Trimble and Platform Science pushed hard to get deal done before Vegas meeting

LAS VEGAS – The unveiling of the combination of Trimble’s telematics business and venture capital-backed Platform Science in parallel with Trimble’s annual customer meeting in Las Vegas wasn’t coincidence. It was sort of the point.

The transaction was announced Sunday, the first day of events tied to Insight. The Trimble technology conference brings in thousands of representatives from its customers, particularly from carriers.

“We oriented so much of our work these last weeks and months to get to this moment,” Trimble CEO Rob Painter said of the announcement’s timing. Painter made his remarks at a media briefing following the opening session of Insight.

Under the transaction, whose projected closing date has not been revealed, the telematics segment of Trimble’s Transportation Group will be merged with that of Platform Science. In exchange, Trimble will now own 32.5% of the company. Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) also will have a seat on the Platform Science board.

“This isn’t a passive transaction,” Painter said at the briefing. “If it was purely transactional, we could have done a cash deal or completely walked away. And that’s the exact opposite of what we did.”

Painter said the transaction will be better for the Trimble telematics business in combination with Platform Science because “I think it becomes a more focused business. I think it will operate at a higher level of scale.” He noted more than once that he expects the combined telematics businesses will provide a better route to further investments in technology.

A “pure play” company

As with any VC-backed company, there is always the question of when the investors will “exit” – VC-speak for selling their stake. “If it’s good for customers, then I think it’s good ultimately for us,” Painter said. Trimble’s telematics business will now be part of a pure-play telematics company that Painter said is more likely to receive a “capital markets reward” and “will be better served under Platform Science having majority ownership.”

And if the company garners a rich valuation in the markets – though Painter didn’t say it – about a third of the sales price will be property of Trimble.

Other investors in Platform Science are truckload carriers Schneider (NASDAQ: SNDR) and C.R. England, engine builder Cummins (NYSE: CMI), truck builders Daimler Truck North America and Paccar (NASDAQ: PCAR), warehouse operator Prologis (NYSE: PLD), and RyderVentures, the venture capital arm of Ryder Enterprises (NYSE: R). Other owners include private capital companies 8VC, Activant Capital, BDT & MSD Partners, Softbank, and NewRoad Capital Partners.

Skin in the game

Asked about not just taking cash in any deal, Painter said, “I want us to have skin in the game.”

“We’ll have a board seat on the combined company, and that’s because I believe in Jack and I believe in their team,” Painter said.

Painter and Platform Science founder and CEO Jack Kennedy said they did not have an updated number on the valuation of Platform Science following the transaction. But Kennedy added that the other investors in the company supported the deal with Trimble despite a dilution of their holdings.

A February 2022 capital raise led to a valuation of $575 million. A capital raise in April did not disclose a new valuation for Platform Science.

Without a cash infusion, the question was asked of Kennedy: What do you get from this deal?

He ticked off several capabilities that come with the Trimble telematics business.

“We have a great customer base but the global scale, the segments they bring to us in certain product categories, they’ve additive, so they give us that speed,” Kennedy said.

One of the strengths of the Platform Science telematics product offering, which is named Virtual Vehicle, has been that it is a product that rolls off the assembly line at OEMs after being installed in trucks. When Virtual Vehicle was launched in 2021, Daimler Truck North America described it as “the first open OEM platform that enables fleets to access telematics, software solutions, real-time vehicle data, and third-party applications directly from their vehicles.” Other telematics systems were – and continue to be – features that are added to a vehicle after it goes into the market.

“Virtual Vehicle represents a platform-first approach that provides customers greater value and a significantly expanded choice of software-enabled services,” Daimler Truck said at the time.

Other Trimble transportation offerings not affected

Painter stressed that the only operations in the company’s extensive transportation business affected by the transaction with Platform Science is the Transportation Management segment, the formal name of its telematics offerings. On its website for that segment at Trimble, the company lists the other units in Transportation as Enterprise, Maps, Vusion and Transporeon.

The Transporeon acquisition, announced in late 2022, was completed in 2023 at a price of 1.88 billion euros ($2.1 billion at current conversation rates). It is a global, cloud-based TMS. Vusion is a fuel tax compliance system.

The Platform Science/Trimble deal has many details to be worked out. For example, asked if a Trimble salesperson who now sells telematics products for that company would be selling under the Platform Science name, Kennedy said, “I can’t leap ahead to the future.”

“I can assure the market we won’t do anything that is abrupt and is confusing to the market,” Painter said in response to the same question. The “conversation” will include issues such as branding, and how will the two companies “provide the runway to get to a vision that’s going to make sense?”

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Streak of lower benchmark diesel prices hits 10 weeks with latest drop

Diesel prices may have hit a bottom for now in the futures market, but the average weekly retail diesel price posted its 10th consecutive decline Monday.

The price, reported by the Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration, dropped 2.9 cents a gallon to $3.526. Over that 10-week span, the price has fallen 33.9 cents.

That benchmark price, used for most fuel surcharges, is about $1.10 a gallon less than it was a year ago.

Meanwhile, the price of ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) on the CME commodity exchange, after reaching on Sept. 10 its lowest settlement since December 2021, before Russia invaded Ukraine, has staged something of a rebound.

The Sept. 10 settlement was $2.058 a gallon. It rose the next two days to settle Thursday at $2.1188. It bounced up and down the next two days, settling Monday at $2.0958, just under 4 cents more than the recent low settlement last Tuesday.

The decline in retail prices reflected in the 10-week decline is chasing after a fall in ULSD on CME that took the price from a settlement of $2.348 per gallon on Aug. 26 to the recent low last Tuesday.

The only significant bullish news in the market continues to be coming out of Libya, where a continuing and long-standing power struggle between different geographic factions has led to a significant cut in the country’s production and exports. Reports late Monday said Libyan exports last week were 314,000 barrels per day, down from 468,000 a week earlier. Before the most recent sharp drop, exports were more than 1 million barrels a day.

Beyond that, bearishness prevails. Data from the Intercontinental Exchange on trader positions was described in one news report as showing investors were “more bearish than ever,” based on the number of short positions that financial investors had taken in the Brent crude market.

UBS, the big Swiss bank, was reported Monday to have revised downward its oil forecasts for the next two years. Its previous estimate for Brent in the fourth quarter was $83 a barrel. It is now $75.

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Shuttered California trucking company files for bankruptcy liquidation

A shuttered California-based trucking company that once pulled intermodal containers out of the Port of Oakland has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

Flex Intermodal Inc. of Fremont had 25 power units and 30 drivers at the time of its closure, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website.

The petition lists Aseem Indora as president of Flex Intermodal. No reason was given as to why Indora filed for Chapter 7. Flex Intermodal is represented by bankruptcy attorney Raymond R. Miller of Hayward, California. As of publication time Monday afternoon, neither Indora nor Miller had responded to FreightWaves’ request for comment.

Flex Intermodal filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California on Friday, more than a year after it ceased operations.

According to the FMCSA, the intermodal company’s authority was involuntarily revoked in August 2023. Its Bodily Injury Property Damage Coverage (BIPD) insurance was canceled the same month. FMCSA granted the intermodal carrier’s operating authority in September 2018.

In its petition, Flex Intermodal lists its assets as up to $50,000 and liabilities as between $500,000 and $1 million. The company, which has up to 49 creditors, maintains that no funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors after administrative fees are paid.

Among the company’s top creditors with the largest priority unsecured claims are the IRS of Philadelphia, owed nearly $38,200; the Employment Development Department in West Sacramento, California, owed more than $31,300; and the Alameda County Tax Collector, owed nearly $2,210.

The largest nonpriority unsecured creditor is the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of General Counsel in Los Angeles, which is owed nearly $2.8 million. Flex Intermodal also owes Hemar Rousso & Heald LLP of Encino, California, nearly $213,000, and Balboa Capital of Costa Mesa, California, is owed more than $210,000.

The petition states that Flex also owes the Port of Oakland more than $108,000 for its unexpired lease, which the now-defunct carrier disputes.

Prior to its closure, the company’s trucks had been inspected 38 times, and 11 had been placed out of service for a 29% out-of-service rate over the preceding 24-month period. That is significantly higher than the industry’s national average of around 22.6%, according to FMCSA.

The company’s drivers had been inspected 56 times, and one was placed out of service over a two-year period, resulting in an 1.8% out-of-service rate. This is much lower than the national average of about 6.7%.

The company, which didn’t operate in 2024, posted gross revenues of nearly $1.2 million in 2023. Its petition states the company made around $1.9 million in 2022.

The petition also lists Indora as the CEO and CFO of another small intermodal carrier, RL Lines Inc. of Newark, California, which shut down in May. FMCSA’s SAFER website showed the company had four power units and the same number of drivers and also hauled intermodal containers. FMCSA granted RL Lines’ common carrier authority in June 2022, but its operating authority was temporarily revoked twice before its authority was involuntarily revoked in May.

The bankruptcy petition states that civil judgments have been entered against Flex Intermodal by four companies in California: Equify Intermodal Inc. and Flexi Van Leasing Inc. in Alameda County Superior Court, and Balboa Capital and Equify Financial in Orange County Superior Court.

A meeting of creditors has been set for Oct. 23.

Do you have a news tip or story to share? Send Clarissa Hawes an email or message @cage_writer on X, formerly Twitter. Your name will not be used without your permission.
Read other articles by Clarissa Hawes here.

Storm damage causes delays at major Texas trade bridge

A severe storm Saturday night forced authorities to temporarily close the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas, the busiest U.S.-Mexico commercial crossing in the nation.

The storm collapsed the roof of the Mexican commercial customs facility in Nuevo Laredo, directly across the border from Laredo.

The closure hampered trucks hauling imported goods into the U.S. on Sunday and caused long delays for cargo transporters, Mexican officials said.

“As a result of the heavy rains that occurred at night in the municipality of Nuevo Laredo, at 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 14, the roof that was under construction in the import area of the Nuevo Laredo Customs collapsed completely, which affects the modulation of merchandise,” Mexico’s National Customs Agency (ANAM) tweeted.

Northbound and southbound cargo trucks that would normally cross the border at the World Trade Bridge were diverted to Laredo’s Colombia Solidarity International Bridge, about 19 miles west of the city.

The storm, which brought 4 inches of rain and produced winds of 80 mph, was blamed for one death in Nuevo Laredo, Mexican authorities said. The World Trade Bridge processes 8,000 to 12,000 cargo vehicles per day.

Authorities on both sides of the border said the World Trade Bridge was open for business by Monday morning. Officials in Mexico were able to clear the debris from the bridge Sunday and set up new booths to process cargo trucks heading north in the U.S.

“The World Trade Bridge is open for northbound and Southbound traffic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today,” Armando Taboada, assistant director of field operations at the Laredo Field Office, said in an email to trade stakeholders. “The Colombia Solidarity Bridge will only process empties and informal entries today northbound due to Mexico Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México (ANAM) being closed (Mexico Holiday).”

Cargo truck traffic at the World Trade Bridge and Colombia Solidarity International Bridge was expected to be minimal on Monday, as Sept. 16 is a national holiday in Mexico.

Boeing freezes hiring, considers furloughs as strike could cost $3.5B

Updated on Sept. 16 at 3:01 p.m. to correct the title of Boeing executive Brian West.

Boeing has notified employees of a hiring freeze and is considering furloughs in the coming weeks as experts predict significant cash loss for the company this quarter due to an ongoing machinist strike.

Over 30,000 machinists and aerospace workers at the company walked off the job Friday after a large majority of them rejected a tentative contract. A Bloomberg Intelligence analysis predicted Monday that Boeing could be out $3.5 billion in cash in Q3 if the strike continues through September.

According to the Bloomberg report, the cash loss could reduce Boeing’s balances to $9 billion – near the minimum for the company. The largest driver of results in sales will be 737 deliveries, which Boeing will have made 78 of for Q3 versus 70 in Q2. The report stated that defense and Global Services are expected to perform similarly to Q2.

Boeing cuts costs

Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West told employees in an emailed memo that the company would take actions to preserve its cash, including:

Starting a hiring freeze across Boeing for all levels, and pausing any pay increases associated with internal executive and management promotions.
Stopping any travel that is not for critical customer, program, regulatory or supply chain activity.
Suspending nonessential capital expenditures and facilities spending.
Suspending outside consultant spending and temporarily releasing nonessential contractors.

“… [W]e are planning to make significant reductions in supplier expenditures and will stop issuing the majority of supplier purchase orders on the 737, 767 and 777 programs,” West said in the memo. “We are also considering the difficult step of temporary furloughs for many employees, managers and executives in the coming weeks.”

Which airlines will be impacted?

Bloomberg Intelligence stated that airlines most affected by Boeing’s strike will be Ryanair, Southwest, United and Alaska. While it’s not in the high vacation season, this is expected to predominantly affect U.S air travel.

The report stated that the most-affected airlines in the near term appear to be Southwest, Alaska Air, Aeromexico and Jin Air of Korea, all of which are expecting two deliveries in the remaining half of September. With vacation season waning in the U.S., Bloomberg estimates a minimized impact from delays.

America to #ThankATruckDriver for Truck Driver Appreciation Week

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week started Sunday, and businesses and organizations across the U.S. are partnering to show truckers some love.

Approximately 3.5 million truck drivers keep the economy moving on U.S. roadways. According to a news release from global logistics company C.H. Robinson, these drivers transport 11 billion tons of goods annually – about 72% of all U.S. freight. The release states that truckers spend an average of 240 nights away from home each year delivering the goods that the public depends on.

#ThankATruckDriver

To recognize the hard work of drivers, C.H. Robinson (NYSE: CHRW) invites the world to #ThankATruckDriver. For each social media post using that hashtag during the week of Sept. 15-21, the C.H. Robinson Foundation will donate $10 – up to a total of $50,000 – to the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund.

The nonprofit organization has spent nearly $5 million on medical support for truckers in need since its inception in 2007. In partnership with the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, C.H. Robinson will host events in 13 cities across the U.S. and Mexico to thank drivers in person with health and wellness packets, food, care packages, and other tokens of appreciation.

Additionally, the C.H. Robinson Foundation will contribute $15 to the St. Christopher fund for every hour C.H. Robinson employees volunteer for Truck Driver Appreciation Week activities.

“Every day we’re grateful to truck drivers for their unwavering commitment to one of the most challenging and crucial jobs …,” said Michael Castagnetto, C.H. Robinson’s president of North American Surface Transportation, in the release. “But this week especially, we want drivers to hear our appreciation and the world’s appreciation. We thank you for every hour on the road. Our lives wouldn’t be the same without you.”

A monthlong celebration

Love’s began celebrating truck drivers ahead of schedule this year.

The Oklahoma City-headquartered truck stop is celebrating Truck Driver Appreciation Week all through September, offering several promotions and deals to professional drivers through the My Love Rewards loyalty program on the Love’s Connect app.

Some of the deals for the month include:

Double My Love Rewards points on any in-store merchandise purchase with mobile reward.
A Premium Bundle truck wash at the Deluxe Bundle price with mobile reward.
A free driver appreciation hat with the purchase of three packs of gloves.
A free Traverse Pro Series hat with the purchase of a Traverse Travel Gear seat cushion or Traverse Pro Series flashlight.

North Carolina auto parts shop owner fined $10M for emissions defeat devices

A North Carolina auto parts shop owner must pay $10 million after he manufactured, sold and installed emissions defeat devices on hundreds of diesel trucks.

Aaron Rudolf, who owns Rudy’s Performance Parts in Burlington, agreed to pay the criminal fines and civil penalties after pleading guilty to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act. Rudolf previously pleaded guilty to installing defeat devices on some 300 trucks.

The Justice Department, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, filed a civil lawsuit against Rudolf and his company in 2022 for violating the Clean Air Act by manufacturing, selling and installing defeat devices. Rudolf and his company will pay a $7 million civil penalty for those actions, a $600,000 criminal fine for installing defeat devices on trucks, and a $2.4 million criminal fine.

“Defeat devices, such as those sold by Rudy’s, can lead to pollution at high levels that pose health risks and harm the environment,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement. “This plea agreement and civil settlement show that we will take strong action to enforce the Clean Air Act and emissions controls requirements for motor vehicles.”

The EPA in 2016 requested information from Rudolf about products his company sold that affected emissions. The company provided incomplete information to the agency, federal court records say. The EPA requested information again in 2018, but Rudy’s told the agency it did not maintain the records the agency sought.

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According to the complaint, Rudy’s advertised the selling of “EGR Delete Kits” on its company website and eBay. The products advertised the ability to interfere with the exhaust gas recirculation system. That system, according to DieselNet.com, is used to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. The lawsuit claims the company sold over 250,000 products designed to remove or disable EPA-mandated emissions controls.

The company also manufactured imitation delete tuners using a laptop that cost $850,000, the lawsuit says. In total, the company sold 43,900 imitation tuners, generating about $33 million in revenue.

“For too many years, companies like Rudy’s have installed illegal defeat devices to evade the public health protections of the Clean Air Act, to the detriment of communities across America,” Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said in a statement. “[This] announcement demonstrates that EPA will vigorously pursue criminal and civil penalties until this blatant illegal behavior comes to an end.”

Does the ILA have a point in objecting to automation?

In two weeks, the current labor contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) is set to expire. More than 70,000 dockworkers across 36 East and Gulf Coast ports from Maine to Houston may strike, potentially bringing a critical segment of the domestic supply chain to a standstill.

In addition to the union’s demand for higher pay, one of its major complaints is the USMX’s investment in automation.

The alliance of employers, carriers and port operators at the East and Gulf Coast ports has stated that it plans to “retain its existing technology language that created a framework for how to modernize and improve efficiency while protecting jobs and hours” of ILA members. But the longshoremen union held off early summer negotiations due to autogates being used at one of its ports in Alabama.

Does the autogate concern hold merit?

The ILA said in June that it had recently discovered that APM Terminals and Maersk Line had been using an autonomous gate system that processes trucks in and out of the Port of Mobile without use of ILA labor, although sources have reported that the autogate system had been in use at the facility since 2008 – over two contract periods ago. The union also expressed concerns about the technology being used at other USMX-represented ports.

The ILA-USMX 2018 master contract states that “there shall be no fully-automated terminals developed and no fully-automated equipment used during the term of this Master Contract,” defining fully automated as machinery or equipment involving no human interaction.

According to sources cited in an article by The New York Times, the autogate currently being used in Mobile is not fully automated. ILA members there manually check the work of the autogate. This would be considered semi-automated technology, which, according to the current master contract, can be installed so long as it is approved and processed by the ILA’s New Technology Committee.

Neither the ILA nor USMX responded in time for publication to FreightWaves’ requests to clarify whether the autogates were approved by the technology committee at the time of installation.

Could automation hurt ILA jobs?

The ILA’s concerns about automation and technology updates in ports stem from the potential threat these innovations pose to dockworkers’ jobs. Historically, the ILA has fiercely opposed the automation of port operations, dating back to the introduction of containerization, which drastically reduced the need for manual labor.

Given this context, the ILA’s stance is clear: It views automation not just as a modernization tool but as a direct challenge to the livelihoods of its members. This is why the ILA has strongly opposed technological updates that bypass union labor, positioning itself against any advancements that it believes could reduce its workforce and weaken job security.

Proponents of the technology argue automation could create new roles for ILA members, including maintaining, repairing and validating automated equipment. More ILA members also could be needed to support higher port volumes as the automated technology increases productivity.

While the USMX has not offered assurances sought by the ILA of increased production from automation, the union has seen a 15% increase in membership since 2020, while West Coast ports have seen union workers increase by 12% in the same period as both regions have increased investment in automated machinery.

Port workers at the Port of Houston in 2020. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, initiated under a provision of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, found automation offers several benefits, including improved worker safety by reducing human-machine interaction and enhanced efficiency through denser container stacking.

However, its effects on port performance and the workforce were mixed.

Some stakeholders reported that automated equipment moves containers more slowly, while others highlighted the creation of higher-skilled jobs and improved working conditions.

The Port of Mobile and its autogate system were part of this study as well.

Future of port automation

In the same GAO report, U.S. port operators stated they face challenges in balancing labor concerns, costs and operational priorities when deciding whether to automate further and now find themselves lagging in innovation when compared with their international counterparts.

While all of the 10 largest U.S. container ports, including two with ILA representation, have integrated automation technology to some extent — such as automated gate systems and cargo handling equipment — this adoption is often less extensive than at foreign ports.

Internationally, ports tend to adopt automation more aggressively, driven by higher container throughput and differing labor markets. While U.S. ports have access to grant programs that could support automation, these programs are not specifically aimed at port modernization.

Consequently, U.S. ports must navigate complex factors in determining the extent and type of automation to implement, which has contributed to their relatively slower pace of adoption.

FreightWaves spoke to an industry expert and investor, Benjamin Gordon, managing partner of Cambridge Capital and BGSA, who said focusing on old strategies can lead to failure in the present.

He believes that the ILA’s resistance to port automation due to past events may lead to missed opportunities for progress.

“Most people end up fighting yesterday’s battles. … By resisting automation, the ILA may believe they are promoting unionized jobs for dockworkers. But in reality, are they simply undermining American competitiveness, bolstering China, boosting costs, and contributing to inflation?” said Gordon.

He pointed out that only one American port is in the top 20 worldwide for volume of twenty-foot equivalent units. Los Angeles is at No. 17. China has 10 of the top 16 locations.

“How many of them do you think are prevented from investing in productivity-boosting technology?” Gordon said. “Perhaps a more effective approach would be for the ILA to join forces with the ports, ocean carriers, trucking firms and shippers. Together they could propose collaborative solutions that acknowledge reality, facilitate adoption of technology in line with the rest of the world and boost American competitiveness. … To pardon the pun, this is a situation where a rising tide lifts all boats.”

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Chevron pushes through barriers to provide lower carbon intensity fuel solutions

As one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, the commercial transportation industry plays a major role in helping to create a lower carbon intensity future.

“Embracing alternatives to traditional fuels is not only about aligning with environmental regulations — it can also be a strategic move for carriers to position themselves as a more responsive supply chain partner and potentially expand business opportunities,” said Chevron Renewable Energy Group Chief Technologist, Dave Slade.

Chevron is expanding the use of renewable fuels, such as biodiesel and renewable diesel, as well as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable natural gas (RNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), renewable gasoline blend (RGB) and hydrogen. This includes working to make these fuels more accessible, affordable and abundant.

“We offer a suite of lower carbon intensity fuels to help meet customers where they are on their lower carbon journey for their targets and operations,” Slade said.

Meeting customers where they are is crucial, especially in times of challenging market conditions. Chevron helps direct its customers to solutions that will work for them today — and provide options for the future.

“To help expand the use of lower carbon fuels, we have invested in innovative technologies and are expanding production capacities to increase both supply and availability. In fact, we’re nearing the completion of a substantial improvement and expansion project at our renewable diesel production facility3 in Geismar, Louisiana. The project will take total site production capacity from 90 million gallons per year to 340 million gallons per year.” Slade said.

Chevron is also investing in strategic relationships with companies such as Optimus Technologies, an advanced fuel system technology manufacturer. The Optimus system upgrades medium- and heavy-duty engines to run on 100% biodiesel without significant engine modifications. Possible OEM integration of this system at a factory level as an option for new trucks may happen within the next couple of years.

In addition to innovative technologies and strategic relationships, Chevron is investing in expanded infrastructure as well as helping to overcome regulatory hurdles that challenge the implementation of lower carbon intensity fuels.

“We continue to tell the Chevron story and message to policymakers and stakeholders to emphasize that renewable diesel and biodiesel can help lower carbon intensity today,” Slade said. “We want to help ensure that policies are not only favorable but feasible, so that our customers can be successful in implementing lower carbon intensity fuel solutions.”

Click here to learn more about what makes Chevron unique.

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week cynicism; spot market sputters | WHAT THE TRUCK?!?

On Episode 758 of WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, Dooner is kicking off National Truck Driver Appreciation Week by checking in with the drivers and seeing why they’re so cynical about it. We’ll learn what driver appreciation is really about as well as some of the deals and events the industry is putting out there for truckers.

Neither Labor Day nor Hurricane Francine was much help when it came to propping up the spot market. Low rates have carriers limping through September.

Travelers’ Craig Leinauer looks at the most challenging commodities trucks haul. What’s the insurance industry’s perspective on freight, and how do you protect these loads? We’ll find out.

Arvist’s Nilay Parikh tells us about the latest in warehouse AI. Can it make the docks move faster?

J.J. Keller’s Josh Lovan talks about the importance of safety programs and how one of theirs reduced accidents by 15%.

Plus, NTSB investigates Tesla Semi fire that shut down freeway for 15 hours; Red Bull goes intermodal; freight broker mode; and more.

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