FreightCasts

In this episode, we kick things off in California, where organized labor is aggressively challenging the state's newly implemented autonomous truck framework. The California Teamsters filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court, arguing that the DMV improperly fast-tracked driverless truck testing regulations through an expedited process reserved for minor updates. Despite the legal challenge, the permit queue continues to move forward with Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI already holding drivered testing permits.

Meanwhile, two powerful trucking industry groups are sounding the alarm over a recent appellate court decision they say could fundamentally upend the entire carrier liability model. The American Trucking Associations and the Truckload Carriers of America filed a joint amicus brief requesting a full en banc hearing to reconsider a Fifth Circuit ruling that found Penske Logistics liable for a fatal crash involving a double-brokered driver the company knew nothing about. The associations warn that if the precedent stands, the entire trucking industry may have been violating federal leasing regulations for decades.

Finally, we cover a long-awaited federal transparency rule for freight brokers that has cleared a critical Washington checkpoint. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent its broker transparency rulemaking to the White House on August twenty-seventh, marking the first concrete movement since the comment period closed in March twenty twenty-five. The rule would require brokers to maintain transaction records electronically and provide copies to carriers or shippers within forty-eight hours of a request.

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Join host Craig Fuller and Matt Leffler on this episode of Freight Expectations as they break down the biggest stories reshaping the freight and logistics industry:

A look at the rising tide of organized rail and trucking theft, how Mexico is tackling cargo crime, and where the bipartisan CORCA legislation stands in Congress.

Analyzing Chris Spear's early departure from the American Trucking Associations and the long-standing debate surrounding the "driver shortage" narrative.

Two tech giants clash over ELD data access and API fees—what this means for small fleets, freight brokers, and load availability.

How the AI-driven data center boom is driving industrial freight demand, and why NIMBYism and political battles are heating up.

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Labor Day is just around the corner, but is the freight market ready for the traditional fall surge? On this episode of FreightWaves Today, we break down the latest signals across trucking, rail, freight technology and the broader supply chain.

We cover the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern mega-merger, a wave of freight and logistics bankruptcies, and new federal pilot programs that could give truck drivers more flexibility with hours of service.Then, we dive into the growing battle between Highway and Motive over ELD data access — and what the dispute could mean for small carriers, brokers, fraud prevention and access to freight.

AVRide Chief Commercial Officer Sergei Kirillov joins the show to discuss autonomous vehicles, delivery robots, robotaxis, college-campus deliveries and what it will take for autonomous delivery to expand into more cities and suburban markets.

We also examine the latest SONAR freight data heading into Labor Day, including tender rejection rates, spot rates and whether the anticipated peak-season surge is finally beginning to emerge.

Plus, Trains Editor Bill Stephens joins from the North Carolina Transportation Museum to discuss Mexico's growing rail market, Grupo México's innovative rail-ferry operations and the technology and security measures being used to combat cargo theft.

And in Freight Expectations with Matt Leffler, we tackle organized cargo crime, the push for the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (COCA), the legal risks surrounding double brokering, and how massive AI data-center construction is creating new demand for industrial freight.

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In this episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, hosts Malcolm Harris and Michael Vincent dive into top headlines and industry insights, featuring expert commentary on logistics expansion, high-stakes supply chain technology, and freight consolidation strategies.

The guys discuss Arrive Logistics’ plans to expand its workforce by 1,000 team members following a major capital agreement with Mubadala, alongside a look at a massive 1,800-pound marijuana interception by Georgia law enforcement.

Michael Schramm, CEO and Co-Founder of Nordian, shares his journey from managing electric scooter fleets to solving connectivity and centimeter-level positioning challenges for autonomous machinery in harsh, remote environments.

Phil Schmidbauer, Vice President of Solution Design at ODW Logistics, breaks down how poorly designed consolidation plans create hidden supply chain costs and offers actionable advice for shippers aiming to drive out waste.

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In this episode, we kick things off by examining the heated regulatory battle over the proposed mega-merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. The Class I railroads are aggressively defending their application, telling the Surface Transportation Board that ⁠their filing contains extensive evidence demonstrating benefits for employees, customers and the broader economy⁠. The combined company promises new single-line service across more than eighty-eight thousand county-to-county lanes and the diversion of two point one million truckloads from highway to rail.

Meanwhile, a brutal wave of financial distress is hitting the freight and logistics sector as ⁠at least twenty-one transportation companies filed for bankruptcy protection between late July and August twenty-fifth⁠. The filings range from single-truck carriers to massive national distributors with hundreds of millions in assets and liabilities, underscoring how financial hardship remains uneven across the freight economy as small trucking companies struggle alongside larger logistics businesses confronting debt loads and restructuring challenges.

Finally, we explore how federal regulators are moving ahead with pilot programs that could fundamentally reshape how truck drivers manage their workdays. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Thursday that ⁠it has completed pre-tests for its Flexible Sleeper Berth and Split Duty Period pilot programs⁠ and is reviewing results ahead of a planned full launch in twenty twenty-seven. The Split Duty Period pilot would allow participating drivers to pause the critical fourteen-hour driving window for up to three hours per day, effectively giving drivers more ability to wait out heavy traffic or severe weather.

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