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Freight brokers pushing truck-fitness bill

trucks on the highway

WASHINGTON — Truck brokers want to see long-sought legislation that sets selection standards for motor carriers included in the next highway bill.

The Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act, reintroduced on Thursday by U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., requires that brokers and shippers only contract with trucking companies that are registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, hold a valid operating authority, and meet the required insurance thresholds.

The legislation also directs FMCSA to create a public-facing website confirming which carriers meet these requirements.

“Currently, a significant number of motor carriers lack formal safety ratings, making it challenging for contracting entities to assess their operating authority and attributable risk,” wrote Daniel Hoff, vice president of government affairs for the Transportation Intermediaries Association, in comments filed recently with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“By providing a standardized approach to carrier selection, this bill will enhance safety and accountability throughout the supply chain.”

TIA has been lobbying Congress to approve versions of legislation for close to 10 years.

“We’ve been fighting for this for quite a while,” TIA President Chris Burroughs told FreightWaves. “We’re hoping now to get it included in the reauthorization package.”

Large 3PLs like C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) also have been lobbying in support of the bill.

“Congressman Stauber’s Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act is a vital step forward that is grounded in the expertise of the professionals at the [FMCSA],”  C.H. Robinson Chief Legal Officer Dorothy Capers told FreightWaves in an email.

“Contrary to some misconceptions, this legislation is not a liability shield – it defines responsibility, rather than eliminating it, by aligning carrier selection with all of FMCSA’s safety requirements. No one should offer freight to motor carriers who have been ordered off the highway by FMCSA.”

In addition to motor carrier selection standards, TIA also is urging lawmakers to include in the highway bill legislation that cracks down on fake and illegitimate brokers and carriers, and new regulations for combatting cargo theft.

Transparency battle

The group at the same time is opposing any efforts to include into the highway reauthorization aspects of the proposed broker transparency rule, which FMCSA plans to reissue in January.

“This rule was relevant when brokers were commissioned agents of motor carriers and rates were regulated by the federal government,” Hoff told DOT. “Today, brokers operate as independent businesses that negotiate separately with shippers and carriers and often work under strict confidentiality agreements.”

Many owner operators and small-business trucking companies, however, see such agreements as a restriction on their legal rights.

“Today, billion-dollar brokers exert enormous influence over decision-making bodies, wielding money and lobbying clout to weaken or erase protections Congress explicitly designed for the motor carriers who are the backbone of this nation’s supply chain,” wrote Leander Richmond, creator of grass-roots trucker group Carriers United, in an email sent Friday to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Richmond contends that by not disclosing their transaction records, freight brokers are breaking the law. “Brokers provide a very unnecessary service. If they were forced to follow the law, most of them would not exist.”

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.

Werner sees market inching closer to recovery

Sideview of a Werner sleeper cab with a driver and a Werner trailer

Werner Enterprises sounded a little more upbeat about the prospects of a recovery at an investor conference this week. Representatives from the company noted a modest improvement in operations from a year ago but acknowledged fundamentals remain unfavorable as the market moves through a fourth year of a freight recession.

Werner (NASDAQ: WERN) said at Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE: MS) 13th Annual Laguna Conference in Laguna Beach, California that demand is largely in line with typical seasonal trends, with “positive momentum” being experienced in both its dedicated and logistics offerings. Werner’s dedicated fleet is benefitting from recent business wins and exposure to discount retail, where demand for non-discretionary goods requiring constant replenishment is largely unfettered by a changing trade landscape.  

The company’s peak season typically hinges on just a couple of large customers. So far, conversations with those shippers are signaling the likelihood of slightly higher volumes and rates this year.

Management from multimodal peer Schneider National (NYSE: SNDR) was less bullish at the conference, noting demand has remained in a “tight band” with little fluctuation during the third quarter. The team said market dynamics remain similar to a year ago but highlighted the potential for a better peak season if some project freight opportunities come together.

Schneider also flagged the probability that intermodal peak season could ramp down sooner than normal this year given a recent inventory pull forward ahead of tariff implementations.

SONAR: National Truckload Index (linehaul only – NTIL) for 2025 (blue shaded area), 2024 (green line) and 2023 (pink line). The NTIL is based on an average of booked spot dry van loads from 250,000 lanes. The NTIL is a seven-day moving average of linehaul spot rates excluding fuel. Spot rates are just slightly ahead of year-ago levels. To learn more about SONAR, click here.
SONAR: Outbound Tender Reject Index for 2025 (blue shaded area), 2024 (green line) and 2023 (pink line). A proxy for truck capacity, the Outbound Tender Reject Index shows the number of loads being rejected by carriers. Current tender rejections are outperforming prior-year levels but still not signaling a recovery.

Pricing still not where it needs to be

Werner noted a continuation of rate increases in its one-way segment, but said pricing still isn’t where it needs to be to offset higher costs. One-way rate per total mile was 2.7% higher year over year in the second quarter, a fourth straight y/y increase. The company’s guidance calls for no change to a 3% y/y increase to the metric in the third quarter, with similar goal posts established for dedicated revenue per truck per week for full-year 2025.

The company is expecting another challenging bid environment in 2026 as spot rates are still roughly “flattish” with a year ago. It said it needs more than the low- to mid-single-digit rate increases it garnered in the 2025 bid season to meaningfully move the margin needle.

Most freight recoveries are demand-led but Werner highlighted some supply catalysts that could make this cycle a little different.

It believes roughly 25,000 drivers could be removed from the industry in the first year of English proficiency enforcement. Also, it said private fleets are reducing unit counts and some are seeking to sell their assets to Werner, which would then seat and operate them in a dedicated capacity. The company believes the changes will put more freight back into the for-hire market.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:

Tech Roundup: Accelerate cash flow with Tai and Navix’s new integration

The Tech Roundup is a weekly rundown of advancements and news in the FreightTech space. This week: Tai and Navix team up to simplify freight audit and accelerate cash flow, Highway expands McLeod integration, and Roambee rebrands to Decklar.

Tai and Navix team up to simplify freight audit and accelerate cash flow

The often-overlooked world of freight audit is getting a digital overhaul thanks to a new partnership between Tai, the digital freight management platform, and Navix, a leader in automated freight audit and payment solutions. The collaboration is designed to reduce one of the most persistent pain points for brokers and 3PLs: the lag between booking a load and collecting payment.

In most freight transactions, brokers and logistics providers deal with multiple carriers, each with its own invoicing standards, timelines, and compliance requirements. This fragmented process often leaves companies spending more time reconciling bills than focusing on business growth. Tai and Navix aim to change that dynamic by embedding Navix’s audit and payment automation directly into Tai’s TMS ecosystem, effectively merging freight operations and financial reconciliation into a single workflow.

By integrating financial controls with transportation management, the solution allows brokers to identify billing discrepancies in real time, ensuring accuracy before invoices hit accounts payable. This level of automation not only minimizes disputes and delays but also accelerates cash flow, giving companies faster access to working capital.

For brokers and 3PLs, cash flow has long been a critical factor in staying competitive, especially as margins tighten in the current freight market. Tai and Navix argue that their partnership can transform cash flow from a challenge into an asset. Instead of waiting weeks to uncover errors, users will have visibility into freight invoices the moment they’re processed, enabling more reliable forecasting and financial planning.

This streamlined process could also play a role in customer retention. By reducing payment friction, brokers can offer carriers faster, more accurate payments while simultaneously giving shippers cleaner, dispute-free invoices. The potential for improved relationships on both sides of the transaction adds another layer of value to the partnership.

Daniel Ely, CPO of Tai Software, was quoted in a news release, “At Tai, we’re committed to giving brokers the tools they need to scale efficiently and profitably. Partnering with Navix extends that mission by removing one of the biggest barriers to cash flow: manual freight audit. By combining Tai’s automation engine with Navix’s AI-driven audit process, brokers can accelerate their order-to-cash cycle, free up capital, and reinvest in growth.” 

As the logistics industry faces economic headwinds, partnerships that blend operational efficiency with financial precision are likely to gain traction. Tai and Navix are betting that giving brokers and 3PLs the ability to speed up payments and eliminate billing errors can deliver not just cost savings, but also a competitive advantage.

Highway expands McLeod partnership to boost digital freight matching

Highway, known for its identity management platform for freight carriers, has expanded its certified partnership with McLeod Software, a widely used TMS provider, to include digital freight matching capabilities. The move represents a deepening of ties between the two companies and highlights the growing importance of trusted data in the digital freight ecosystem.

The original collaboration between Highway and McLeod centered on carrier identity verification, a pressing concern in an industry grappling with fraud and double brokering. By validating carriers before they entered McLeod’s system, Highway helped brokers and shippers reduce risk and increase trust. 

Now, with digital freight matching added to the mix, the partnership moves beyond security into efficiency, enabling McLeod customers to pair verified carriers with available loads more seamlessly.

Digital freight matching has become a critical tool in a market where capacity and rates shift rapidly. But the value of matching depends heavily on data integrity. By extending its verification tools into the freight matching process, Highway ensures that only vetted, reliable carriers participate in load boards within the McLeod environment. 

This reduces wasted time on fraudulent carriers while also giving shippers and brokers confidence in the legitimacy of each transaction.

For McLeod, the expansion strengthens its role as a central operating system for logistics companies. “Highway continues to innovate to solve the toughest challenges faced by the logistics and brokerage industry. We’re excited to integrate with their TFX solution to better serve our shared customers,” said Ahmed Ebrahim, SVP of Partnerships & Integrations at McLeod Software, in a news release.

This integration comes at a time when fraud has risen to one of the top concerns in the freight industry, costing companies millions annually. Highway’s Q2 2025 Freight Fraud Index reported a 27% increase year over year in U.S. cargo theft. 

By embedding identity verification into the very heart of digital freight matching, Highway and McLeod aim to make fraudulent transactions harder to execute while simultaneously speeding up legitimate matches. The result is a more secure, more efficient freight marketplace, one where brokers can spend less time worrying about fraud and more time servicing customers. 

Roambee rebrands as Decklar, launches Decision AI for supply chains

Roambee, the supply chain visibility provider, has officially rebranded as Decklar, making a shift from visibility to real-time decision-making powered by artificial intelligence. The new name, derived from “Decision Clarity,” reflects the company’s mission to enable enterprises to bridge the gap between planning and execution in increasingly complex global supply chains.

Decklar positions itself as the first AI-native “System of Action” for supply chains, a step beyond traditional systems of record like TMS or planning tools. By unifying real-time visibility data with AI-driven insights, Decklar aims to help enterprises make context-driven decisions instantly, whether it’s adjusting replenishment schedules, anticipating security risks, or forecasting in-transit revenue.

CEO Sanjay Sharma said in a news release, “For too long, supply chain decisions have been driven by gut instinct and fragmented information. Over the past decade, we’ve built one of the world’s richest supply chain intelligence graphs, and today we are leveraging it to transform how enterprises move from guesswork to data-driven clarity.”

As supply chains continue to navigate volatility and fragmentation, the ability to act in real time rather than rely on static planning may determine which companies stay competitive. For Decklar, the message is clear: visibility is no longer enough; decision-ready AI is the next frontier.

Rail freight slips in latest week

Total U.S. weekly rail traffic of carloads and intermodal units was down 2.4% percent for the week ending Sept. 6 compared with the same week a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads.

Carloads finished 3.5% lower while intermodal volume trailed by 1.4% compared with 2024.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups finished ahead: miscellaneous carloads, 15.3%, motor vehicles and parts, 7.1%, and forest products, 3.6%.

Commodity declines were most substantial in chemicals, 8.8%, coal, 4.4%, and grain, 8%.

(Chart: AAR)

Through the first 36 weeks of 2025, U.S. railroads saw cumulative volume of 7,963,526 carloads, up 2.4% y/y, and 9,724,964 intermodal containers and trailers, up 4%. Total combined U.S. traffic was 17,688,490 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.3% from 2024.

North American rail volume for the week on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 312,974 carloads, down 2% y/y, and 333,374 intermodal units, up 0.6%. Total combined traffic was 646,348 carloads and intermodal units, off 0.7%. North American rail volume for the first 36 weeks of 2025 was 24,348,314 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.6% y/y.

Subscribe to FreightWaves’ Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

Trump nominates rail consultant Kloster to STB 

Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern: Rival alliances bolster merger case

Labor and industry clash over rail automation
CN, CSX join on new Nashville intermodal service

Relay Payments expands: Circle K becomes third largest user

Relay Payments has signed up its third-largest customer with a deal for convenience store giant Circle K to accept its payment system at what it refers to as its “truck-accessible locations.”

The significance of the deal can be seen in the numbers: Relay Payments says its payment service is accepted at more than 3,000 locations. Circle K is bringing about 500 new outlets to the universe of outlets that accept Relay Payments.

Meghann Erhart, an executive vice president at Relay, said in an interview with FreightWaves that Circle K is the third-largest company accepting their services behind Pilot Flying J (NYSE: BRK-A) and Love’s Travel Centers. Notably, Travel Centers of America, which with Pilot Flying J and Love’s make up the triumvirate of the three biggest travel centers, does not yet accept Relay Payments.

High-flow diesel sites

Erhart said the Circle K (TO: ATD.TO) access is for the outlets that are what it called “high flow diesel sites.” The approximately 500 sites that will be accepting Relay Payments do not include the many more Circle K outlets that are built to service cars and customers in the convenience store part of the outlet, as opposed to those that specifically are set up so they can service trucks. 

When a new merchant decides to use Relay Payments, Erhart said the time to get the system up and running can vary widely. The fastest duration for a larger customer, she said, from signature to being turned on at the merchant was about four and a half weeks. A smaller merchant, Erhart said, “we could get live under a month.”

For some other merchants, Erhart said, a period of several months might be needed to get them online with Relay Payments “because it requires a little bit more testing, or it requires additional resources.”

Erhart declined to reveal the number of users of the Relay Payments app. But the prepared statement announcing the launch of Relay Payments at Circle K said the system “supports more than 500,000 drivers and carriers nationwide.”

As Erhart explained, payments are different from fuel cards in that first, the access to the Relay Payments network is through a phone app, rather than a plastic card. Where accepted, payment systems like at Relay are replacing not only fuel cards at the pump, but check-based payments for such services as lumpers, scales and maintenance.

Payments vs. cards on fraud

Another key selling point: in a market where fraud is an increasing problem and fighting it a priority for so many companies, a fraud against a fleet’s fuel card that requires a full replacement of all the cards in circulation is not an issue with a payments system. 

But Erhart added that payments systems have a built-in protection against the type of fraud that can befall a fuel card. “We don’t have fraud on our platform,” she said. “You can’t skim a phone.”

Relay Payments has been in business for about seven years. It’s a crowded field, and any company in a freight tech field always has the challenge of differentiating themselves from the pack. 

Asked about where Erhart sees Relay’s “value prop,” among other features she cited was the relative newness of the company and its impact on technology. 

“We don’t have technical debt of 40 or 50 years,” she said. “We’re not running our system on a mainframe where there’s only two people within 1,200 miles that know what to do if it goes down. We have built a system that is agile.”

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Load Board Negotiation Secrets – Strategies That Boost Your Rate Without Playing Games

Let’s Be Honest…

Most drivers aren’t taught how to negotiate.

They’re handed a truck, told to book freight, and shoved out into a market where brokers are often trained—literally trained—to protect the margin. You? You’re just trying to get paid enough to run another week without dipping into your savings.

But negotiation is a skill. And it’s not yelling or bluffing or being a jerk. It’s being smarter. Being calmer. And using the kind of tactics that work even in high-stakes government hostage situations.

No joke—law enforcement agencies teach these. And yes, they work on the load board just like they do in the situational room.

Let’s break them down, trucking-style.

1. The Mirror Trick

How it works in trucking:
When a broker throws out something vague—“That’s the most I can do” or “I just need it covered”—don’t argue. Repeat the last 2–3 words back to them. Calmly. Just like a mirror.

Broker: “I’m at $1,400 on this lane.”
You: “You’re at $1,400?”
Pause. Let the silence do the work.

Why it works:
It makes them feel heard, but it also forces them to clarify or expand. Nine times out of ten, they’ll either explain the rate, reveal a little extra room, or ask what you need to make it work.

Use it when: The broker’s being dodgy or rushing the conversation.

2. Call It Out

This one’s my favorite when a broker is trying to play hardball.

Say things like:

  • “It sounds like you’re trying to hold tight on that rate.”
  • “Feels like you’re worried about this one not moving in time.”
  • “I’m picking up that you’ve probably been burned on this lane before.”

Why it works:
Calling out the emotion under the surface lowers the tension. The broker realizes you’re not just another loudmouth—you actually get what’s going on. It builds trust. Fast.

Use it when: You sense friction or you’re about to counter hard.

3. Tactical Empathy

Yes, empathy. But not the fluffy kind.

This is where you show the broker that you understand their side—even if you don’t agree.

Example:
“You’ve probably got your customer breathing down your neck to get this covered under $1.50… I get that. But I’m looking at a truck that’s deadheading 85 miles, dealing with tolls, and hitting Jersey traffic. You know that’s not a $1.50 run.”

Why it works:
It diffuses tension, shows you’re not just about you, and positions you as someone worth collaborating with—not arguing against.

Use it when: The conversation’s stiff, or when you’re about to shift leverage.

4. The ‘That’s Right’ Trigger

Your goal is to hear them say: “That’s right.”
Not “you’re right.” There’s a difference.

“You’re right” is dismissive.“That’s right” means they agree with your view of the situation.

How you get there:
By summarizing their situation better than they did.

Try this:
“So you’ve got a load that’s been sitting for 2 hours, a customer breathing down your neck, and the last guy ghosted you. You need a reliable carrier who can pick it up in 60 minutes and get it there tomorrow morning without issues… That sounds about right?”

Why it works:
Once they say “that’s right,” they let their guard down. That’s when you come in with your terms.

5. Control the Illusion

Control without being controlling.

Never ask “Why?”
Ask:

  • “What’s keeping this load stuck at $1,450?”
  • “How do I help you justify $1,700 to your team?”
  • “What would need to happen for you to stretch this to $1.85 a mile?”

Why it works:
Brokers feel like they’re in control. You’re asking them to solve the problem with you, not for you.

Use it when: You’re getting stonewalled.

6. The Ackerman Method – Trucking Style

This one’s for the pros. Let’s say you want $2,000 for a load.

Start your ask at: $2,300 (that’s about 115% of your target)
If they say no, drop to: $2,150
Next offer: $2,025
Final move: Land on $2,000 with something like “I can do $2,000 if we book this right now.”

Why it works:
It creates the illusion of movement. You look flexible without ever going under your number. And it plants anchors—every drop feels like a favor.

Pro tip:
Use odd numbers. “$2,075” feels calculated. “$2,000 even” feels like a bluff.

Let’s Put It All Together: Roleplay Time

Scenario: Broker has a load Charlotte to Chicago. 40,000 lbs of paper rolls. They’re offering $1,650. You want $1,925 minimum.

Broker: I’ve got this load at $1,650—can you do it?

You (mirror): $1,650?

Broker: Yeah. That’s where I need to be to move it.

You (call it out): Sounds like you’re trying to stay under your margin threshold.

Broker: That’s right.

You (empathy): You’ve probably had this load posted for a while—tight market, maybe some bounce-backs from other carriers?

Broker: Yeah, one guy no-showed earlier.

You (summary): So you’ve got 40,000 pounds of paper, customer waiting, and you need a reliable carrier that can commit now and be on-site in 90 minutes. That’s right?

Broker: That’s right.

You (control illusion): What would need to happen for you to get to $1,925 on this?

Broker: Man, I might be able to do $1,800 if I get quick approval.

You (Ackerman): If you can get it to $1,925, I’ll get a truck rolling within 15. That’s the number that makes it worth deadheading 40 miles to cover you right now.

Broker: Let me check. [pause] Alright, let’s do it.

Final Thought

Many drivers lose money at the negotiation table—not on the road. The way you talk, pause, ask, and reframe matters. You’re not just a truck number on the other end of a call. You’re a business. And businesses negotiate.

Practice this. Bookmark it. Roleplay with your team. Teach your dispatcher. And the next time someone says, “That’s all I got,” you’ll know exactly how to smile, lean in, and say—

“That’s all you’ve got?”

FAQ – Real Talk with Real Questions

Q: What if I’m new and don’t feel confident negotiating?
Start by mirroring. It’s easy, non-confrontational, and gets the broker talking. The more you practice, the easier it gets.

Q: What if the broker says, “Then don’t take it”?
That’s fine. Walk. But always leave the door open. “I understand—it just doesn’t work for us right now. If anything changes, you’ve got my number.” You’d be surprised how many come back.

Q: Is this manipulation?
No. It’s conversation done right. You’re not tricking anyone—you’re just communicating better.

Q: Can I use this with direct shippers too?
Absolutely. In fact, these techniques build even more trust in long-term partnerships.

CN and CSX tout railroad collaboration to power growth

Canadian National and CSX executives today touted cooperation — not combination — as the best way to convert freight from highway to rail.

While Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) has proposed an $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) to create the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S., CN (NYSE: CNI) Chief Executive Tracy Robinson says interline partnerships can provide seamless service now, and without the risk of operational problems related to a messy merger integration.

“You open up a rail map in North America, you can get from anywhere to anywhere already with the network that we have. What you have to do — what we have to do — is figure out how to make it easier to navigate between the railroads,” she says, noting that CN is seeking to form more alliances with other Class I railroads.

Earlier in her career, railroads were not interested in partnerships. 

“Today, we know as railroads we can be partners and we can be competitors at the same time,” she told an investor conference on Thursday.

This week CN and CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) announced they will offer new interline intermodal service connecting Canadian West Coast ports with Nashville, Tenn., via interchange in Memphis. Nashville is one of the fastest-growing markets for CN, Robinson says, but this container traffic currently hits the highway in Memphis for the trip to Music City.

“This is about creating services for your customers so that they can best utilize the fullness of the North American rail network,” Robinson said.

At around 220 miles, Memphis-Nashville is a short haul for CSX. But CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs, speaking separately at the same investor conference, says the steel-wheel interchange in Memphis was a no-brainer given the volume of the traffic being trucked.

“We have a train running from Memphis to Nashville that has capacity on it. Why wouldn’t we just put it on our train? 
And that’s the extent of it: smart business, no incremental costs, great value for customers, take trucks off the road,” he said. “I mean, everybody wins.”

Hinrichs, a former Ford (NYSE: F) executive who became CEO in 2022, says he has been preaching the power of partnerships since he joined the railroad. “I’ve been imploring this industry to work better together to grow the pie for all of us and to serve customers better,” Hinrichs said.

But until recently the only alliance of Hinrichs’ tenure was with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (NYSE: CP) through a new interchange in Alabama that links the Southeast with Texas and Mexico.

Now, however, Hinrichs said Class I railroads are far more interested in partnering. 

“We’re now at a point where the industry’s willing to talk about things that it hasn’t been willing to talk about before,” he said. “And a lot of that was largely driven by a ‘what’s in it for me’ view of the world.”

There’s far more potential from the broader intermodal alliance CSX and BNSF announced in August for new domestic service linking the West Coast and Southeast and international intermodal service connecting Kansas City with East Coast ports.

“They have the largest intermodal business in the West, with their partnership with J.B. Hunt,” Hinrichs said. “They’re the fastest in the West. We’re the fastest in the East. So we can see lots of scenarios where we can create really competitive offerings for customers … especially when we get the Howard Street Tunnel opened up.”

CSX on Thursday said the tunnel clearance project, which will allow CSX to offer double-stack service for the first time on the I-95 corridor and will create a direct route for traffic moving between the Midwest and Baltimore, will open ahead of schedule, along with the Blue Ridge Subdivision rebuilt after damage from Hurricane Helene.

CN Chief Financial Officer Ghislain Houle says the name of the game is extending the reach of each Class I system.

“We can help CSX and other railroads extend their network reach and reach markets that they wouldn’t be able to reach on their own,” he said. “But we don’t need to do this through mergers. We can do this through partnerships. If the partnership is well structured, and if the information flow between the two railroads is well done … you work as a one single-line railroad to cover North America.”

Robinson says the Falcon Premium intermodal service — which connects CN terminals in Detroit and Canada with Ferromex terminals in Mexico, with Union Pacific as the middleman between Chicago and the border at Eagle Pass, Texas — is a model for the industry.

The trains offer a consistent, five-day transit time because of close coordination and a commitment among the three railroads, she said.

Falcon will pose a challenge for UP and NS as they seek to gain Surface Transportation Board approval of their deal, Robinson said. The STB’s 2001 merger review rules encourage alliances that can provide merger-like benefits without the risk of integration-related service problems.

“UP and NS are going to have to think about how they answer the question of whether you can get these benefits in different ways without contemplating the risk, the public harm, of putting a big merger together,” Robinson said.

UP and NS executives have pledged a smooth integration of their systems, should the merger win regulatory approval.

Robinson also said it will be a challenge for UP and NS to clear the regulatory hurdle of ensuring that their merger enhances, rather than merely preserves, competition. In order to boost competition, UP and NS will have to agree to concessions that “are going to be quite considerable,” she said.

CN, she adds, will do everything it can through the review process to protect its network and the competitive access its customers currently enjoy.

Robinson noted that UP CEO Jim Vena said the merger will enable his railroad to repatriate international intermodal business that currently relies on Canadian ports to reach destinations in the U.S. Midwest.

The Canada-U.S. volume is a drop in the bucket compared to what moves through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and on to Chicago, Robinson said.

“Most of that volume that comes in through the Canadian ports goes down to Chicago, and it goes down to Memphis. There’s bits and pieces that go beyond, but he can compete for that already,” Robinson said.”
He can just show up and compete. He doesn’t need a merger to do that. So if he’s counting on that volume for his merger economics, then he’s probably paying too much.”

The CN and CSX executives spoke at the Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference.

Subscribe to FreightWaves’ Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox.

Related coverage:

Trump nominates rail consultant Kloster to STB 

Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern: Rival alliances bolster merger case

Labor and industry clash over rail automation
CN, CSX join on new Nashville intermodal service

Rates spin as Chinese ships dropped from U.S. routes

After climbing steadily the previous week, average spot rates for containers moving from Asia to the United States shifted into decline, as machinations in the trade play havoc with capacity and schedules.

Far East to U.S. West Coast rates were $2,322 per forty foot equivalent unit (FEU) as of Sept. 11, according to consultant Xeneta, while Far East to U.S. East Coast was $3,190 per FEU.

This comes as average spot rates from the end of August into the West Coast are up 27.1%, and 11.8% to the East Coast.

The spread in average spot rates between the coasts of $868 per FEU, said Xeneta, shows their ‘normal’ relationship is out of balance after rising as high as $1,027 per FEU on August 31. The imbalance will reverse when current conditions ‘calm down,’ as carriers adjust to fast-moving tariff and trade uncertainty.

“Carriers are swapping out China-built vessels on services into the U.S. ahead of United States Trade Representative port fees coming into force [in October],” said analyst Peter Sand. “This could be one of the factors behind increasing spot rates on trans-Pacific trades.”

Sand said that it’s unclear whether the tonnage swaps will lower  capacity or blanked sailings, “but it will cause disruption with the potential to impact rate development.”

Gemini [the cooperation between Maersk (OTC: AMKBY) and Hapag-Lloyd (GER: HLAG.DE)] is swapping out a total of 60,000 TEUs across six China-built vessels on the US2 service, Sand said, which calls at both the U.S East and West coasts. 

“It’s clear this is a concerted effort to minimize China-built TEU on these trades.”

Rates have held steadier on the trans-Atlantic where the average spot rate is down just $3 per FEU, or 0.2%, from last week and $50 per FEU, 2.6%, from August 31.

North Europe to U.S. East Coast was $1,838 per FEU as of Sept. 11.

The average spot rate from Asia into the Mediterranean is off 8.1% since the end of August, and 12.9% into North Europe. From a week ago, the average rate is down 1.7% and 2.2% into the Mediterranean and North Europe.

Spot rates into the Mediterranean and North Europe have now been consistently falling since mid-June and early-July.

“On August 1, average spot rates on trades from Far East to North Europe and Mediterranean were completely aligned, but that spread has now increased to $500 per FEU,” said Sand. “This is a fascinating story because the spread is caused by North Europe falling harder while the Mediterranean is holding firmer on both short- and long-term markets. One factor is found in stronger demand at ports in the Western Mediterranean, which is helping to hold spot rates up in comparison to North Europe.”

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

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Trans-Pacific container rates rally despite trade war’s effects

Ex-FMC chief warns: U.S. maritime push needs deeper look

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Op-ed: Motive defeats Samsara in IP infringement case

(The comments in this article are contributed content by an outside party and do not reflect the opinions of FreightWaves, its employees, or any of its subsidiaries.)

By Shoaib Makani, Founder & CEO of Motive

On September 8, 2025, Judge Doris Johnson Hines of the International Trade Commission (ITC) issued her determination in Samsara’s patent infringement case against Motive. The ruling was clear: Motive does not infringe any valid Samsara patent claims, and no violations were found against Motive.

This is a complete victory for Motive, and most importantly, a win for the nearly 100,000 customers and more than 1 million drivers who rely on our technology to improve the safety of our roads.

How we got here
For more than a decade, Motive has been on a mission to make our roads safer. We started in 2013 with electronic logs to prevent fatigue-related accidents. In 2017, we began training AI models to detect unsafe driving behavior. In 2021, we launched the Motive AI Dashcam, a product that has prevented more than 170,000 accidents and saved an estimated 1,500 lives.

It was this life-saving technology and an academic study of its efficacy that prompted Samsara’s legal attack. In 2023, we commissioned a study from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute to independently benchmark the performance of leading AI dash cams. The results were clear: Motive’s AI Dashcam successfully alerted drivers of unsafe behavior up to 4X more than Samsara.

Knowing they were years behind on the AI front and losing major customers to Motive, Samsara attempted to close the gap by using patent litigation as a marketing tool. But the strategy failed. The Judge’s determination confirms what we have always known — Motive did not copy any of Samsara’s supposed inventions, and Motive’s AI technology is fundamentally better than Samsara’s.

The importance of benchmarking
In nearly every field where AI is applied, from medical diagnostics to software engineering, rigorous benchmarking is the norm. Independent evaluations, transparent metrics, and side-by-side comparisons.

But when it comes to AI-powered driver safety technology, Samsara is fighting to prevent it. Samsara’s Terms of Service prevent customers from performing benchmark tests on their products. In stark contrast, Motive’s Terms of Service do not prevent customers from benchmarking our product. We actually encourage it, because we believe it is in the public interest to do so.

As we have in the past, we again invite Samsara to participate in an independent benchmarking study to compare the performance of our AI dash cams. We hope they will finally take us up on that offer. Until then, we will continue to encourage customers to run their own side-by-side trials and see for themselves which product detects more unsafe behavior and prevents more accidents.

The safer road ahead
With this legal attack in the rearview, Motive remains more focused than ever on our mission to improve the safety of our roads.

Thank you to our customers who have placed their trust in Motive. We are grateful for your partnership, and we are more motivated than ever to build a safer and more productive world with you.