Freight

Rob Carpenter Saturday, February 7, 2026

Sam Express, AJ Partners, and Sham CDL School Aydana in Investigation of Fatal Indiana Amish Crash

A fatal Indiana crash has exposed a pipeline stretching from Kyrgyzstan to Chicago to Philadelphia, chameleon carriers sharing trucks and DOT numbers, a CDL school with no public footprint, an ELD allegedly built with a backdoor, and a driver whose immigration status passed a federal database check. Secretary Duffy is investigating. Will the investigation follow the money?

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Rob Carpenter Friday, February 6, 2026

REAL-ID, Mail-Order CDLs, and America’s CDL Free-for-All.

A Mexican licencia federal de conductor can be obtained without a behind-the-wheel road test. Third-party brokers advertise mail-order processing for as little as $200. Under existing reciprocity agreements, that license can be converted to an American CDL in states that accept foreign credentials, and at least six of those states have been flagged by FMCSA for failing to verify the legal presence of non-domiciled applicants.

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Rob Carpenter Friday, January 30, 2026

FMCSA Counts Inspections. Nobody Counts Compliance.

FMCSA and its state partners conduct 3.3 million roadside inspections annually, placing nearly a million vehicles and drivers out of service, but states are measured on inspection volume, not enforcement outcomes. The inspectors’ own alliance wants to eliminate the requirement that carriers confirm they fixed the problems. There are 800,000 carriers and 12,000 audits a year. Texas has a state law that conflicts with federal ELP requirements, so drivers get licensed there and are placed out of service elsewhere. We’re counting inspections. Nobody’s counting compliance.

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Rob Carpenter Thursday, January 29, 2026

The $75,000 Bond and Truckers Left Holding The Bag

Nearly 88,000 trucking companies closed in 2023. Fraud losses topped $455 million in 2024. Carriers filing claims against $75,000 surety bonds are discovering that the pot’s already been split 50 ways. As the Supreme Court prepares to rule on whether brokers can be held liable for hiring bad carriers, it’s time to ask: who really bears the risk in freight, and is the system rigged against the people actually moving the loads?

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Rob Carpenter Thursday, January 29, 2026

Bomb Cyclone Bearing Down on Mid-Atlantic and New England: What Drivers and Fleets Need to Know

The National Weather Service is forecasting a “significant East Coast winter storm threat” for this weekend, with a coastal low forming Friday and rapidly intensifying into a bomb cyclone as it tracks up the Eastern Seaboard. If you’re running freight anywhere from the Carolinas to Boston over the next five days, you need to pay attention right now.

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Rob Carpenter Wednesday, January 28, 2026

The Military Doesn’t Just Train Drivers. It Builds Citizens. Maybe That’s What We’re Missing.

The favorite argument from those supporting the ATA’s teen trucker push is “if they can go to war at 18, they can drive a truck at 18.” Military service transforms young people into disciplined, responsible adults who understand that their decisions affect others. That’s why military-trained drivers have 42% fewer accidents. The solution isn’t younger drivers; it’s requiring the standards that make military drivers safer. We’ve lost something fundamental in how we raise our young people, and the highway data proves it.

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Rob Carpenter Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Teen Truckers Won’t Fix a Problem That Doesn’t Exist

The ATA wants FMCSA to extend a failed pilot program that produced 42 graduates out of a planned 3,000. Meanwhile, we’re handing CDLs to drivers who can’t pass basic safety screenings, and carriers who kill people on our highways are walking away with slaps on the wrist. Lowering the age requirement doesn’t solve a labor problem; it creates a safety catastrophe.

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Rob Carpenter Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Why Robotaxis Keep Failing While AV Trucks Take the Slow Road to Safety

In December 2025, Waymo recalled 3,067 robotaxis after its vehicles ran red lights and blew through school bus stop signs at least 20 times in Austin alone, including one incident that occurred moments after a child crossed in front of a vehicle. Meanwhile, Aurora’s autonomous trucks have completed over 100,000 driverless miles in Texas without a single school bus incident. The difference is methodology, and understanding that difference might just save your life.

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Rob Carpenter Friday, January 16, 2026

The Stagecoach Robbing Era and The Evolution of Freight Fraud

The freight industry moved $14 trillion in goods last year. It cannot function without trust, trust that the carrier picking up your load is who they claim to be, trust that the broker paying you will actually pay, and trust that the load you accepted exists. That trust has been systematically exploited for decades. At its root, every form of freight fraud, chameleon carriers, double brokering, cargo theft, identity spoofing, comes down to one question: Are you who you say you are?

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Rob Carpenter Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Trump Administration Waves White Flag on Transportation Funding Immigration Fight, But the War is Far From Over

The Trump administration’s decision to drop its appeal that tied billions in transportation funding to immigration enforcement represents a significant legal setback, but don’t mistake this tactical retreat for surrender. For motor carriers employing non-domiciled CDL holders, the regulatory battlefield has only shifted, not cleared.

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Rob Carpenter Sunday, January 11, 2026

Mexican National Arrested at Border After Alleged Kidnapping Spree Fits Pattern FBI Has Tracked for Decades

A 35-year-old Mexican national working for an Arizona-based trucking company was arrested at the border after allegedly targeting middle school girls and multiple women during a single night in Ellensburg, Washington. The case fits a disturbing pattern the FBI has tracked since 2004 through its Highway Serial Killings Initiative, which has linked more than 850 murders to long-haul truck drivers and currently tracks 450 active suspects.

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Rob Carpenter Sunday, January 11, 2026

Tennessee Becomes Latest Target in Duffy’s CDL Compliance Crackdown

Tennessee has notified approximately 8,800 CDL holders that they must provide proof of citizenship or lawful presence by April 6 or face an automatic downgrade to a standard driver’s license. The move follows Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s escalating enforcement campaign that has already frozen California’s non-domiciled licensing program and threatened multiple states with the loss of federal highway funds.

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Adam Wingfield Wednesday, January 7, 2026

A Scholarship That Recognizes the Family Behind the Truck

Trucking is rarely a one-person job. Every mile logged, every late night delivery, every holiday spent on the road usually has a family on the other end of it—supporting, sacrificing, adjusting, and carrying part of the load. That’s something the industry doesn’t talk about enough. And it’s exactly what the OOIDA Mary Johnston Scholarship Fund […]

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Adam Wingfield Friday, November 21, 2025

EPA Holds Firm on 2027 NOx Rule – What Small Carriers Need to Know Before the Market Shifts

For months, the trucking industry has been waiting to see whether EPA would bend, pause, or extend the 2027 NOx emissions deadline. Industry groups filed petitions. Manufacturers warned about rushed timelines. Trucking associations argued the rollout was too fast and too expensive. But none of it moved the agency. EPA said no. The deadline remains. […]

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Matt Herr Monday, October 6, 2025

Meet Industry Leaders Coming to This Year’s F3: Future of Freight Festival

This year’s F3: Future of Freight Festival will bring back rapid-fire demos, high-tech exhibits, engaging discussions with thought-provoking speakers, market insights, fun networking experiences, live music and more, but this time totally reimagined to fully immerse you in a festival atmosphere with more venues, experiences and Chattanooga vibes. Join the greatest minds in the industry Oct. 21-22, 2025, for the largest festival in freight.

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Rob Carpenter Thursday, September 25, 2025

Produce Consumption Patterns are Driving Cold Chain Recovery

Excerpt: The produce industry’s demographic shift toward Millennial consumers is creating new transportation opportunities for reefer carriers as the freight recession shows signs of improvement. With Millennials driving 68% of produce growth and demanding convenience-focused solutions, cold chain logistics faces challenges and opportunities in 2025.

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Adam Wingfield Monday, August 25, 2025

How to Implement Your OEM Maintenance Schedule Into Your ELD So You Never Miss a Critical Interval

Every truck you purchase comes with an OEM maintenance schedule. Most ELDs you install has the ability to track miles, engine hours, and time. Yet some small fleets never connect those two together. Instead, they leave maintenance up to memory, paperwork, or worse—driver recall. That’s how critical service intervals get skipped, warranties get voided, and […]

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Adam Wingfield Thursday, August 21, 2025

How to Use Data to Make Smarter Growth Decisions

A lot of folks think “growth” just means more trucks, more loads, more lanes. But that’s not growth—that can mean chaos. Real, sustainable growth comes from clarity. And clarity only comes when you know your numbers inside and out. If you’re not tracking, reviewing, and executing off your data, you’re not scaling—you’re just guessing. And […]

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Julie Van de Kamp Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Everstream Analytics Partners with FreightWaves and SONAR to Bring Advanced Risk Intelligence to SONAR Platform Users 

Global supply chain risk leader extends reach to over one million logistics professionals, delivering 15+ years of proven weather analytics through industry leading freight intelligence platform  SAN MARCOS, Calif. and CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – August 19, 2025 – Everstream Analytics, the global leader in supply chain risk management and predictive insights, today announced a strategic partnership […]

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Rob Carpenter Wednesday, August 6, 2025

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

Brazilian entrepreneur Ricardo Faria’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Hillandale Farms continues a troubling pattern of foreign control over critical US food infrastructure. The deal puts one of America’s most transportation-intensive agricultural operations, complete with a 250-trailer fleet serving markets from Maine to the Carolinas, under foreign ownership. Unlike previous high-profile foreign food acquisitions, this major deal has received minimal mainstream attention despite significant implications for supply chains and the 11.27 billion tons of freight moved annually by US trucks.

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FreightWaves Staff Monday, August 4, 2025

Best Field Service Management Software 

Let’s be clear—manual dispatch boards, whiteboards in the shop, and scribbled notes on the back of receipts don’t cut it anymore. Not if you’re serious about running a field-based operation that’s efficient, accountable, and scalable. Whether you’re managing roadside service trucks, mobile technicians, or heavy equipment repairs, the right field service management (FSM) software will […]

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FreightWaves Staff Saturday, August 2, 2025

Best Trucking Bookkeeping Services

Let’s set the record straight—bookkeeping is not some behind-the-scenes admin task you push off until tax season. In trucking, your books are your compass. Without clean, organized, and trucking-specific financials, you’re not just driving blind—you’re making decisions that could sink your business. I’ve seen too many good carriers fall apart not because of bad freight, […]

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Adam Wingfield Friday, August 1, 2025

How to Scale Your Revenue Without Adding Any Trucks

When revenue stalls, most small carriers think: “I need another truck.” That logic is broken. Adding trucks before dialing in your business model just multiplies your problems—fuel, repairs, insurance, compliance, and payroll. A small operation with 1 to 3 trucks should be profitable before it ever considers scaling up. Let’s make this clear: if you’re […]

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Adam Wingfield Saturday, July 26, 2025

How to Track Driver Hours Without Drowning in ELD Reports

Running a small fleet means you’re stretched thin—dispatching loads, chasing payments, and keeping trucks rolling. Then ELD reports hit you like a brick wall, piling on data you barely have time to read, let alone understand. Hours of service rules aren’t optional, but you don’t need to drown in reports to stay compliant. If you’re […]

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Adam Wingfield Friday, July 25, 2025

Creating a Safety Review Process That Doesn’t Slow You Down

You don’t need more meetings. You need better habits. Many carriers hear the word “safety review” and immediately think of three-hour meetings, binders collecting dust, and a compliance officer nobody wants to talk to. That kind of thinking is exactly why safety becomes a scramble—something you deal with after a violation, not before it. But […]

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FreightWaves Staff Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Cass and FreightWaves SONAR Revolutionize Freight Management with Seamless SSO Integration, Unlocking Advanced Supply Chain Intelligence

Complimentary Access to SONAR SCI via Cass’s SSO Integration During July and August St. Louis, MO & Chattanooga, TN — July 15, 2025 — Cass Information Systems (NASDAQ: Cass), the leading provider of freight audit and payment services, and FreightWaves SONAR, the premier supply chain intelligence platform, are expanding their strategic partnership to offer enhanced […]

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Adam Wingfield Saturday, July 12, 2025

Dispatch Handoffs That Don’t Drop the Ball

When dispatch handoffs get sloppy, mistakes multiply and money slips through the cracks. Drivers get left in the dark, loads fall through the cracks, and your business starts to bleed in places you can’t afford. Whether you’re running two trucks or twenty, this article will show you how to build a clean, repeatable dispatch handoff […]

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Adam Wingfield Saturday, July 12, 2025

How to Build a Bulletproof Safety Binder from Day One

If you’re operating trucks without a complete, organized, and regularly updated safety binder, you’re playing a dangerous game — one that ends with audits, violations, or worse, lawsuits. Too many new carriers treat compliance like an afterthought. They get their DOT number, get insurance, start moving freight, and figure they’ll “clean it up later.” That’s […]

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Adam Wingfield Friday, July 11, 2025

Building a Load Review Checklist That Prevents Mistakes

If you’re running loads without a formal review process in place, you’re running blind. Every missed appointment, every unpaid detention, every “I thought we agreed on that” moment — it all comes back to one thing: a lack of structure. And in this industry, mistakes don’t just cost time — they cost money, relationships, and […]

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Adam Wingfield Thursday, July 10, 2025

Building a Load Intake Process That Keeps You Organized

If your load intake process looks like scribbled notes, missed emails, and “I’ll remember it later” — you’ve already lost. Not to the load board, not to rates — but to disorganization. And disorganization is the silent killer in this industry. It’s what clogs your cash flow, confuses your drivers, and burns you out before […]

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Adam Wingfield Wednesday, July 9, 2025

How to Create a Maintenance Budget You Can Stick To

If your maintenance budget feels like a moving target, you’re not alone. Most small fleet owners and owner-operators either guess at their maintenance costs—or worse, react to them only after something breaks. That’s not a strategy. That’s survival. And in this industry, running your business in survival mode will kill your margins faster than a […]

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Adam Wingfield Wednesday, July 9, 2025

The Right Way to Create a Driver Scorecard That Sticks 

If you are running a moderate sized fleet with more than 15-20 trucks, measuring your drivers is important. Let’s cut through the fluff—most driver scorecards fail not because the data isn’t there, but because the leadership behind them doesn’t know how to use them. Slapping together a spreadsheet with a few red, yellow, and green […]

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Adam Wingfield Tuesday, July 8, 2025

The One-Page SOP Every Owner Operator Should Be Using

Let’s say this upfront: if your dispatcher doesn’t have a one-page SOP taped to the wall, you’re already behind. I’ve walked into hundreds of dispatch offices—some as clean as a cockpit, others looking like a paperwork tornado touched down. But there’s one thing that separates a dispatcher who owns the day from one who reacts […]

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Adam Wingfield Sunday, July 6, 2025

The KPI Breakdown Every Dispatcher Should Know

As a carrier with enough units that you hire an internal dispatch team, understanding how to measure their performance is critical. If your dispatcher is only focused on picking loads and calling drivers, you’ve got a major blind spot in your operation. Because in today’s market, dispatch isn’t just about movement—it’s about measurement. And if […]

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Adam Wingfield Friday, July 4, 2025

How to Sell Your Safety Record to a Direct Shipper

Let’s get something straight—many shippers don’t just buy capacity anymore. They buy consistency. They buy professionalism. And most of all, they buy risk reduction. You can have the cleanest trucks, the most reliable drivers, and the best on-time percentage in your market, but if you can’t sell your safety record in a way that builds […]

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Craig Fuller, CEO at FreightWaves Thursday, June 26, 2025

ELP Rule Threatens 10% of Truckers, Risks Carrier CSA Scores

The English Language Proficiency (ELP) rule, now in effect, could significantly reduce trucking capacity. For a decade, large truckload carriers have embraced regulations like the ELD mandate and Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to limit market capacity, but effects were typically short-lived. The ELP mandate, enforced by a DOT Executive Order, requires commercial drivers to demonstrate […]

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Adam Wingfield Friday, June 20, 2025

When to Say No to a Load and Why It Matters

If you’re still saying yes to every load just to “keep the wheels turning,” you’re not running a business—you’re gambling with your profit and praying it works out. The hustle mindset might have gotten you your first truck, but it won’t keep you in the game. The carriers who last know that saying no is […]

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Adam Wingfield Thursday, June 19, 2025

The Real Impact of FMCSA’s English Proficiency Enforcement

Let’s get one thing straight up front—this isn’t about politics, and it’s not about opinion. This is about operational reality. The FMCSA’s renewed enforcement of English proficiency rules isn’t new, but it is hitting harder now, and if you’re not paying attention, it can cost you. Small fleets and owner-operators need to stop treating this […]

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Adam Wingfield Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Freight Theft Rings Are Growing and Small Carriers Are Targets

There’s a new threat moving faster than enforcement can keep up with—and it’s not just hitting the mega carriers. It’s hitting the small fleets. It’s hitting the owner-operators. And it’s hitting the guys who thought, “That would never happen to me.” Freight theft isn’t just a big city problem or a warehouse security issue anymore. […]

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Adam Wingfield Wednesday, June 18, 2025

How to Build a Carrier Brand in 2025

Let’s get one thing straight—branding is not a logo. It’s not your color scheme, it’s not your slogan, and it sure as hell isn’t your Instagram page with four truck selfies and a motivational quote. Branding is how the market remembers you when you’re not in the room. It’s what brokers, shippers, and even other […]

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Adam Wingfield Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Deadhead Reduction Strategies That Work

Most carriers don’t realize how much empty miles are quietly killing their bottom line. You can have the best rates in the world, but if your truck runs 150 miles empty between loads, you’re bleeding profit—and most of the time, you don’t even notice it until it’s too late. Deadhead doesn’t show up on a […]

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Rob Carpenter Monday, June 2, 2025

A Practical Guide to CVSA Brake Safety Week 2025

With over 12% of trucks sidelined during last year’s CVSA Brake Safety Week, the 2025 focus on rotors and brake drums puts heavy-duty and vocational trucks in the crosshairs. This guide breaks down what inspectors look for and how clean, well-maintained rigs are more likely to pass or avoid inspection altogether.

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Adam Wingfield Wednesday, May 28, 2025

How Tender Rejections Predict Your Next Rate

Every week, thousands of loads move across the country before a single rate hits the load board. That’s because most freight—especially high-volume freight—starts with a contract. Shippers send out tenders to their core carriers, usually the same ones every week. But when those carriers say no? That’s when things start to shift—and it’s also when […]

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