What’s Broken in Freight Tech Right Now?

Transflo strategy and freight tech execution are the focus here: what brokers, carriers and tech partners are still getting wrong in today’s market. Ryan Schreiber of Metafora and Don Everhart of Transflo break down where adoption stalls, what actually matters to operators, and how to think about freight tech when margins are tight. If you work in trucking, brokerage or supply chain tech, this conversation gets to the operational takeaway fast.

GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro are beginning to show up in freight volumes, with FreightWaves estimating a 2% reduction in food and beverage shipments attributable to the drugs — translating to roughly 2 million truckloads out of an estimated 100 million annual food and beverage moves. That signal emerged during a discussion on what is structurally changing demand patterns for carriers and shippers hauling consumer goods.

Walmart data, which blends pharmacy prescription records with grocery purchase history, offers some of the clearest evidence of behavioral change. According to the discussion, households with a male GLP-1 user show 10% fewer calorie purchases, while households with a female user show 6% to 8% fewer — a gap attributed partly to women continuing to shop for children and other household members.

The category most visibly affected is snack food and beverages. Participants pointed to a softer-than-expected summer for beer and soda volumes — typically strong seasons for those lanes — as a potential early indicator. Ryan Schreiber, who has lost 125 pounds over roughly two and a half to three years on GLP-1 medications, said the drugs suppress more than just appetite.

“It’s not just food noise,” Schreiber said. “Any addictive type of consumption you tend to lean away from because cravings kind of go away. So you don’t even really think about it anymore.”

Don Everhart, now at Transflo, described losing 109 pounds since roughly the time of FreightWaves’ F3 conference last year, dropping from 384 pounds to 275 pounds as of the morning of the interview. He said zero alcohol consumption since starting GLP-1 therapy reflects a broader pattern the freight industry should watch. “There’s less alcohol consumption,” he said. “Consumers are consuming less alcohol today.” The shift, combined with generational changes in drinking habits among younger consumers, is compounding pressure on beverage-heavy freight lanes.

Panelists debated whether demand destruction would continue accelerating or plateau. Only about 10% of the U.S. population is currently on GLP-1 drugs, and one participant argued that skepticism around injections could limit broader adoption. Others pushed back, citing vanity and expanding medical use cases — including early research linking the drugs to reduced symptoms of Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, and ADHD — as factors that could push adoption well beyond current levels.

The conversation also turned to truck drivers specifically, noting that the average driver age is 61 and that the profession’s sedentary nature compounds obesity-related health risks. FreightWaves announced a partnership to provide GLP-1 drug access to the trucking community through a new initiative called FreightWaves Health, with more details to be shared at its F3 conference. Information is available at health.freightwaves.com.

• FreightWaves estimates GLP-1 drugs have already caused a 2% decline in food and beverage truckloads, or roughly 2 million loads annually.
• Walmart pharmacy and grocery data shows 10% fewer calorie purchases in households where a male uses GLP-1 medications, and 6–8% fewer where a female user is present.
• Only about 10% of the U.S. population is currently on GLP-1 drugs, leaving significant uncertainty about how much further demand erosion in food, beverage, and snack freight lanes could go.

This Summary is generated thanks to a transcription of the interview, for the full interview please enjoy the video above.