FreightCasts

Who the hell gave them a CDL .... and why did it take a family paying the price before Washington started listening?This episode of Brake Check isn't an attack on professional truck drivers. It's an investigation into the systems, safeguards, bad actors and policymakers that are supposed to keep unqualified drivers from ever getting behind the wheel of a commercial truck.Professional truck driver and father Marcus Coleman joins Charles after taking his family's story to Congress. His daughter Dalilah suffered catastrophic injuries in a crash, and Marcus is now fighting for Dalilah's Law and stronger accountability throughout the commercial driver licensing system.We dig into the questions Washington needs to answer:How does an unqualified driver get a CDL? Where can the licensing and verification process fail? Who is responsible when safeguards aren't followed? What would Dalilah's Law actually change? And why does government so often react AFTER somebody pays the price?Then Zach Meiborg, owner of Meiborg Transportation, joins the conversation.Meiborg isn't just talking about supporting Dalilah's family — they're opening their Rockford, Illinois headquarters September 26 for the Stand With Dalilah Charity Motorcycle Ride.But we also tackle another side of the same accountability problem: legitimate motor carriers spending real money to hire qualified drivers, maintain equipment, follow hours-of-service regulations and operate legally while bad actors can gain an unfair advantage by cutting corners.Running illegal isn't innovation. Cheating isn't competition. And a government-issued piece of paper shouldn't replace actual qualification.This episode is about CDL standards, trucking safety, driver qualification, hours-of-service compliance, FMCSA enforcement, bad carriers, Dalilah's Law and government accountability.Professional truckers deserve better than being lumped together with operators who never should've been on the road.Families deserve better than finding out where the system failed after the crash.And policymakers?CONGRESS, IT'S YOUR TURN.#Trucking #CDL #TruckDrivers #TruckingSafety #FMCSA #Congress #Transportation #TruckingIndustry #OwnerOperator #BrakeCheck
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There's a pitch aimed at truckers on every platform right now. Brokers are eating your margin. Cut out the middleman. Get your own authority. It's not hard — you just need a mentor. And there's always a mentor selling.

Trent Tulloh is one of them. He runs Forever Freight Broker, a Tampa training company that teaches drivers and dispatchers to become freight brokers. His reason is personal — his father was an owner-operator who lost his business to bad brokers, and Trent built his company to make sure truckers stop getting the bad end of the stick.

I respect the wound. Today we test the remedy.

Because this show doesn't platform pitches — it pressure-tests them. So Trent came in knowing the format: the claim goes on trial. Is brokering actually the answer for a struggling carrier, or is it a second business bolted onto a first one that isn't working? What does it really take — the bond, the credit, the shippers who don't know your name? And how does "it's not hard" survive a world where the Supreme Court just ruled that anyone selecting carriers can be sued for choosing wrong?

He gets every chance to make his case. His numbers, his students, his story. And you get what this show owes you — the pitch, cross-examined, before you pay for it.

Somebody's leaving this conversation with a different opinion. Might be him. Might be me. Might be you.

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In this episode, we kick things off in Washington, where the public comment period has just closed on a major Environmental Protection Agency proposal that could fundamentally reshape how diesel engine systems operate. Listen in to learn how the EPA's controversial plan to replace engine deratement with warning signals has drawn nearly two hundred submissions spanning industry praise and sharp environmental criticism, while the proposal also includes nonconformance penalties allowing manufacturers to pay fines and continue selling current products.

Next, we explore the results of a sweeping series of state enforcement blitzes where inspectors uncovered thousands of safety violations and placed ninety-nine drivers out of service across six states. Texas authorities led with a brutal operation in the Permian Basin that posted a staggering forty-seven point six percent vehicle out-of-service rate, averaging five point five violations per inspection and signaling dramatically heightened enforcement exposure for carriers operating through major freight corridors.

Finally, we examine the ocean freight market as trans-Pacific container rates climb to fresh highs on resilient peak-season demand and severe port congestion caused by typhoons hammering Chinese and regional Asian facilities since mid-July. Asia-to-U.S. West Coast spot rates increased to seven thousand six hundred twenty-one dollars per forty-foot unit, while a succession of disruptions at Shanghai and Ningbo has forced carriers to omit port calls and adjust vessel rotations, creating significant capacity constraints supporting freight rates across multiple trade lanes.

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AI is transforming freight operations, but how far can automation go — and what happens when location intelligence, rail networks and energy markets collide?

On this episode of FreightWaves Today, Malcolm Harris and Julie Van de Kamp break down the biggest stories and trends shaping transportation and logistics.

The show opens with three major headlines: an alleged Texas grain theft ring involving more than 170 loads, a federal crackdown on 110 commercial driver training schools, and the latest developments in Yellow Corp.’s bankruptcy and pension settlements.

Then, EAIGLE CEO and founder Amir Hoss joins the show to explain how AI-powered computer vision is automating truck gates and yards. The discussion covers unmanned and paperless facilities, real-time yard visibility, fraud prevention, data accuracy and the path toward fully autonomous yards.

HERE Technologies’ Bart Coppelmans discusses the next phase of AI in logistics, including spatial reasoning, location intelligence and the importance of connecting planning, execution and analytics. He explains how AI can help fleets make better routing decisions while keeping humans in control of critical decisions.

For the weekly rail segment, Trains Magazine editor Bill Stephens and Trinity Rail Chief Commercial Officer Charlie Moore break down the latest rail traffic numbers, railcar demand, intermodal growth, coal shipments, tariffs and steel costs. They also discuss the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, rail service reliability and what could drive railcar demand into 2027.

Finally, FreightWaves editor-at-large John Kingston takes a deep dive into surging diesel prices, refinery constraints, Russia-Ukraine disruptions, the Strait of Hormuz and what historically high diesel costs could mean for trucking and the broader economy.

Plus, Julie breaks down the latest manufacturing and logistics data, including the August PMI and Logistics Managers’ Index, with a look at transportation capacity, utilization, pricing and what the numbers could mean heading into peak season.

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#FreightWaves #FreightWavesToday #Trucking #Logistics #SupplyChain #AI #Rail #Diesel #Freight

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Malcolm and Michael kick off September with a jam-packed Wednesday episode celebrating driver appreciation and cutting-edge freight tech

Rusty Kirby, VP of Transportation and Logistics at Pilot Flying J, breaks down the 2026 Road Warrior contest featuring a custom Kenworth truck built by the Diesel Brothers plus $50,000 in cash! Rusty also discusses Pilot’s elite driver rewards program and the crucial role truck drivers play in everyday life.

Nate Veeh, AVP of Business Development at Altitudes, shares surprising vehicle data analyzed across 104 World Cup matches in 16 cities. Learn how post-match exits spike traffic congestion and harsh braking, and why cities like Atlanta and Kansas City had dramatically different traffic outcomes.

Sean Dehan, VP of Strategy and Corporate Development at Truckstop, pushes back on the claim that traditional load boards are outdated. He discusses how AI assistants like "Ava" are transforming load matching into an intelligent, contextual marketplace for carriers and brokers

Kurtis McBride, CEO of Miovision, explains how their AI platform "Mateo" creates digital twins of intersections to modernize traffic control, reduce citizen response times, and enable real-time traffic management.

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