FreightCasts

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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#BrakeCheck #FreightWaves #Trucking #OwnerOperator #DieselPrices #FreightRates #TruckingBusiness
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In this episode, we kick things off by examining a massive cybersecurity crisis affecting some of the logistics industry's biggest players. A relatively new criminal gang called Whitearmor has launched targeted attacks since late October, and J.B. Hunt, Ryder System, and Echo Global Logistics have all been hit with multimillion-dollar ransom demands. The gang claims to hold vast amounts of employee records, carrier contacts, and invoices, and all three companies now face federal lawsuits from employees alleging they failed to protect personal information.

Meanwhile, federal authorities are cracking down hard on labor violations along the southern border. A Laredo-based trucking company owner has been indicted on federal charges after prosecutors allege his firm employed fifty-seven unauthorized foreign drivers on B-1 visas to haul domestic freight across the United States. By allegedly paying these drivers between twenty-five and fifty cents per mile compared to the seventy cents paid to authorized drivers, the company reportedly saved nearly three hundred thousand dollars in labor costs while violating federal immigration law.

Finally, we explore the ongoing financial struggles at the nation's mail carrier as the U.S. Postal Service reduced its annual operating loss by twelve point seven percent to six point five billion dollars in fiscal year twenty twenty-six. Despite growth in Ground Advantage parcel services and marketing mail, Postmaster General David Steiner and CFO Luke Grossman are calling on Congress and regulators for urgent reforms, warning that the Postal Service could face insolvency by twenty thirty-one when its retiree health benefit fund is exhausted.

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Malcolm Harris and Michael Vincent kick off the new format with a packed headline block. CBP finds more than 1,000 pounds of meth hidden in a load of leeks at the Texas border. Highway’s Q3 Freight Fraud Index shows hijacked email accounts behind 40% of stolen loads. Nvidia hardware goes missing somewhere between Oakland and Fort Worth. The RICO suit against C.H. Robinson and TQL gets a jury date of 2028. And two Georgia men are charged in a $760,000 fuel card scheme that ran for five months before anyone noticed.

Then four guests take the hot seat:

Steve Shebuski, VP of pre-sales at MCA Connect, gives a reality check on autonomous trucking. Driverless trucks are already running in Texas, so what happens when one shows up at a warehouse that isn’t staffed or connected to receive it?

Sarah Abernethy, director of marketing communications at Kenworth, explains the logistics of hauling the 2026 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. It’s a 76-foot spruce from Idaho’s Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest traveling more than 2,000 miles to Washington, D.C. This is Kenworth’s 13th straight year hauling the People’s Tree.

Jack Holmes, CEO of STG Logistics, talks about going from UPS package handler to leading STG out of bankruptcy. He covers why owning intermodal assets is cool again and his plan to unify six businesses around fanatical service.

Mitchell Ward, chairman and CEO of MW Logistics, explains why data is worthless if nobody acts on it. He also discusses keeping the human touch in an AI world and how 53% of MW’s business came to run on dedicated electric vehicles.

Happy Veterans Day to all who served. This episode is presented by Chevron. If your business has fleets to fuel, go to the source.
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