FreightCasts

Trucking isn’t just a job—it’s a craft, a culture, and a way of life. In this episode of Loaded and Rolling, host Thomas Watson sits down with journalist and lifelong trucker Gord McGill to unpack how deregulation, automation, government policy, and the “driver shortage” narrative have transformed trucking over the past few decades—and not for the better. Drawing from McGill’s upcoming book End of the Road: Inside the War on Truckers, the conversation explores declining wages, rising safety risks, forced churn, and the erosion of driver skill and pride. It’s a candid, sometimes uncomfortable look at what’s gone wrong in trucking—and what it will take to fix it.

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This episode of Brake Check asks the question the trucking industry keeps dodging:

Who actually benefits from the way this system is built, and who’s left paying the price?

We kick things off with Tim Crawford, CEO of Tenstreet, breaking down the real people trends shaping trucking today. From hiring shifts and workforce pressures to what carriers and fleets need to be watching right now, Tim cuts through the noise and lays out what’s ahead in a freight market that’s anything but stable.

Then we bring in Lewie Pugh, Executive Vice President of OOIDA, to tackle the growing disconnect between drivers and carriers. We dig into who benefits from that divide, what legislation is coming, and...most importantly...how drivers and small carriers can actually get involved instead of being talked over.

And then we shift gears.

Danielle Chaffin joins the show to expose a serious question facing the industry:

 Why is the Department of Defense moving freight with non-domiciled drivers and unverified carriers and what does that mean for safety, security, and accountability?

No pie charts.

No PowerPoints.

No sanitized narratives.

This is real trucking talk with real trucking people...calling out broken systems, asking uncomfortable questions, and demanding accountability where it’s long overdue.

If you care about the future of trucking, this is a conversation you can’t afford to miss.

Welcome to Brake Check.
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The freight recession may finally be over as January transportation metrics reveal a market in firm expansion territory. With the overall index hitting 59.6, a convergence of tightening capacity and rising rates suggests the cycle has officially turned.

Regulatory pressures are squeezing the driver pool just as Werner Enterprises settles an 11-year-old lawsuit regarding driver wages. This $18 million payout underscores the rising floor for labor costs in an increasingly constrained environment.

On the demand side, a surge in Japanese machine tool orders points to a manufacturing rebound later this year. North American orders jumped nearly 30%, signaling that industrial production is gearing up for a strong second half of 2026.

Macroeconomic policy could also provide a tailwind if Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh shifts focus back to Main Street. His criticism of current monetary strategy suggests relief may be on the way for the industrial and small business sectors.

Meanwhile, rail infrastructure is booming with Norfolk Southern customers advancing over $7.7 billion in new projects. Adding to the positive momentum, legal distractions are clearing up for major players following the dismissal of charges against NFI's CEO.

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Host Isaiah Buchanan kicks off this Tuesday edition with a significant legal victory for NFI CEO Sidney Brown. An appellate court has affirmed the dismissal of criminal charges against the executive regarding real estate development rights in Camden, New Jersey.

Next, the show examines how robust consumer spending is leading retailers to adopt leaner inventory strategies. While this shift is softening ocean shipping demand, it is expected to drive up domestic truckload rates and tender rejections in the near term.

In FreightTech news, startup GenLogs has secured $60 million in Series B funding to expand its AI-powered supply chain intelligence platform. The company aims to use its nationwide sensor network to enhance visibility and combat freight fraud across the industry.

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In this episode, Malcolm breaks down the latest industry headlines before welcoming Scott Pecoriello of WeatherOptics to unpack the real-world freight impacts of major winter storms. Helaine Rich of ePost Global joins to explain why cross-border returns are becoming a critical revenue-protection strategy in global ecommerce. Next, Akash Patel of Yellow Brick Academy and Yellow Brick Transport shares how niche markets like auto transport create new pathways into logistics—and how the industry can drive second chances and entrepreneurship. The episode wraps with Nate Veeh discussing new data on truck parking challenges and what it means for safety and infrastructure.

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