A practical look at how freight AI is evolving from simple automation to operational decision support, and what it means for broker productivity, tribal knowledge capture, and more.
Harish Abbott, CEO of Augment, shares why the future of freight is already here and how to adapt to it.
The Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs illegal. Plus: an Illinois official took $300K and handed out illegal CDLs, cartel violence may affect your Mexico freight, 550 CDL schools just got shut down, and more.
Plus: RXO faces a fight with a shipper, Flexport sues Freightmate AI, and a freight company owner admits to fraud.
Happy Hump Day. A trucking company CEO, a desperate financial dispute, and a fatal confrontation: what led to the shocking murder at ATG Truckload? We break down the case and its industry fallout in today's feature.
Plus:
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🐔 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT
⚖ Flexport Sues Freightmate AI Over Alleged Trade Secret Theft. Flexport has filed a lawsuit against Freightmate AI, accusing its founders—former Flexport employees Jason Zhao and Bryan Lacaillade—of stealing sensitive company documents. The complaint alleges they conspired to launch Freightmate AI using trade secrets, including downloading thousands of files and Flexport's proprietary source code. According to the complaint filed, within weeks, Freightmate introduced a competing product. The lawsuit seeks damages, recovery of intellectual property, and an injunction against Freightmate AI. Freightmate denies wrongdoing, vowing to fight the claims “vigorously” in court. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin will oversee the case.
📱 Broker or Carrier? RXO Faces Liability Battle Over Stolen Phones. A legal dispute between PCS Wireless and RXO centers on whether RXO acted as a broker or carrier in regards to a stolen $11.5 million cellphone shipment. PCS' insurer covered $5 million, but the company seeks an additional $6.5 million, citing the Carmack Amendment. “If it did act as a broker with regard to the shipment, Defendant had a duty to act with due diligence and to properly and carefully select any third party it hired to transport the shipment,” the complaint said. “If it did act as a broker with regard to the shipment, Defendant negligently breached this duty when it selected and hired Wizard Equipment Corp to transport the shipment from Texas to Florida.” RXO denies liability and is seeking sanctions against PCS for the long list of allegations, dating back to late October, calling PCS “non-compliant, evasive and deficient.”
🚨 Freight Co. Owner Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Deception. Spencer Askew, 46, founder of Georgia-based E-Freight Solutions, pleaded guilty to bank fraud and lying to the Veterans Affairs (VA) Department. In 2018, he secured a $1 million line of credit from Vinings Bank using falsified financial information. Additionally, in 2020, he misled federal agents about supplying protective equipment to the VA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arrested in 2024, Askew must pay over $6 million in restitution. “This guilty plea holds the defendant accountable for his egregious attempt to exploit VA programs and services during a global pandemic,” said Special Agent David Spilker, Department of Veterans Affairs. “The VA OIG is dedicated to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure schemes like this are uncovered, investigated, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
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Earlier this month, the trucking industry was shaken by the tragic death of Dane Koteski, the 46-year-old CEO of ATG Truckload, based in Crestwood, Illinois.
On March 5, 2025, Crestwood, IL, firefighters responded to reports of smoke inside ATG Truckload's office. What they found was far worse: Koteski lying in a pool of blood, his throat slashed.
Surveillance footage later revealed that Josif Suclea, 53, had followed Koteski into an office just before the attack. According to authorities, audio captured Koteski asking, "Why?" before Suclea chillingly replied, "I had to."
Court documents reveal that Koteski told Suclea the company was going bankrupt, and he couldn’t pay back money owed to him.
Koteski was well-known in the Serbian-American trucking community and leaves behind a 13-year-old son.
His murder has sparked conversations about financial struggles in trucking, rising tensions over unpaid wages, and the pressure small carriers are facing.
The trucking industry remains in a precarious position, with small carriers facing relentless financial pressure. While some have hoped for a rebound, recent data suggests the freight recession isn’t over yet.
For smaller carriers already navigating low rates, rising costs, and declining freight volumes, economic survival is becoming a day-by-day battle.
While the case of ATG Truckload's CEO murder is an extreme and tragic consequence of financial pressures, it illustrates the intense strain on the industry.
No one should resort to violence, and we can only hope that desperate financial situations do not lead to more crimes born out of this economic frustration.
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🌎 AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB
🪦 I-80 Fatal Crash. A Washington trucker faces charges after crossing lanes on I-80, causing a crash that killed a co-driver in a sleeper cab.
📉 Trucking Stocks Update. John Kingston reported on X that trucking companies PAMT Corp and JB Hunt hit 52-week lows yesterday, while TFI declared a 45-cent quarterly dividend, a forward yield of over 2.1%.
🚚 Walmart’s Freight Brokerage. It seems like Walmart is now brokering it's own freight. Critics aren’t too thrilled about it with one person stating, “They all want to make the most money possible with the lowest overhead possible.” More cheap freight, anyone?
🤝 Torc Partners Up. Torc partners with Flex and Nvidia to advance autonomous trucking technology. The aim is to help towards scaling production ahead of its 2027 Driver-Out Launch.
🧠 AI Teammate. Deliverr co-founder Harish Abbott launched an 'AI teammate' for logistics, securing $25 million in funding to streamline operations and decision-making processes. Kinda like having a “virtual employee” that does all the “mundane” tasks for you.
🚨 Drug Smuggling Bust. CBP seized eight semi-trucks and arrested eight visa-holding drivers for attempting to smuggle hundreds of pounds of cocaine at Otay Mesa Port of Entry over a two-day period (March 4th and 5th).
📈 Recession Cancelled? A recent economic growth within U.S. Industrial production suggests a potential avoidance of a recession, says ZeroHedge. U.S. Industrial production rose to an all-time record high in February, up 0.7% MoM, better than the predicted 0.2% MoM.
🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER
FREIGHT HUMOR
The Supreme Court ruled Trump's tariffs illegal. Plus: an Illinois official took $300K and handed out illegal CDLs, cartel violence may affect your Mexico freight, 550 CDL schools just got shut down, and more.
Here are the Top 500 fleets of 2026. Plus: Sierra snow shuts down I-80, rail targets truckload freight, and ocean rates fall.
Here’s what’s trending across freight and logistics on X, LinkedIn, Reddit, and YouTube.
Freight rates could climb faster than anyone expects. Plus: Illinois CDL crackdown, 2026 top freight bottlenecks, LA Port slows, and more.
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