The Daily Dash is a quick look at what’s happening in the freight ecosystem. In today’s edition, we highlight a young company as it competes in the growing market of autonomous trucking, an exclusive report about Mother’s Day flowers and more.
The High Five
1. Kodiak Robotics is one of several Silicon Valley autonomous trucking software developers. But it gets less attention than players that started earlier. It also lacks the fundraising and manufacturer partnerships that competitors have. Alan Adler’s feature story
2. With Mother’s Day this weekend, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have been busy making sure commercial shipments of imported flowers are pest-free. CBP agriculture specialists in Laredo, Texas, have examined more than 7.3 million stems of flowers leading up to Sunday. Noi Mahoney’s report (with behind-the-scenes video from the border)
3. Aaron Terrazas of Convoy put a headline on his commentary about the latest employment numbers in the trucking sector: “Where did all the drivers go?” It was his reaction to the report showing seasonally adjusted jobs in the truck transportation sector were down to 1,480,300 from the March figure of 1,481,800. John Kingston’s story
4. The nation’s largest flatbed truckload provider, Daseke, reported first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share of 4 cents Friday. The result was a penny better year-over-year and ahead of analysts’ expectations for a net loss of 5 cents per share. Todd Maiden’s quarterly earnings report
5. The California Trucking Association is planning to appeal the appellate court decision that removed the injunction keeping the trucking industry from being impacted by the independent contractor law AB5 in that state. In a recent motion, attorneys for the CTA said they were seeking an en banc hearing. John Kingston with more
Five more to check out
What do laws say about commercial vehicles crossing railroads?
Weekend truckers face risk of severe storms
Truck Talk: Autonomous insurance edition
Politicians, CEOs spar over supply chain impact of sharing intellectual property
Drilling Deep: ‘Big Rig’ author Viscelli on how drivers are doing today
Freight Fraud Symposium
Double brokering. AI deepfakes. Identity theft. Freight fraud is an existential threat to the industry. Get ahead of it.
Supply Chain AI Symposium
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Future of Rail Symposium
Reshoring is rewriting freight demand. Join shippers, rail executives, and government officials to shape the next decade.
Double brokering. AI deepfakes. Identity theft. Freight fraud is an existential threat to the industry. Get ahead of it.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame • Cleveland, OH Register NowPast the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.
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