safer fleets and stronger operations.

Uber Freight still a negative EBITDA but it’s improving

Uber Freight moved closer toward a positive EBITDA in the second quarter, but it isn’t there yet.

EBITDA at Uber Freight was negative $6 million, according to the company’s second quarter earnings released Wednesday. That was an improvement from the negative $7 million in the first quarter.

The results continue the streak where after posting positive EBITDA in the third and fourth quarters of 2022, Uber Freight has failed to bust through that breakeven point again.

However, the last two quarters have shown significant improvement in its negative EBITDA numbers. Uber Freight’s EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2024 was negative $22 million. A year ago, it was negative $12 million before sliding to negative $19 million in the third quarter before the big decline at the end of the year. 

The small shifts led to a slight improvement in the EBITDA margin as a percent of revenue, rising to negative 0.5% from negative 0.6%. In the fourth quarter, that number was negative 1.7%.

“Uber Freight is seeing strong momentum across our business, driven by continued growth in Transportation Management and brokerage, as well as improved margins,” a company spokeswoman said. “Our recent advancements in AI — including the launch of the industry’s first scaled AI logistics network powered by a proprietary large language model — are helping shippers automate execution, gain proactive intelligence, and unlock new efficiencies. We’re also seeing sustained strength in Intermodal, where volumes have grown significantly year-over-year as customers diversify their mode mix and benefit from our deep railroad partnerships.”

More than in the past, the company’s earnings report and conference call with analysts had nothing to say about its Freight division. There was no commentary in the earnings about the group’s performance, just a report on its financial numbers. There usually are a few sentences of comments on the company’s activities in the quarter; there were none this quarter.

References to Uber Freight on the parent company’s (NYSE: UBER) conference call with analysts are infrequent. There were none this quarter. 

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