This week in Borderlands Mexico: TCS is betting on Monterrey as cross-border trade gets more complicated; Union Pacific plans 2,000-acre Mainline Texas Industrial Park near Houston; and Former Waco bottling plant to be redeveloped into I-35 distribution center.
Fleet telematics provider Motive has filed paperwork to go public, a move that could intensify competition in the freight technology market.
Mexico remained the United States’ largest trading partner in 2025, but policy shifts and enforcement crackdowns reshaped cross-border commerce.
A class-action lawsuit filed in Alameda County seeks to block California’s Jan. 5 cancellation of nearly 20,000 commercial driver’s licenses. The plaintiffs argue the DMV is punishing immigrant drivers for the agency’s own administrative failures while refusing to let them reapply for corrected credentials, violating state law and due process.
The order directs expedited rescheduling to Schedule III, but the same agency that’s held up oral fluid testing for two years now holds the keys to marijuana testing’s future.
A new FMCSA research initiative to evaluate warning triangles and flares is really about building the regulatory foundation for autonomous truck operations. With Waymo and Aurora knocking on the door with exemption requests, the agency needs data to either justify current requirements or clear a path for alternatives.
Biden’s FMCSA buried a FOIA request seeking to link driving schools to fatality data.
This week in Borderlands Mexico: U.S.–Mexico trade stays dominant in September, tops $71B; Maersk opens $15M depot near Port of Manzanillo; and Wayside Distribution Center aims to boost Houston supply chains.
Health insurance has never been simple in trucking. For owner-operators and small carriers, it’s often one of the most confusing, expensive, and emotionally loaded parts of running the business. And in 2026, that pressure could increase — not because of a new law, but because a temporary one may quietly run out. Several provisions tied […]
With 2025 almost in the books, the smartest thing a small carrier can do right now isn’t chase one more load — it’s slow down just enough to decide what 2026 actually needs to look like. If you’re reading this with less than two weeks left in the year, you’re right on time. Not late. […]
A family-owned San Francisco tile business was defrauded of nearly $200,000 in merchandise when criminals used fake credentials to orchestrate a strategic cargo theft.
There’s a moment in every trucking journey where two operators standing in the same parking lot, pulling similar freight, and running similar equipment quietly drift onto completely different paths. On the surface, nothing looks different. Both trucks are running. Both drivers are working. Both businesses are technically “operating.” But underneath, one is being held together […]
Going from a straight truck to a semi doesn’t end when you get the keys. That’s when the real differences start to show. In Part One, we talked about the decision to move from a box truck into a semi — the systems, discipline, and readiness required before you ever sign paperwork. Part Two is […]
Some carriers are taught to think in cost per mile. It’s familiar. It’s easy to explain. And it’s only part of the picture. Cost per mile tells you how expensive it is to move the truck down the road. It does not tell you how expensive it is to run a business. That’s where cost […]
Winter doesn’t usually just put trucking companies out of business overnight. It exposes the cracks that were already there. That’s the core idea behind the Winter Readiness Masterclass we recently held inside Playbook. Not winter as a weather problem—but winter as a stress test on your equipment, your drivers, your cash flow, your dispatch decisions, […]
That story feels familiar to small carriers for a reason. Spot rates don’t move on a schedule, and they don’t follow clean rules. For years, the industry has tried to predict them with confidence — the turn is coming, capacity is tightening, just wait a few more weeks. After enough missed calls, you stop reacting. […]
FreightWaves spoke with Jackson Alexander, Executive Vice President of Sales at Reliance Partners, about what leads to nuclear verdicts, how to mitigate risk, and how the state of the insurance market for motor carriers is changing.
California is expected to reissue approximately 17,000 non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses it planned to revoke after federal enforcement pressure, setting up what may become the most significant federal-state confrontation over CDL authority in decades.
Your truck isn’t just a piece of equipment. It’s your office. Your income. Your schedule. Your leverage. And the moment a DPF light or engine fault shows up on the dash, all of that can grind to a halt. That reality is exactly why this recent episode of The Long Haul hit home for so […]
A flatbed truck hauling over-sized cargo damaged six county overpass bridges along Oklahoma’s Will Rogers Turnpike on Tuesday, forcing multiple closures.
Nirvana Insurance snags $100M pre-emptive Series D led by Valor Equity, with Lightspeed and General Catalyst joining in. CEO Rushil Goel: AI will redefine underwriting amid 20% rate hikes.
When new trucks became impossible to source, fleets had to push assets past a million miles. The ones that survived did one thing right: they greased.
RPM’s second acquisition this month adds more services to the non-asset auto hauler.
Empire National’s growth from a small family business into a national asset-based carrier reflects a deliberate strategy centered on operational discipline, technology investment, and people-first leadership.
Trump’s marijuana rescheduling could strip DOT of testing authority for 4 million CDL drivers. Without a safety carve-out, the agency that’s kept impaired operators off highways for 34 years loses its legal teeth. Here’s what carriers need to do before the rules change.
Small fleet owner Steve Troyer says non-domiciled CDL drivers and weak enforcement are undercutting compliant carriers.
One owner who hired an unqualified driver got 60 days. Other owner offered no time plea deal. The driver who killed seven was acquitted. The system that enabled them both remains largely unchanged.
Layoffs across manufacturing, logistics and transportation have surpassed 4,000 as companies close plants, and restructure fulfillment networks and supply chains.
The Amazon Freight Partner program offers an innovative entry point into the world of trucking. Partners in the program can run their own companies hauling Amazon freight without purchasing tractors upfront or dealing with fuel costs. The program also opens a world of new opportunities for drivers. Natasha Sanders, senior business coach for the Amazon […]
After years of volatility, players across the transportation industry are holding hope that 2026 brings equilibrium. Many analysts forecast 2026 to be a reset year, representing a realignment more than a dramatic boom or bust. Today, capacity is normalizing somewhat due in part to stricter compliance enforcement. This has spurred a marginal spot rate increase. […]
Discover why 9,500 drivers out of service doesn’t mean what you think it means and what that really means for the industry.
Uber Freight’s latest market outlook shows U.S.–Mexico trade emerging as a key force next year.
Mexico’s automotive industry recorded sharp November declines in production and exports across cars, trucks and heavy-duty vehicles.
PACCAR subsidiaries target delivery, vocational fleets with zero-emission 536EV, T280E and more
The conversation around non-domiciled CDLs has become one of the loudest and most emotionally charged debates trucking has seen in years. Depending on where you get your information, HR 5688 is either a long-overdue fix to a broken system — or a Trojan horse that could reopen the very loopholes drivers believe flooded the industry […]
Over the past several days, screenshots like the one circulating below have spread rapidly across trucking social media. The letter, issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), notifies a driver that their non-domiciled Commercial Learner’s Permit or CDL has been cancelled effective immediately, citing non-compliance with federal regulations. Naturally, that has triggered a […]
In beer, making the product is only half the challenge; the other half is delivering within strict windows without sacrificing quality or budget. To tackle this challenge, Stone Brewing partnered with Flock Freight to add Shared Truckload (STL) to a blended transportation strategy, cutting spend on underutilized truckloads by 23%, while maintaining 99% on-time pickup […]
When a November 2025 draft memo from the Department of Transportation surfaced promising a groundbreaking “data-driven severity matrix” to catch chameleon carriers, it raised uncomfortable questions about ARCHI (Application Review and Chameleon Investigation), built with $3.5 million in congressional funding in 2012-2013. Is this bureaucratic amnesia, rebranding of an underperforming system, or evidence that FMCSA’s chameleon detection infrastructure has been quietly abandoned?
Drawing parallels to COVID-era passenger carriers that either collapsed or strategically positioned for recovery, this analysis examines how predictive financial management, disciplined cost control, and forward-thinking strategy determine which carriers survive brutal market downturns, and why the industry’s broken pricing structure punishes operators doing everything right.
California pilot delivers 500-mile Range, cuts emissions by 50 metric tons yearly
Texas International Enterprises filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 6, warning in court documents that no funds will remain for unsecured creditors after administrative costs.
Most freight brokerages say they can handle whatever the market throws at them. Nearly two-thirds report feeling resilient despite rate swings, volume drops, and cash crunches, according to new research from FreightWaves and OTR Solutions. Digging deeper into the numbers, however, a different story emerges. About 68% of surveyed brokerages experienced financial stress over the […]
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Monday that 9,500 truck drivers have been taken off the road for failing English-language requirements.
Innoviz Technologies deal integrates short-range sensors with Torc’s virtual driver, part of Daimler Truck’s broader strategy to bring its autonomous trucks to market
President Donald Trump said he will impose an additional 5% tariff on Mexican imports unless the country releases 200,000 acre-feet of water owed to Texas under a 1944 treaty.
30 autonomous trucks to haul proppants nonstop on public roads in deal with Detmar Logistics
Rolling protests and road blockades by farmers and truckers across Mexico have impacted major border crossings, stranding tens of thousands of cargo trucks.
The debate over non-domiciled CDL holders — and immigrant CDL drivers who entered the workforce after 2019 — has exploded across social media. One viral crash video turns into a sweeping accusation. One fraudulent licensing scandal becomes proof of a national crisis. One politician posts a clip, and suddenly the internet decides an entire segment […]
This week in Borderlands: Trump mulls scrapping USMCA as industry groups push for renewal; DP World opens Querétaro warehouse to support Mexico’s nearshoring boom; and East Coast Warehouse & Distribution launches first Texas operation.
Over the weekend, two Minnesota-based carriers under the True North Equity Partners umbrella ceased operations overnight, putting approximately 200 drivers out of work. MinStar Transport and Transport Design Inc., each operating fleets of around 100 trucks, announced their immediate closures in communications to employees and partners, according to multiple reports circulating in trucking communities on […]
Over the past few months, I’ve spoken with hundreds of senior executives at America’s largest trucking companies. Nearly all say they only recently discovered the massive influx of foreign drivers and motor carriers. Most assumed the trend was gradual; none realized it was exponential. Few had ever heard the term “non-domiciled CDL” until this summer […]
The closure of James R. Smith Trucking, Inc., a family-owned operation based in Cullman, Alabama, that marked its 70th year in 2025, underscores the dire state of the freight market. Detailed in a Cullman Daily article, the shutdown of this 1955-founded carrier signals another casualty in a wave of trucking bankruptcies sweeping the industry. A […]
FreightWaves is building recognition for the freight and logistics centers that play crucial roles in our daily lives. We want to bring together community voices from across the country to identify which towns are doing the most to drive our supply chain forward.
ATLANTA – Transportation Insight Holdings, LLC (together with its affiliates, the “Company”), a leading provider of non-asset, tech-enabled logistics and brokerage solutions in North America servicing more than 14,000 shippers and over 80,000 carriers through Transportation Insight (“TI”), Nolan Transportation Group (“NTG”), and its proprietary Beon™ Digital Logistics Platform (“Beon”), on Thursday announced that Alan […]
Trucking executives say surging transient foreign labor, fraudulent CDLs and lax oversight have been undercutting legitimate U.S. carriers.
The transportation industry stands at an inflection point, and carriers are facing a complex web of challenges that stretch operational capabilities to their limits. Companies are dealing with fluctuating capacity, compressed margins, rising customer expectations, and an increasingly competitive landscape where real-time decision-making separates winners from mere survivors. Traditional transportation management systems – many of […]
I screwed up. Yesterday, the FreightWaves team was informed by a source we considered credible that CRST was shutting down a significant portion of its operations—what we understood to be its entire over-the-road (OTR) division. Unfortunately, the article was written in a way that made it easy to misinterpret as the entire company closing. That’s […]
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is rolling out Motus, a new registration system designed to replace the agency’s decades-old platform, offering what it calls “a more intuitive, user-friendly experience.”
CRST confirms redistribution of assets in its fleet, reduction of almost 200 trucks from OTR business unit.
Pallet just debuted the newest logistics series: Supply Chain Insiders. Leaders are getting candid about their real experiences and we got the inside scoop. “Supply Chain is built on the conversations that happen behind closed doors,” said Supply Chain Insiders host and General Manager at Pallet, Michael Burg. “We wanted to create a space where […]
Inspectors issued 6,455 English-language proficiency violations through October 2025 while placing only 1,816 drivers out of service, reflecting a notable enforcement gap stemming from legitimate regulatory exemptions rather than inconsistent application.
Pratham Bansal of Lanesurf shares how their AI platform (trained by freight brokers and carriers) is making load booking possible within 10 minutes with vetted carriers during their tech demo at the 2025 F3: Future of Freight Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
For years, drivers rolling through North Carolina have been dealing with a problem that never should’ve been part of their workday—a growing number of private parking-lot companies slapping boots on tractor-trailers and box trucks the second a driver stepped away from the vehicle. Some operators waited in the shadows for truckers to leave the cab. […]
Historically, shippers struggled to align their freight needs with rigid mode options like LTL and truckload. Less-than-truckload (LTL) services often come with hefty fees and increased damages, while shipping a partially empty truckload is essentially paying to ship air. Shared Truckload (STL) has emerged as a convenient and increasingly popular option for these shippers. Shared […]
SONAR goes much deeper in volume data with a new tender source.
CDL schools are exploiting federal loopholes and flooding the trucking industry with untrained drivers, industry exec says.
After 25 years of documented CDL fraud schemes producing 6,000+ fraudulent licenses and at least 13 deaths, FMCSA finally removed 3,000 training providers from the federal registry. The problem? Another 36,000 providers remain unvalidated, operating on the same honor system that enabled Operation Safe Road, Larex Incorporated, and the Massachusetts golden handshake scheme.
Edison Motors’ diesel-electric hybrid trucks prove EVs can work in trucking when you build around operational realities rather than regulatory fantasies. That’s the kind of practical engineering that deserves attention.
10 Roads Express said it has faced “continued and significant headwinds” across the transportation sector, which caused the shut down.
The FMCSA announced Monday a “complete overhaul” of the ELD approval process, implementing pre-publication vetting. This comes after the agency has revoked 308 devices from the approved list.
At this year’s F3: Future of Freight Festival, Amazon Freight General Manager Ari Silkey offered a detailed look at how Amazon’s transportation network has evolved.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found FMCSA likely violated federal law when it attempted to eliminate approximately 200,000 commercial driver licenses without following standard procedures. The November 13 emergency stay revealed failures that leave 200,000 drivers in legal limbo while courts define the boundaries of administrative power during claimed emergencies.
In this episode of Net-Zero Carbon, host Mary O’Connell sits down with Dave Slade, principal biofuels scientist at Chevron, to break down the various fuels available to fleets, the advantages of running alternative fuel options, and how companies can decide what fuels are best for them.
This week in Borderlands Mexico: Truckers lift nationwide blockades after reaching deal; Jisu Fortune arrives in Mexico with more than 5,000 vehicles from China; and Dual Borgstena opens a new automotive plant in Coahuila, creating up to 900 jobs.
The Administration has announced a major new initiative targeting the financial channels used by undocumented immigrants, marking a strategic and powerful shift in enforcement priorities. Moving beyond traditional border security measures, this action focuses on financial institutions and money transmitters that facilitate the transfer of funds from undocumented workers to their home countries, effectively targeting […]
FedEx will lay off 856 workers as it permanently closes a facility in Coppell, Texas.
As truckers celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays, the U.S. trucking industry stands on the brink of another tradition: the annual capacity purge. The annual capacity purge happens between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day, each year and involves a significant increase in motor carriers leaving the industry compared to other times in the year. This seasonal trend, clearly […]
Border agents in Arizona recently sent two truckers back to Mexico, part of a Trump-era push targeting immigrant and non-domiciled CDL holders.
Almost 12,000 workers across the automotive, food, logistics and manufacturing sectors are facing layoffs heading into the holiday season.
In this episode of What the Truck?!?, host Malcolm Harris sits down with Kenneth Hanover to break down how Fleetguard’s engineering approach and industry-leading warranty services help owner-operators keep trucks rolling.
Holiday shopping events mean one thing for carriers: more freight on the road. Amazon Prime’s Black Friday sale—running from November 20 to December 1—brings a surge in e-commerce volume that translates directly into increased loads across Amazon Relay’s load board. For carriers looking to capitalize on seasonal demand, this multi-day shopping event creates opportunities that […]
Authorities in the U.S. and Canada have seized more than $101 million worth of narcotics from commercial shipments over the last three weeks.
Major farmer–trucker blockades across Mexico are disrupting highways, slowing port and border operations, and forcing logistics providers to reroute freight.
FreightWaves’ Thomas sits down with Patrick Frith, Senior Director of Growth and Cross-Border at Avalara, to talk about the most turbulent year global shippers have faced in decades. They break down the rapid tariff changes, the end of U.S. de minimis, the rise of tariff engineering, and how automation and AI are becoming essential for staying compliant amid 600,000+ tariff updates in 2025.
For the last 48 hours, a single inspection report has been blowing up timelines across trucking social media. Not because of a brake issue. Not because of a weight violation. Not even because of an ELD malfunction. It’s blowing up because of one line buried inside the violation notes — a line many drivers never […]
This week in Borderlands Mexico: Cross-border boom collides with rising security risks; Mexico sets new quarterly FDI record with nearly $41B in Q4; and La Bonanza Avocados breaks ground on logistics hub in Pharr.
A newly surfaced draft memo from inside the U.S. Department of Transportation signals one of the strongest federal moves yet to identify and shut down “chameleon carriers” — companies that repeatedly shut down, reopen under new names, and dodge enforcement. For years, these operators have quietly slipped through the cracks, hurting small legitimate carriers and […]
Some small carriers believe direct shippers only care about price, capacity, and service. But in 2025, that’s not the full picture anymore. The companies you’re trying to do business with — whether it’s a local manufacturer, a regional distributor, or a national retailer — are vetting carriers differently. They’re pulling up Google. They’re checking your […]
When news broke that an Uzbek terror-suspect was arrested in Kansas while holding a Pennsylvania-issued commercial driver’s license, the trucking world felt the shockwave immediately. The man’s name was Akhror Bozorov, and federal officials now say his case exposed a breakdown inside Pennsylvania’s CDL verification system that has been building for years. That one license […]
When Home Depot reported earnings early this week, it gave us the first real signal about how freight could shape up heading into Q1. They told us the consumer wasn’t collapsing, but they also weren’t opening their wallets like they used to. Big home projects were getting delayed. DIY was soft. And inventory levels were […]
The used truck market has been on a roller coaster for the last five years. First came the COVID boom, when prices exploded and used tractors were selling for more than brand-new models did prior it felt like. Then came the freight recession, which sent prices tumbling and flooded the market with equipment nobody wanted […]
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. […]
The first real cold snap of the season is when a lot of truckers remember something they already knew: winter doesn’t care how busy you are, how many miles you need this week, or how tight freight already feels. Winter finds every shortcut you’ve taken. It finds every part you ignored. It finds every ounce […]
Mexico dominated U.S. trade in August as cross-border freight and goods surged to $74.4 billion.
Scania & Plus SuperDrive power Matt Jones’ world-first jump between two moving autonomous trucks requiring superhuman precision
Fleet operators today face significant complexity as they balance emissions targets, operational efficiency, and cost management. Fuel diversity is increasing as fleets incorporate lower carbon intensity fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG), renewable natural gas (RNG), biodiesel, and renewable diesel along with petroleum diesel. Yet this fuel diversification can create new challenges: maintaining compatibility […]
In a spirited debate at the Chicago Traffic Club, two of the transportation industry’s most influential voices squared off on the challenges facing freight markets.
A flatbed truck hauling an excavator struck the South Morrill Road Bridge on Highway 75 in Osage County, Kansas, on Wednesday.
A lot of people start trucking behind the wheel of a box truck. It makes sense. It’s cheaper to enter, easier to insure, simpler to operate, and gives you a way to learn without jumping straight into the deep end. A box truck feels like the starter home of trucking — a stepping stone toward […]
California and Texas were the nation’s top hotspots for cargo theft in the third quarter, fueled by high volumes of goods moving through major freight corridors.
