FreightCasts

On this episode of FreightWaves Today, the team breaks down the latest freight market developments as the industry heads into fall peak season. Topics include the deadly cargo plane accident at Miami International Airport, rising truckload tender rejections, spot and contract rate trends, strong intermodal demand and what the latest SONAR data signals for the weeks ahead.

The episode also explores record-high diesel prices and their impact on carriers and brokers, along with the evolving legal and regulatory landscape facing the trucking industry. Plus, the team looks at autonomous trucking, automation and the potential for consolidation across freight and logistics.
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Trucking is spending a fortune on AI and automation. But what if fleets are automating the WRONG damn thing?AI can quote freight, process tenders, move data, predict maintenance problems and eliminate hours of back-office work. What it CAN'T do is lead your people.On this episode of Brake Check, Charles puts both sides of trucking's technology revolution in the hot seat. Grace Sharkey of Orderful has lived freight from nearly every angle .... brokerage executive, FreightWaves journalist and now freight-tech insider. We break down AI in trucking, freight automation, EDI, back-office technology, carrier productivity and how small fleets can separate REAL technology from another expensive demo with “AI” slapped on the front. What should a 20-truck carrier automate FIRST? What should stay human? How do you prove a technology investment actually delivers ROI? And how can you tell the difference between a real AI product and somebody who simply wrapped a shiny dashboard around an API?Then Dr. Vernard “Doctor V” Jenkins of Knight-Swift Supply Chain takes the other side.With 29 locations and roughly 10 million square feet of operations, Doctor V tackles leadership, employee retention, frontline management, AI implementation, change management and developing the next generation of transportation leaders. Because a dashboard can tell you WHAT happened. It still takes a leader to figure out WHY. And then we put $100,000 on the table:SOFTWARE OR PEOPLE?You can only choose one.If you're a fleet owner, trucking executive, owner-operator, freight broker, logistics professional, operations leader or anyone considering AI and automation, watch this before buying another piece of technology.The future isn't about choosing humans OR machines.It's knowing which damn job belongs to which.AUTOMATE THE WORK. NOT THE PEOPLE.#Trucking #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #FreightTech #TruckingIndustry #Automation #Logistics #FleetManagement #TruckDrivers #Leadership #SupplyChain
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In this episode, we kick things off with a tragic cargo jet accident that has crippled half of Miami International Airport's operations. An Amazon Air Boeing 767 freighter operated by 21 Air overran a runway during landing, struck multiple vehicles on a nearby road, and caught fire, leaving five people dead and five seriously injured. Listen in to learn how two of Miami's four runways remain closed following the deadly Amazon cargo jet accident, causing massive flight disruptions while the National Transportation Safety Board investigates the runway excursion that occurred at one hundred thirty miles per hour.

Shifting gears to the rails, we examine a rare display of Democratic Party unity just weeks before crucial midterm elections. More than one hundred House Democrats are demanding that railroad workers come first in the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern mega-merger review by the Surface Transportation Board. The eighty-five billion dollar deal would create the first transcontinental freight railroad and the largest rail network in U.S. history, but union leaders warn that Union Pacific's lifetime employment offer does not fully protect some critical positions.

Finally, we cover a critical visa enforcement dispute threatening to disrupt cross-border freight flows between Mexico and the United States. Mexican trucking industry leaders are intensifying calls for clarity after a trucker protest raised the stakes in the escalating Mexico-U.S. B-1 visa dispute with drivers blocking the Mexicali-Calexico East border crossing. Mexico's National Chamber of Freight Transportation estimates more than twenty-five thousand visas have been revoked from commercial drivers, potentially disrupting time-sensitive shipments including medical products, technology, food, and perishables.

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FreightWaves Today takes a look back at some of the biggest conversations shaping freight and transportation in this special edition featuring a collection of standout interviews from the summer.

Malcolm Harris and the FreightWaves team dig into the real-world performance of the Tesla Semi with Inter-coastal Trucking’s Bob Lewis, including driver feedback, range, charging infrastructure, maintenance savings and where electric trucks make the most sense in a fleet.

The show also explores the state of the rail freight market with Telegraph’s David Correll, including rail volume forecasts, coal exports, tank car availability, AI data center construction and the growing gap between truck and intermodal pricing.

Freight market strategy takes center stage with RXO Chief Strategy Officer Jared Weisfeld, who discusses the ongoing capacity correction, tightening freight markets, shipper concerns, routing guide failures, spot versus contract rates and why he believes the industry could be entering a multi-year freight recovery.

Mitsubishi HC Capital America’s Kirk Mann joins the conversation to examine the equipment financing market, the impact of the freight recession on small carriers, truck values, lending conditions and what fleets are doing as the market begins to recover.

Finally, Ken Adamo of EASE Logistics weighs in on current freight volumes, seasonality, intermodal growth, contract repricing and the question of whether new capacity is actually entering the trucking market.
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On this episode of FreightWaves Today, Malcolm Harris and Zach Strickland break down the latest developments shaping freight, logistics and the broader economy.

The show opens with the latest headlines, including an EPA proposal that could change how diesel exhaust fluid warnings work, a series of commercial vehicle safety enforcement blitzes and rising Pacific container rates amid strong peak-season demand and port congestion.

Then, Ainsley Williams, VP of Automation and Innovation at Kenco, joins the show to discuss the expansion of Kenco’s Innovation Lab in Chattanooga from 10,000 to 30,000 square feet. She explains how the larger facility will allow Kenco to test interconnected warehouse robotics, automation systems and emerging technologies in a real-world environment before deploying them for customers.

Zach then dives into the latest SONAR data, examining the impact of Labor Day on tender rejections, freight volumes and spot rates across van, reefer and flatbed markets.

Later, Matt Pyatt, CEO and co-founder of Arrive Logistics, joins the show to discuss Mubadala Capital’s majority investment in Arrive, the company’s growth strategy and what the deal means for its future. Pyatt also shares his outlook on freight demand, capacity, truckload rates and why he believes the market remains highly susceptible to disruption.

Finally, the FreightWaves team examines the latest JOLTS and ADP employment data with economist D.J. Donahue, looking at what the numbers reveal about the labor market and the health of the economy.

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