FreightCasts

Freight rates continue to feel pressure from fuel and capacity shortfalls while the economy continues to sustain despite ongoing inflation concerns.

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FreightWaves Today kicks off the fourth quarter with a packed episode covering autonomous trucking, freight market conditions, driver appreciation and the latest issues shaping transportation.

Malcolm Harris and Zach Strickland break down the morning’s biggest freight headlines, including new commercial trucking and cross-border enforcement legislation, a bizarre autonomous-trailer theft involving Plus AI, and growing challenges around cross-border freight between the U.S. and Mexico.

Then, Kodiak’s Daniel Goff and PrePass CTO Chas Worcester join the show to discuss Kodiak’s partnership with IKEA as a driverless launch shipper and its work with PrePass to connect autonomous trucks with roadside inspection systems. They explain how autonomous vehicles are being tested for safety, how enhanced inspections work and what the path toward nationwide deployment could look like.

Zach Strickland delivers a SONAR market update, examining tender rejection rates, truckload capacity, spot rates, early-October freight demand and the continued growth of domestic intermodal.

The episode also features a conversation with Samsara’s Kelly Soderlund about the company’s first Driver Appreciation Month and its new Driver Perks program, including discounts and benefits designed for professional drivers.

Later, Zach and Thomas Watson dig deeper into the fourth-quarter freight outlook, economic indicators and the impact of elevated diesel prices on carriers and transportation costs.

Plus, get the latest details on the upcoming F3: Future of Freight Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee, taking place October 27–28.

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Trucking bought the AI, Now SHOW ME THE DAMN MONEY!

AI is recruiting drivers. Reading contracts. Building RFQs. Automating workflows. Booking freight. And every trucking-tech company suddenly has “AI” somewhere in the pitch.

Cool....RIGHT?

DOES ANY OF IT ACTUALLY MAKE THE CARRIER MONEY?

On this episode of Brake Check, Charles skips the keynote buzzwords and puts trucking’s AI boom to the test.

First, Christy Choice from Tenstreet takes us inside the recruiting machine. Where should AI replace busywork? Where should a HUMAN still pick up the phone? Is lower driver turnover actually better retention, or are drivers simply staying put because the freight market has them trapped? And what are carriers already paying for that they barely use?

Then FreightWaves truck-tech analyst Thomas Wasson joins us fresh off Trimble Insight 2026 in San Diego.

We’re digging into AI agents, TMS automation, recruiting technology, driver tools and what real carriers like Alvis and Spartan are actually doing with this technology after the demo ends.

Forget “efficiency.”

HOW MUCH MONEY DID IT SAVE?

Forget “automation.”

WHAT WORK DISAPPEARED?

Forget “AI-powered.”

PROVE IT....

Because with diesel around $6.38 a gallon and margins already getting squeezed, carriers don't need another expensive screensaver with a monthly subscription.

They need technology that EARNS ITS DAMN KEEP.

SOUND OFF: What's one job inside a trucking company you would happily hand to AI TOMORROW...and what's one job you would NEVER let it touch?

#Trucking #AI #FreightTech #TruckDrivers #TruckingIndustry #Tenstreet #TMS #Automation #Logistics #FleetManagement #BrakeCheck

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Every week somebody watches a YouTube video about box trucking and decides it's their way out.

Non-CDL. Low barrier to entry. Amazon Relay. Home every night. Six figures. The content makes it look straightforward. And for a period of time it was, which is exactly why so many people got in, got humbled, and got out.

Jessica Miller and her husband became owner-operators in 2020. She was an interior designer before that, nothing to do with trucking. They started renting trucks, bought their own, lost them to maintenance, went back to renting, and figured out through trial and error what actually makes a box truck operation work. They've cleared over a million dollars in four years running one to two trucks locally in Richmond, Virginia, almost entirely through Amazon Relay.

But this episode isn't really about Amazon Relay. It's about the discipline that most carriers never develop, whether they're running a box truck or a Class A. Knowing your cost per mile. Knowing when to add a truck and when not to. Understanding that revenue is not profit. Staying in a lane that actually makes money instead of chasing a lane that looks good on camera.

The box trucking boom brought a lot of people into this industry who had no business being here. Jessica has a front-row seat to what that did to Amazon's requirements, to local freight rates, and to the reputation of an entire segment of the market. That's the conversation worth having.

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In this episode, we kick things off in Washington, where a Texas congressman has introduced sweeping legislation aimed at overhauling trucking safety and cross-border enforcement. Named after eight-year-old Barron Ritchey, who was tragically killed when a wheel assembly struck his family's vehicle, the bill would require mandatory English-proficiency tests for all commercial drivers and impose fines of up to $100,000 per vehicle per day on foreign carriers caught illegally hauling domestic freight. The legislation also targets chameleon carriers and would establish a pilot program using GPS and geofencing technology to identify foreign-domiciled carriers suspected of cabotage violations.

Next, we explore a bizarre cargo crime story out of California that took a remarkably unexpected turn. When thieves stole two PlusAI trailers bearing NVIDIA branding from the company's Fremont warehouse, they expected high-value autonomous trucking technology but instead found 40,000 pounds of sand used for simulated loads during manual testing. In a stroke of luck, both trailers were discovered just hours later outside a Newark office, abandoned with all the sand still intact after the disappointed thieves opened the back doors and found nothing worth stealing.

Finally, we examine how the massive nearshoring boom is running into serious operational headwinds at the U.S.-Mexico border. Industry executives warn that a shrinking pool of cross-border drivers, tougher customs enforcement, and increasingly sophisticated cargo theft are making cross-border freight movements more difficult and expensive. Cargo theft in Mexico's key Bajío manufacturing region has surged eleven percent year-over-year, with criminal organizations now deploying GPS jammers, inside information, and violent tactics that render basic tracking systems inadequate for freight security.

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