Freight

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—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 confidence […]

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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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Adam Wingfield Thursday, May 15, 2025

How to Read Your Rate Con Like a Pro

Too many carriers treat the rate con like a formality, but buried in those few pages are the traps that can cost you detention pay, shift liability, or delay your check for weeks. In this guide, we walk through how to break down a rate confirmation like a fleet manager, flagging sneaky clauses, protecting your rights, and building a system to manage paperwork at scale. In trucking, reading the fine print is financial survival.

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Adam Wingfield Thursday, May 15, 2025

The Truth About Deadhead and How to Fix It

Deadhead miles don’t show up on rate confirmations, but they quietly bleed small carriers dry, fuel, time, equipment wear and revenue lost every mile you roll empty. This guide breaks down what deadhead really costs and offers five practical strategies, from triangle hauls to smarter rate negotiation, to cut it down, tighten your routing, and boost profit without needing a dedicated lane or a giant customer list.

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Adam Wingfield Thursday, May 1, 2025

How to Get From Lease-On to Authority in 90 Days

The jump from leased-on driver to running under your own authority feels easy when you’re frustrated with your current situation. You start thinking, “Man, if I’m doing all the work, why am I giving up 20%, 30%, even 40% of the money?” And you’re not wrong to feel that way. But emotion doesn’t pay for […]

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Grace Sharkey Thursday, January 9, 2025

Retail’s $103 billion problem 😰

In 2024, retailers dealt with a costly challenge: U.S. consumers returning $685 billion worth of merchandise — 13.21% of total retail sales, according to Appriss Retail’s latest report.  Alarmingly, 15.14% of these returns were fraudulent, costing retailers a staggering $103 billion. The report, created with Deloitte, highlights the most common fraud schemes. Wardrobing, in which […]

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