Of floor mops, shiny candy … and battery packs

What do the colorful sheen of M&M chocolate candies, O-Cedar floor mops and battery packs for electric trucks have in common?

All three come from German industrial conglomerate Freudenberg Group. The company operates many other seemingly incongruous businesses from filtration to home cleaning products.

A history of handoffs

Freudenberg’s battery business is an appropriate Truck Tech topic. But not as tasty as chocolate candies, for which it makes the brilliant gloss and influences the initial taste through its Capol business unit.

The heavy-duty truck and bus battery cell and pack manufacturing plant in Midland, Michigan, is the survivor of Dow Chemical’s 2013 exit from a joint venture called Dow Kokam.

Freudenberg ePower Systems operates in Midland, Michigan, after a number of name changes. (Photo: Freudenberg)

Dow determined the battery business wasn’t worth pursuing, but it continues making materials for batteries. South Korea-based Kokam Co. became partly owned by private equity and real estate investor Townsend Ventures. Townsend bought 48% of the company in 2008. Dow held 50.1% of Kokam when the joint venture with Townsend was formed in 2009.

Back then, established companies and startups plowed resources into powering electric vehicles. But the slow adoption of EVs forced several to go out of business.

After Dow sold its stake in Kokam to Townsend, the business was renamed Xalt Energy. In 2018, Freudenberg purchased 50.1% of Xalt. It acquired the rest in September 2023, doing business as Freudenberg e-Power Systems.

Diversification play

“Freudenberg decided [it] wanted to get into the battery industry just for product diversification,” Lisa McKenzie, Freudenberg e-Power Systems president and general manager, told me. “We have always focused on the heavy-duty market … let’s say the more niche markets, which heavy duty still really kind of is.”

Lisa McKenzie, president of Freudenberg’s ePower Systems (Photo: Freudenberg)

Freudenberg’s $12.5 billion in 2023 total revenue contrasts with some less well-heeled competitors. Think about startup Romeo Power, whose Nikola-owned battery pack manufacturing assets were sold to Mullen Automotive in September 2023.

The Proterra Powered battery business was sold for $210 million to Sweden’s Volvo Group in its parent’s bankruptcy auction in November 2023.

McKenzie said her unit’s ability to design battery cells and the packs that contain them separates Freudenberg from competitors that offer only packs.

“It really helps to provide the pack team all of the necessary information about that cell to design around it, how to optimize its performance and ultimately keep it safe,” she said. “Having that all under one roof is one of the unique things about us.”

Challenges facing battery-powered trucks

Freudenberg is clear-eyed about the challenges batteries face in wide adoption for heavy-duty trucks. Energy density – how much charging power a battery provides – is chief among them. It has looked at chemistries like sodium but determined it is not ready for prime time.

“We’re absolutely open to developing products with a company that has some type of novel technology,” McKenzie said. “We’ve had a lot of conversations with organizations that have these great PowerPoint presentations. [But] when you try to dig into their data, you’re like, ‘No, you’re not there yet.’”

Freudenberg ePower Systems batteries in Midland, Michigan (Photo: Freudenberg)

Despite broad industry support for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry, lithium ion battery chemistry consisting of nickel, manganese and cobalt (NMC) is making progress in adding energy density.

“You now have what’s called cell-to-pack concepts, so you’re trying to take out as much of the structural, or non-energy, component, out of the battery pack to get the most out of it,” she said.

But the answer to better batteries lies in designing vehicles intentionally for battery packs. Most efforts today hack into an internal combustion engine design, McKenzie said.

“Trying to put battery packs on rooftops [or] shove them underneath, it’s just not efficient. It works, but it’s not the most efficient.”

Avoiding battery fires

Then there’s safety, about which McKenzie has a lot to say. Battery fire gets a lot of media attention, much more than traditional internal combustion engines that power most cars and trucks.

The euphemistic term “thermal runaway” has impacted several OEMs in the early days of Class 8 battery-electric trucks. Nikola, Volvo and Freightliner all have recalled trucks for actual or potential battery fires.

McKenzie questions whether LFP is safer than NMC chemistry.

“NMC has a really bad rep right now, and I think it’s a little unfair,” she said. “As long as you have a well-designed cell, it’s manufactured with good quality, you have a good BMS [battery management system] and a good battery pack design, then NMC is just as safe.”

Cummins Inc., Paccar Inc. and Daimler Truck North America are investing $2 billion to build an LFP cell manufacturing plant in Mississippi. Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. provides LFP batteries for the Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Europe. The new eActros 600 can travel 310 miles on a single charge.

“LFP has really been promoted heavily, but it will also go into a thermal runaway situation,” McKenzie said. “It’s not a hundred percent safe.”

Editor’s note: CORRECTS Copol unit’s role in candy manufacturing in headline and first and third paragraphs

Tipping the scales for RNG

California’s recent changes to its Low Carbon Fuel Standard give a boost to renewable natural gas (RNG) over other drop-in fuels.

The LCFS changes help solidify RNG as a transition fuel in California. The state is pushing for all-electric commercial vehicles in the next decade. The California Air Resources Board recently added $35 million to the incentive pot for electric truck purchases. That includes $5 million for the Zero Emission Truck Loan Project.

“The CARB LCFS amendments placed caps on the amount of soy and corn oil that can be used in renewable diesel production,” Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Engine Technology Forum, told me. “This will force renewable diesel fuel producers to make up the difference with other potentially more expensive feedstocks to produce renewable diesel.”

CARB’s adoption of carbon intensity reduction targets – 20% by 2030 and by 90% by 2045 – favors fuels like RNG. Additionally, a CARB regulation requiring dairy farms to manage their methane emissions could lead to additional RNG production.

About 98% of natural gas sold in California already comes from renewable sources like landfill gas, wastewater and dairy waste.

Hexagon Agility sees future LCFS benefits

“From an overall perspective, we see the LCFS amendments as a positive outcome and a reinforcement of CARB’s endorsement of RNG,” Ashley Remillard, natural gas system and tank maker Hexagon Agility senior vice president of legal and government affairs, said in an email.

“While we can’t necessarily quantify what sort of indirect benefit the LCFS program will bring to Hexagon Agility, we believe it will promote RNG investment and support the ultimate decarbonization of transportation fuel in California. The amendments will also be important in stabilizing LCFS credit pricing, which the industry has needed over the past several years.”

RNG’s negative carbon footprint compares favorably to diesel. But natural gas is less energy-efficient. A CNG system and tanks add about $100,000 to the upfront cost of a Class 8 truck. RNG works best when diesel is in the $3.75-to-$4-a-gallon price range. Diesel is selling for about $3.54 nationally.

Hexagon Agility in November showed off its new assembly plant that will install ultra-low-emission natural gas fuel systems onto refuse trucks, buses, street sweepers and semitrucks. The facility is in Rialto, near San Bernardino, California.

Refuse trucks running on compressed natural gas – usually renewable natural gas – will be upfitted at a new Hexagon Agility facility in Rialto, California. (Photo: Hexagon Agility)

“A combination of increased CO2 regulations in the transport sector and the introduction of Cummins’ next generation natural gas X15N engine, is propelling the energy transition in the U.S. heavy-duty truck sector,” Hans Peter Havdal, CEO Hexagon Agility, said in a Nov. 25 news release.

“The U.S. heavy-duty truck addressable market for natural gas solutions is expected to grow three-fold, from 100,000 vehicles/per year today, to 330,000/year starting in 2025.”

Briefly noted …

Multiple media reports say financially beleaguered Lion Electric has laid off 400 employees and paused production at its electric bus plant in Illinois.

Hyundai is following through on plans to use hydrogen-powered fuel cell Xcient trucks for inbound logistics. It has deployed 21 of them at its Metaplant in Ellabell, Georgia.

Hyundai Xcient fuel cell trucks arriving in Georgia for use in inbound logistics at the automaker’s Metaplant. (Photo: Hyundai)

Autonomous truck developer Torc is winding down operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Stuttgart, Germany, in favor of new operations in Dallas/Fort Worth and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Truck Tech Episode No. 93: Volvo shooting for best-in-class marks with Volvo VNR over-the-road flagship

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading and watching. Click here to subscribe and get Truck Tech delivered to your email on Fridays. And catch the latest episodes of the Truck Tech podcast and video shorts on the FreightWaves YouTube channel. Send your feedback on Truck Tech to Alan Adler at aadler@firecrown.com.

November trucking jobs see healthy rise; a one-time move or start of a trend?

The number of seasonally adjusted jobs in the truck transportation sector reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday could be viewed as either another data point in a rut of seven months or more in duration or the first sign of a breakout to the upside.

With the 2,900-job increase in November from a revised October figure, truck transportation jobs stood at 1,548,700 jobs. Supporting the view of the numbers as a rut is the fact that the November total was just 700 jobs higher than where truck transportation employment stood in May after a particularly large drop that month from April, or the fact that the job total is just 1,400 jobs fewer than where the figure stood a year ago.

Additional evidence for that perspective comes from the fact that since May, the lowest number of jobs was 1,545,000 in July and the highest number was the latest report, for a range of just 3,700 jobs.

However, the gain in jobs in November – 2,900 – was the largest one-month increase in more than a year, but more than two years if the impact of the Yellow shutdown is considered.

The increase for November was the largest since September 2023. But that month’s gain of 8,000 jobs (after later revisions) came after a decline of 31,600 in August, which was the month that Yellow shut its doors. That 8,000-job increase could be seen as something of a bounceback as former Yellow drivers found work.

Excluding that from the calculation, the gain of 2,900 jobs in November is the highest since a 3,800-job gain in October 2022. Since that time, the trend in employment has been steadily down, interrupted by an occasional upward bump. Jobs in October 2023 were 1,585,700; in November 2024, they were 37,000 fewer than that.

Possible reasons for the gain

David Spencer, the vice president of market intelligence at Arrive Logistics, said in an email to FreightWaves that several developments may have contributed to the job gain in November, which was outsize by recent standards.

“Coming off a few disruptions in the month of October from back to back hurricanes and a brief strike at the East and Gulf Coast Ports, carriers likely saw a pickup in access to better paying spot freight,” he said. “Following these disruptions there was optimism heading into peak retail season later in Q4, as well as a strong positive reaction from the trucking community around a new administration in the White House. We can confirm that we have seen increased demand and rate volatility consistent with traditional seasonality, a trend that was more absent a year ago.”

Spencer said “atypical” activity at ports is likely a result of fears about tariffs, as well as the anticipation of a renewal of the port strike next month.”

Mazen Danaf, an economist at Uber Freight, looked into the subsegment report that lags by a month.

He said employment in the long-distance truckload segment was down by 1,800 to its lowest level since October 2022, a 2.1% drop from the peak.

Wages in the long-distance truckload sector also remain 1.7% below their peak despite wage inflation in other sectors of the economy, suggesting that carriers continue to prioritize cost-cutting measures.

Only one more report will be calculated on the basis of the current model being used by the BLS. Starting with the report issued in early February, the annual changes to the model will be implemented in calculating January employment. The base number for the transportation and warehousing sector will be revised upward, in contrast to most other sectors, which the BLS has said will be reduced.

Downward move in warehouses

It isn’t just truck transportation where job totals have been in a narrow range. Warehousing jobs have been in a limited range, if not a rut, especially after the volatility of the pandemic.

Warehouse jobs totaled 1,772,200 in November, down 1,400 from a month earlier. After 12 months of ups and downs, warehouse jobs were a grand total of 100 fewer than they were a year ago.

After a huge decline in October 2023 that sliced almost 17,000 jobs off the total, warehouse sector jobs have been in a range with a low of 1,765,900 (March) and a high of 1,782,800 (July).

Economist Aaron Terrazas took special note of those warehouse jobs, as well as the courier segment, and said the decline was unusual at this time of year. (Courier jobs were down by 2,200.)

“Package delivery and warehousing jobs were down from October on a seasonally adjusted basis — -2.2K and -1.4K, respectively (but up on a non-seasonally-adjusted basis),” Terrazas said in an email to FreightWaves. “That’s unusual for the holiday shopping season, perhaps suggesting slightly softer-than-usual holiday hiring in these two backend retail sectors that have become a bigger and bigger feature of the American employment landscape in recent years.”

But in the same way that the truck transportation jobs don’t count independent owner-operators, Terrazas noted that there is a hole in the courier numbers.

“The payroll numbers don’t capture self-employed workers — and particularly in the package delivery sector, there has been a growing reliance on independent/self-employed drivers,” he said.

In other notable numbers from the report:

The industry is working its employees pretty hard. The average hours worked for nonsupervisory employees in truck transportation was 40.5 in October, the latest month for which data is available. But the hourly rate of pay is dropping slightly. It was $29.96 in July. In October it was $29.94. The 40.5 hours worked per week is a long way from past numbers; in 2021, every month was more than 41 hours, and there were two months when it exceeded 43. In the first four months of this year, the figures were all below 40 hours.

Rail jobs remain flat to down. There were 150,000 rail jobs in November; there were 150,000 in October, though that figure was revised down by 500. A year ago, rail jobs totaled 152,800 jobs.

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TriumphPay expansion makes it easier than ever to do business in Mexico

Manufacturers have been actively moving their operations away from China for the past several years. This trend – fueled by shipping delays, rising costs and ongoing political tension – has helped spark an industry-wide enthusiasm for nearshoring and friendshoring.

In 2023, Mexico surpassed Canada to become the largest U.S. trading partner. The relationship between the two nations has continued to strengthen, with the U.S. Census Bureau reporting trade totals of $74 billion in August alone. During the same month, Port Laredo regained its standing as the top U.S. trade gateway after briefly falling to the Port of Los Angeles.

Between January and August, trade among the U.S. and Mexico came in at $560 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Fuel, vehicles and computer parts are some of the top imports from Mexico. Demand for these types of products remains strong, pointing to continued trade growth.

The strengthening relationship between Mexico and the U.S. has created opporunity for both nations, but it has not been without its challenges. The ability to make payments in local currency, for example, has been a roadblock for many logistics service providers hoping to do business across the border.

TriumphPay has designed a solution for these providers by expanding its popular open payments network to include Mexican pesos (MXN). The platform now offers payment services in MXN, U.S. dollars (USD) and Canadian dollars (CAD).

This expansion of TriumphPay’s network is a natural progression, reflecting the need of many logistics providers to make payments in different currencies. As the premier payments network in North America, TriumphPay is committed to providing innovative solutions integrated with the best technology available.

“Expanding our payments network to Mexico is critical for our customers as trade increases between the U.S. and Mexico,” said Melissa Forman, EVP and president of TriumphPay. “We are thrilled to offer this new service, easing the technological and payment burden for customers looking to grow their businesses internationally. Our expansion into Mexico clearly indicates TriumphPay’s commitment to providing brokers, factors, carriers and shippers worldwide with fast payments that offer security, efficiency and transparency.”

By utilizing TriumphPay’s expanding network, companies will have one integration that allows them to pay out across the continent quickly and efficiently. This goes a long way in creating savings and reducing frustration for all parties involved.

TriumphPay also helps its clients reduce overhead by offering an automated payment process and handling payment-related issues that may arise, including collections, status updates and re-issuing any misdirected payments.

It is not just about issuing payments quickly and easily, however. With all types of fraud on the rise, security is top of mind for companies across the logistics space.

Secure electronic payments, like those facilitated by TriumphPay, are the fastest and most efficient way to pay Mexican carriers. Old school payment options, like driving to Laredo to pick up checks, leave too much room for both malicious security breaches and everyday human error.

TriumphPay has a strong track record of valuing security, and these new offerings are no exception. The company is equipped to facilitate the secure collection and management of supplier payment information.

This dedication to security demonstrates care for carriers, therefore growing relationships and creating a top-notch carrier service experience. Maintaining carrier relationships is and will continue to be a key factor for companies doing business in Mexico.

“TriumphPay aims to provide excellent carrier service in addition to secure and fast payments for Mexican carriers, which will in turn help our clients drive growth in their Mexican divisions,” according to Josh Bouk, EVP, Chief Partnership Officer with TriumphPay. “TriumphPay shines for our clients when capacity is in demand and warrants excellent carrier service, and we expect Mexico to be no different.”

Stay tuned for further announcements and advancements of TriumphPay’s International Payments solution.

Click here to learn more about TriumphPay.

Some truckers to haul their most important load of the year for Wreaths Across America

Hundreds of truck drivers will get behind the wheel later this month hauling, for what is for many drivers, their most important load of the year.

The drivers will be hauling loads for Wreaths Across America, the nonprofit that places wreaths on the gravestones of veterans. This year, more than 800 drivers will deliver wreaths to more than 4,900 locations across the United States and its territories.

“This whole mission is a great mission but it doesn’t happen without the trucking industry,” said Courtney George, the organization’s transportation and industry relations director. “It doesn’t happen without trucking companies that are willing to say yes.”

The Maine-based nonprofit was founded in 2007, and since then, has orchestrated the placement of millions of wreaths on veterans’ tombstones. This year, the annual event is being held on Dec. 14.

Many of the drivers who truck the wreaths to tombstones across the country are veterans themselves. The event gives them an opportunity to continue their service to their country, George said.

“Because of the trucking industry over 3 million wreaths will be laid [this year],” she said.

On average, the organization’s reach grows 12% each year. What started as a private mission by Morrill Worcester of the Worcester Wreath Company to honor veterans with 5,000 donated wreaths each year, has ballooned into an organization with a mission to honor veterans and educate the public about their service.

Drivers will begin the annual Escort to Arlington on Friday, where they will begin their trek in Columbia Falls, Maine. The drivers will transport the wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery by Dec. 14, stopping along the way at public and private events.

“Each year, participating in this event is a profound honor,” U.S. Army Veteran and Schneider Ride of Pride Driver Patrice Cook said in a statement. “Bringing wreaths to national cemeteries to honor those who have sacrificed their lives is deeply moving. Being part of the Escort to Arlington and witnessing the support and patriotism of onlookers along the route is incredibly heartwarming.”

Graig Morin, the co-founder and president of Brown Dog Carriers and Logistics, said he volunteers with Wreaths Across America to honor his grandfathers, three of whom were World War II veterans. This year marks his eighth year volunteering.

“It’s humbling to be a part of something so big,” he said. “We’re a part of something much bigger than ourselves.”

For Al Mullen, who drives for Walmart and lives in Missouri, volunteering with Wreaths Across America is deeply personal. Last year, he participated in the convoy to Arlington, which induced “a plethora of emotions” for him as an Army veteran. He was on active duty from 1997 to 2000 and then joined the Rhode Island National Guard until mid-2002.

Mullen has loved ones who also served in the military. He plans to place a wreath on his grandfather’s grave this year.

“It is touching when you lay the wreath and speak out someone’s name,” he said. “You don’t know them but you know what they sacrificed.”

He said he was proud to work for a company that prioritized honoring veterans.

“Supporting the military community has been part of who Walmart is since our founding, and our core values of respect, integrity, service and excellence have a lot in common with the values of the U.S. military,” said Walmart spokesman Josh Havens. “Our ongoing commitment to this community is reflected in our long-standing, 17-year support of Wreaths Across America. This year, we’ll be transporting more than 100,000 wreaths to almost two dozen cemeteries in 14 states, and we have thousands of associates volunteering at wreath laying ceremonies across the country.”

Shipper CRM, Journey team up to improve customer experience

In a strategy to bring more efficiency to a freight broker sales workday, recruiting and training consultancy Journey recently announced its partnership with lead generation platform Shipper CRM.

As a part of the partnership, Journey founder Will Jenkins has also disclosed that he has invested and will help advise the Shipper CRM team as they scale.

Jenkins explained to FreightWaves that he was motivated to join Shipper CRM co-founders Paul-Bernard Jaroslawski and Krystian Gebis, who also co-founded industry blog FreightCaviar, in their mission to make sales targeting more efficient. He cited Shipper CRM’s ability to significantly reduce the time spent on lead generation compared to manual prospecting and research, as well as its capacity to tailor and refine searches to meet specific sales objectives.

“It is extremely time-consuming and tedious to research prospects, search Google Maps and go through LinkedIn curating all of the information you need to make that call,” Gebis told FreightWaves in an interview. “I took all the knowledge from AI and engineering robotics and started building software that did all this research for you so our customers could spend more face-to-face time with other humans and build real relationships. … Our goal is to index every single shipper in the United States so they have a single place to go for that updated information.”

Shipper CRM’s platform. (Photo: Shipper CRM)

Both parties realized that by combining their services, they could empower freight brokerage sales teams to streamline their lead generation workflows and enhance their overall knowledge and tenure. This would be achieved by providing employees with access to Journey’s training resources, which also enables training managers to easily access quality training programs and create targeted, well-vetted lead lists for new sales representatives.

For more tenured employees, freight brokerages can leverage Journey’s training expertise to further develop these representatives and utilize Shipper CRM’s Magic Map to target specific customers based on capacity networks and market conditions.

Shipper CRM is focused on several key initiatives. They are looking to continue developing its search engine and custom lead generation tools while expanding the data and insights provided beyond basic company information.

Shipper CRM’s Magic Map. (GIF: Shipper CRM)

In regards to the partnership, the two companies are looking to integrate sales training content directly into the Shipper CRM platform, providing users with easy access to training resources. Journey plans to offer various tiers of sales training, from entry-level to advanced, to cater to different customer needs. Both companies are exploring opportunities to bundle their products and services to create comprehensive solutions for freight brokers and logistics companies.

“Embedding [Journey sales training] inside of Shipper CRM means we are bringing in the entire work experience for that individual into one place,” said Gebis. “The one thing that we are quite good at is providing a very simple, easy to use interface. So embedding those courses, tips and training will be a natural progression for our partnership.”

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Boom Technology CEO talks return of supersonic flight on Bring It Home podcast

Boom Technology CEO Blake Scholl spoke with co-hosts Craig Fuller, founder and CEO of Firecrown Media, and JP Hampstead, strategic analyst at Firecrown, on the latest episode of the Bring it Home podcast Thursday about the return of supersonic air travel.

Bring It Home celebrates the North American manufacturing renaissance, reindustrialization and reshoring taking place across the continent.

Boom Technology is building the first supersonic commercial jetliner since the Concorde at its new factory in Greensboro, North Carolina. Scholl explained why it’s taken so long for the aerospace industry to innovate, whether the Apollo moon landings were good or bad for space exploration, and how aviation startups bring new products to market faster than incumbents.

Scholl decided to pursue his passion for aviation when he took flying lessons while studying computer science in college.

“In my mid-20s, I set a lifetime goal of flying supersonic,” Scholl said. “… I was just waiting to be the first one to find out when I could buy a ticket, but there was just no credible plan to pick up where Concorde left off. I felt like we were sort of watching the slow-motion death of innovation in aviation.”

While the U.S. made huge progress in the first 65 years of flight going from the Wright Brothers to the moon landing, Scholl said America has done nothing to innovate since then. He decided after he sold his first startup to Groupon a little over a decade ago that he would pursue supersonic flight.

“I thought I would get two weeks into the research and conclude it was a bad idea or impractical in some ways, but instead what I found was this was a domain that had just gotten no attention from entrepreneurs in a very long time,” Scholl said. “All of the conventional wisdom of why you couldn’t do a supersonic airliner was just wrong, and in fact all of the technology was there, all of the regulations were there, it just needed someone to put together a team and go do it.”

Scholl said he thought Apollo killed space exploration and Concorde killed supersonic flight.

“Both of those were obviously marvelous technical accomplishments, but they were both done as Cold War-era glory projects,” Scholl said. “… They consumed enormous amounts of capital, and they were both done in ways that had no economic viability.”

While the Concorde had the pretense of being used for business, Scholl said its value didn’t add up due to its “uncomfortable” 100-seat limit and charging $20,000 per seat adjusted for inflation.

“It was economically stillborn,” Scholl said. “It never made any sense economically because of the choice of how to do that airplane, and yet the lesson that the industry learned was that supersonic flight doesn’t make any economic sense. There was all this political fallout, like it led to the ban of supersonic flight over land. That had a huge negative impact on innovation.”

Scholl said that since then, there hasn’t been anyone to push the envelope on entrepreneurship in aviation. Until now.

“At some point, the world’s going to make the transition to supersonic,” he said.

That’s where Boom Technology and its supersonic commercial jet, the Overture, come in. The 64-seat jet is marketed as an “all-premium supersonic experience” built for speed and comfort.

“One of the things that I just love about this team is we sweat the details,” he said. “Today when you walk into an airliner, it’s kind of like nobody cared. There’s seams and gaps and weird-colored plastic everywhere. It tends to have loud background noises and the PA volume is never right. … We want to sweat all the details and build an experience that is refined, comfortable and tranquil, almost like an oasis in the sky.”

Boom Technology has predominantly been funded by private venture capital. Scholl said there’s probably more innovation on the financing side of the business than in the technical aspects of the plane itself.

“It’s a capital-intensive effort,” Scholl said. “It’s going to cost billions to get the airplane all the way done, and it’s going to take time. So we’re sort of inventing the financing model for that as we go, and we’re fortunate to have just some of the best investors on the planet backing the company.”

Several airlines, from United Airlines and American Airlines to Japan Airlines, have already placed preorders for Overture supersonic jets.

Scholl said there’s a big opportunity in Boom Technology to build something of scale and significance that will be a “win for passengers, a win for airlines and a win for all the investors impacted.”

Other headlines discussed in this episode include:

Scout Motors’ new product line being built at its $2 billion electric vehicle plant in Blythewood, South Carolina.
A recent article by The New York Times exploring why there is hope for U.S. factory towns impacted by “China shock.”

The Bring It Home podcast is currently on Youtube and will soon be available on other podcast platforms.

Spotify’s WHAT THE TRUCK?!? wrapped

Welcome to the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Newsletter presented by Tai Software. In this issue, your WTT listener stats; HappyRobot’s big raise; FreightVana acquires Loadsmith; and more.

Sponsored by Tai: Brokers, stop losing time and money on manual tasks! Tai TMS automates your workflows, cutting down on paperwork and errors so you can focus on growing your brokerage faster. Learn more here.

WTT wrapped 2024

Spotify

Boom town — Thank you so much for making 2024 the biggest year yet for WHAT THE TRUCK?!?

During the past 365, days we’ve launched a store, done a documentary with Talon and the Port of Long Beach, California, held private events with Redwood and Univar, lit up the stage across conferences, and gotten syndicated in drive time on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Trucking Channel 146 at 5 and 11 p.m. Eastern on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Spotify

What’s really amazing to me is how much this community has grown. In this past year alone, we added 75% new listeners, grew all listeners by 68% and increased followers by another 45% on Spotify.

The mission of this show has always been to put faces and names to the issues, companies and the stories that impact us. We did that across 121 live shows this year that featured over 420 guests. You can find all previous episodes here.

In 2024, your top show topics were freight fraud; conflict in the Red Sea; FreightGuards; whether truckers were really boycotting New York; the freight recession; and more. In two weeks we’ll release the list of top episodes.

Drivers getting their CDLs revoked by the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse was our top TikTok, with over 236,000 views, 895 comments and 5,519 shares. We dove even deeper on the subject Wednesday on WHAT THE TRUCK?!? with Adam Wingfield. Check that out here.

Spotify and TikTok weren’t the only platforms we made big gains on. X followers delivered 29.5 million impressions as we doubled in follower size.

LinkedIn

Love it or hate it, LinkedIn is a crucial channel in this space. There we raised impressions to over 13 million. Your favorite posts were a Waffle House conference booth concept; a cheeky way to defeat dashcams; and a suggestion to have ocean contracts settled by bare-knuckle brawling on a shipping container.

We still have two more weeks of shows to go before A VERY WHAT THE TRUCK?!? CHRISTMAS and are finishing strong with an amazing slate of guests like Flexport’s Ryan Petersen, HappyRobot’s Pablo Palofax, CNBC’s Lori Ann LaRocco, Project K9 Hero and more.

We’re setting up our annual Freight Industry Christmas Tree! If you have an ornament for it, send it my way and it’ll be right on that tree during each show for the rest of the year. If you need an address, just email me.

Thank you for your support and Merry Christmas!

The AI is coming

Big bucks for bots – On Thursday, FreightWaves’ Grace Sharkey reported, “HappyRobot, an AI-powered communication solution, announced Wednesday it has closed a $15.6 million Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from Y Combinator, RyderVentures and other strategic investors.”

HappyRobot has been dazzling investors and industry insiders with its lifelike AI that aims to reduce the number of calls freight brokers and other logistics service providers have to contend with.

“We’ve seen like 25% more freight, more loads covered per rep per month.” – HappyRobot CEO Pablo Palofax

Personally, I hate talking to bots on any customer service line as they’re typically slow and extremely limited. What’s exciting about HappyRobots AI-powered agents is that they’re far more natural sounding than any I’ve tested so far.

Monday on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, HappyRobot CEO Pablo Palofax talks about what they’ll do with the capital they received, the future of AI agents and whether AI will be commoditized.

FreightVana x LoadSmith

FreightWaves

Deals are heating up – FreightVana makes another big bet on power-only moves with the acquisition of Loadsmith. FreightWaves’ Grace Sharkey reports, “The acquisition, set to be finalized by the end of the month, will see Loadsmith’s employees transition to the FreightVana team, operating under its established brand.”

What will the new FreightVana look like? If what Loadsmith has planned transfers over, automation and autonomy could be a big part of the business. Back in June 2023, it was announced that Loadsmith would buy 800 self-driving trucks from Kodiak Robotics.

We’ll catch up with Brett Suma on our first show of the new year to talk all about this.

P.S.: Be ready for a lot more deals to be announced between now and February!

Friday on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?

Most important nuclear verdict in trucking history – Friday live on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, I’m joined by Armchair Attorney Matthew Leffler to get a legal take on the controversial Werner accident ruling that could cost the company $100 million. What are the implications of the case, what does it mean for carrier liability, and did the courts make the right call?

Owner-operator Lee Schmitt thinks it is high time the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration added a trucker to the top of its ranks. He’s thrown his hat in the ring to be considered for the role of head of the FMCSA. We’ll find out why he thinks he’s the man for the job.

Stephen Ruhe drops in to help us better understand what broker transparency means and whom it will benefit.

Plus, all the latest headlines, trends and viral weirdness since our last show.

Catch new shows live at noon EST Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on FreightWaves LinkedIn, Facebook, X or YouTube, or on demand by looking up WHAT THE TRUCK?!? on your favorite podcast player and at 5 p.m. Eastern on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Trucking Channel 146.

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MAKE AMERICA FREIGHT AGAIN – We are so back. Head on over to WTTGear.com to get our newest merch! Use code WTTFans for 10% off.

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179,000 truckers’ CDLs revoked; broker transparency; truckload markets

Carrier411: FreightGuardians of the brokerage galaxy or evil incarnate?

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CSX asks Supreme Court to renew antitrust lawsuit against Norfolk Southern

Class I freight railroad CSX (NYSE: CSX) has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to continue its antitrust lawsuit against Norfolk Southern.

Jacksonville, Florida-based CSX sued Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern in October 2018 claiming its competitor conspired with Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad Co. to set an excessive “switch rate” on dock access to the Port of Virginia. CSX said the switch rate of $210 per train car cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars since its implementation back in 2009.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia ruled that CSX’s allegations were untimely because they were not within the four-year window allowed for filing U.S. antitrust law claims.

According to a petition filed by CSX in November and made public on Monday, CSX asked the Supreme Court to “grant review and set aside the Fourth Circuit Court’s decision.” CSX argued that because its business has undergone continual harm by the fees every day, it creates a “new harm” that renews the statute of limitations.

“Although the Court has not yet had occasion to address the doctrine in the precise factual circumstances presented by this case, it has stated the principle that controls: Injury caused by an antitrust violation beginning outside the limitations period but causing new harm in that period restarts the statute of limitations,” the CSX petition stated.

It is unclear when the Supreme Court may rule on the review request.

“CSX remains focused on its efforts to gain competitive access at NIT [Norfolk International Terminals], the Virginia Port Authority’s largest marine terminal, so that we can best serve our customers,” said CSX spokesperson Sheriee Bowman in an emailed statement to FreightWaves.

FreightWaves has reached out to Norfolk Southern for comment.

Predictions platform says longshore strike not a sure bet

While negotiations on a new East Coast longshore contract remain at a standstill, online bettors aren’t convinced a January strike is inevitable.

Users of crypto predictions platform Polymarket on Thursday rated odds of a work stoppage at 43%, down from a high of 64% Nov. 13 but up 28% in intraday betting.

The International Longshoremen’s Association broke off talks with the United States Maritime Alliance Nov. 13 over what the union said were efforts by employers to replace workers by forcing automation technology into a new contract. USMX countered that its goal wasn’t to reduce the workforce but to make container handling more efficient and increase throughput – and create more jobs in the process.

After Biden administration officials helped broker an end to the ILA’s three-day strike in early October, the sides agreed to extend the current contract and resume negotiations through Jan. 15.

The ILA represents 45,000 workers in container and vehicle handling at 36 maritime centers on the East and Gulf coasts. The October job action imperiled billions of dollars in daily trade ranging from food and pharmaceuticals to apparel and auto parts.

The union in a statement Monday for the first time zeroed in on rail-mounted gantry cranes as the source of its automation anxiety. The ILA added that remote-operated cranes like those now in use at ports in Asia and Europe present a security risk to U.S. maritime operations — echoing a recent warning issued to container hubs by the Coast Guard.

While President Joe Biden refused to force longshore employees back to work, it’s far from clear what approach the incoming Trump administration will take in the event of another strike.

One clue: ILA President Harold Daggett recently posted a photo of himself with a smiling Donald Trump taken during a meeting with the then-presidential candidate.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

Chicago intermodal no longer a bridge too far for Indiana port

Union, employers resume war of words in East Coast port contract dispute

Container rates buoyed by tariff, strike threats

Automate operations but keep customer service personal

With advancements in AI and automation, many 3PLs, brokerages and other freight companies are tempted to automate everything possible.

Customer experience, not automation, sets any freight company apart from its competitors, says Frank Kenney, director of industry solutions at Cleo.

“Many freight companies make the assumption that digitizing and automating everything they can is ideal, but shippers make decisions on customer experience, not just price and automation,” Kenney said.

When there is abundant capacity, shippers have greater say in what to prioritize. As the trends show, shippers value relationships and manual support from staff when it comes to problem-solving and communication.

“In our race to automate, we have found that shippers still value a personal level of customer service,” Kenney said. “You can eliminate some noise with automation, but it’s a fine line.”

Depending on the process, automation can reduce the workload for certain roles, but that doesn’t mean companies should reduce workforce. The best use of automation, says Kenney, is enabling the people in your organization to maintain relationships with partners and clients.

“Finding the valuable use cases where AI can improve what we do is the best way we can leverage technology,” Kenney said.

Cutting through excess data and email communications is a cost-effective way of leveraging automation. 3PLs and brokerages are often faced with large volumes of data tracking, and not all of that requires manual oversight.

“You have to pick and choose where you automate or digitize,” Kenney said. “Prioritize providing data visibility to your customers, but make sure you talk to people on some personal level at every crucial step in the process,” he said.

Over and over, freight companies choose the vendors with greater transparency, better integrations and more personal connectivity. “Visibility and communication are the differentiating features,” said Kenney.

Particularly in the case of 3PLs and brokerages, which have to maintain slim margins, investment decisions are made based on sales drivers.

Companies in this competitive freight market only make significant investments in new technology when there is a return. “No carriers, brokers, software solution providers or any other company in the freight space adopts tech for tech’s sake,” said Kenney. “They only do what they have to do.”

“If I had to heavily invest in any technology for 2025, it would be making processes as transparent as possible,” Kenney said. “Don’t try to interpret all of the data without making it available to your customers.”

As sales have shown, customers appreciate having more data and more communication over generalized solutions. “Digitization, AI, APIs and other tech may solve problems, but visibility is the best value you can provide to your partners,” Kenney said. “Let those solutions come from customers. You don’t know their models better than they do.”

“Put your cash into providing more visibility and better customer service, and the sales will follow,” Kenney said.

Click here to learn more about Cleo.