FreightCasts

Malcolm and Julie start with headlines on liability risks from AI dash cams, Hapag-Lloyd’s jump in third-quarter profit and how the midterm election results could affect trade policy.

Eyal Cohen, founder and CEO of Humble Robotics, explains how the company’s $51 million raise will move its cabless, autonomous electric Hauler into customer pilots, and why short-haul moves between ports, rail terminals and warehouses are a strong fit for automation.

Andy Kuchar, President of Centerline Insurance Company, discusses trailer liability exposures, per-shipment cargo coverage for freight moving to and from Mexico, and how the Montgomery ruling has changed the way companies think about coverage.

Julie’s SONAR update looks at rising rates, tight flatbed and reefer capacity, early peak season activity and the pressure on small carriers as truck counts fall.

To close the show, Matt Leffler, the Armchair Attorney and co-host of Freight Expectations, breaks down where the racketeering case against C.H. Robinson and TQL stands, what AI dash cam footage means for discovery, the legal fallout from the leadership shake-up at Nvidia, and whether a safety waiver for autonomous trucks could someday apply to human drivers.
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In this episode, we kick things off by examining a troubling blind spot in fleet safety technology that's creating new courtroom risks for trucking companies. Speaking at the American Trucking Associations' Management Conference and Exhibition in Charlotte, defense attorneys warned that AI-only dash cams are recording dangerous driving behavior that the artificial intelligence never flags for review, with analysis showing up to thirty percent of AI-triggered videos held other risks the system missed. The panel came just days after a Dallas County judge upheld a massive six hundred four million dollar jury verdict, underscoring that fleets will be held responsible for any footage they hold regardless of whether the AI flagged it.

Next, we shift over to the water as German container carrier Hapag-Lloyd rides a wave of robust spot freight rates to sharply higher earnings. The shipping giant reported third-quarter group profit of nine hundred ninety-nine million dollars, nearly six times higher than a year earlier, driven primarily by freight rates that jumped to one thousand eight hundred eight dollars per twenty-foot equivalent unit. Based on continued strength in spot rates, Hapag-Lloyd raised its full-year earnings outlook to four point six billion to five point zero billion dollars, up from its previous forecast of three point nine billion to four point four billion dollars.

Finally, we explore how fresh political uncertainty is complicating the trade landscape as container imports cool after an unusually long peak season. The Democratic sweep of both houses of Congress in last week's U.S. midterm elections has introduced new uncertainty for trade and logistics, leaving the Trump administration facing competing pressures between voter concerns over affordability and the potential to use trade policy as an area for executive action. Trans-Pacific ocean rates fell slightly this past week as carriers' planned general rate increases failed to take hold, but remained around peak-season levels at eight thousand two hundred dollars per forty-foot equivalent unit to the U.S. West Coast.

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A cyber gang called White Armor is demanding millions from J.B. Hunt, Ryder, and Echo Global Logistics, while the Logistics Managers’ Index shows inventories at their highest growth since 2022. FreightWaves Today for November 12, 2026 covers both, plus the freight market and the economy.

In this episode, hosts Malcolm Harris and Zach Strickland break down the week’s top freight headlines. We also talk with Project 61 about driver health, look at the LMI with Dr. Zac Rogers, and get the latest SONAR market data and an economic update on inflation, diesel, and the Fed.
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Dr. Zac Rogers comes on to discuss the last minute ordering that hit the LMI in October.
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$6 diesel, Slow-paying brokers, Factoring contracts with more fine print than a mortgage. Everybody wants a piece of your trucking business...but who’s leaving anything for the people actually hauling the freight?

On this episode of Brake Check on FreightWaves, Charles follows the money from the fuel pump to the paycheck, exposing the hidden costs, expensive mistakes, and financial traps squeezing American truckers and small carriers.

First, Mike Roeth, Executive Director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE), breaks down what fuel efficiency is REALLY worth when diesel prices explode. We’re talking real-world MPG, cost per mile, driver habits, maintenance, and how carriers can stop burning profits with every mile.

Then, Brett Schroeder, Chief Sales Officer at Apex Capital, takes us inside the financial side of trucking. Factoring contracts, broker credit risk, slow payments, fuel advances, and the fine print that could cost carriers thousands.

We’re asking the questions every trucker and fleet owner should be asking:

How much money is one extra MPG actually worth?

Are you losing profits without even knowing it?

When does factoring help, and when does it hurt?

What happens when a broker goes broke owing you money?

Are you hauling profitable freight or just financing everybody else’s business?

No corporate fluff. No financial fairy tales. Just real conversations about keeping American trucking profitable.

Because hauling the freight is only half the battle….Keeping the money? That’s where things get interesting.

Drop a comment: What’s hurting your bottom line more — fuel costs, freight rates, or getting paid?

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