A penny stock wiped $4.8B off C.H. Robinson's market cap yesterday. Plus: self-driving trucks are now running 1,000 miles nonstop, STG Logistics cleared a major bankruptcy hurdle, the FMCSA revoked nine ELDs, and more.
For a long time, secure parking lived in the “nice-to-have” bucket. That framing no longer works. In today’s environment, secure parking functions as a preventative security layer.
Here’s what’s trending across freight and logistics on X, LinkedIn, Reddit, and YouTube.
Question of the Day: Arrive Logistics predicts that spot market dry van rates will increase by ___% YoY by Q4.
Good Monday morning. We're looking into allegations surrounding a con artist who is going after freight brokerages. Plus, Arrive Insights adjusts its 2024 rates forecast, U.S. ports post impressive gains, and Shipwell's strategic shift with CloudTrucks.
🤔 Question of the Day: Arrive Logistics predicts that spot market dry van rates will increase by __% YoY by Q4. Scroll down to our What's Cookin' in Freight section to find out.
In today's email:
TOP LANE MOVERS POWERED BY GREENSCREENS.AI
*Greenscreens.ai, forecasts real-time truckload buy prices that are suited to each freight brokerage's purchasing power using AI and machine learning. Its engine takes into account over 130 attributes and data points in each rate forecast.
🐔 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT
📈 Arrive Insights: Spot Rates on the Move. According to Arrive Logistics Q1 update on 2024's freight forecast, spot rates are gearing up for a climb, with a hopeful market rebound hinted for later in the year. Dry van and reefer rates are forecast to reach 14% and 12% year-over-year growth in spot rates by Q4, respectively. As the year unfolds, contract rates are expected to flatline, setting the stage for potential increases into 2025.
🚢 U.S. Ports Smooth Sailing Despite Rocky Seas. With unrest in the Red Sea and the Panama Canal facing drought, U.S. ports are surprisingly killing it, bringing in 1.87 million TEUs in December, an 8.3% jump over the year prior. The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates see this uptick sticking around. January 2024 was a banner month, seeing a 7.9% spike in container imports—the biggest January jump in seven years, with imports from China leading the charge. The NRF hints at modest growth in the first half of 2024, expecting a 5% boost in imports.
🤝 Shipwell & CloudTrucks Make a Deal. It turns out that being a TMS and a freight brokerage doesn't actually work. Your competitors are also your customers. Shipwell, a TMS that also operated a freight brokerage, has sold its brokerage division to CloudTrucks. Charley Dehoney remarked on X, "You can be the army -OR- the arms dealer. You can't be both..." CloudTrucks, which raised $115 million in a Series B round in 2021, has a fleet of owner-operators. We're curious to see how this plays out.
TOGETHER WITH TURVO
If you're still running your logistics business on spreadsheets or using outdated transportation management software, this year will be harder than it has to be.
The world has changed, and today's fastest-growing 3PLs and freight brokers are leveraging digital tools to accelerate shipment planning, execution, and settlement. Share a modern TMS with slick screens and collaboration functions that eliminate back-and-forth check calls. Bring together everyone involved in a shipment for 100% visibility and a better customer experience.
Ask for a Demo to learn how Turvo customers achieve a 95% reduction in manual steps per shipment, 3X more revenue per broker, and 5X more shipments per client than the norm.
As if navigating double brokering and cargo theft weren't enough of an issue, freight brokerages may need to be on the lookout for another tricky problem. Allegedly, at the center is a man named Craig Raucher, a purported freight broker with quite a narrative.
This issue was brought to our attention by a trusted follower whose brokerage was recently contacted by Craig Raucher and almost slipped past their sales director.
We present this story with a full deck of disclaimers. The accounts of Craig Raucher's business dealings are allegations gathered from public sources and claims made by individuals. We're here simply to provide a platform for awareness and discussion within our community.
In the freight industry, as in many others, due diligence is crucial. Whether Raucher's tale is a lesson in caution or a misunderstanding blown out of proportion, it serves as a reminder: always look before you leap into new business deals, especially those that seem too good to be true.
TOGETHER WITH ISO
Carrier reliability is central to everything you do. Are you measuring it?
Booking unreliable carriers leads to higher operational costs: more bounces, more rescheduling, and more headaches. With ISO, you can source carriers for every lane based on service data. More reliable carriers mean happier customers, higher volumes, and lower cost per load. Learn more at iso.io.
AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB
📈 Credit Peak. Americans owe a record $1.13 trillion on credit cards. A new all-time high in consumer borrowing.
🔄 Yellow's Lifeline. Next Century renews its bid for Yellow's assets, offering equity in exchange for settling WARN Act claims.
🚚 Trucking Shift. Truckload operating authorities decline 12% faster this winter, signaling shifts in the transportation landscape. Analyze the trend.
📦Freight Revival. Logistics sees a rebound as freight rates rise and demand grows, with retailers restocking inventories.
🎉 Milestone Blast. Transflo celebrates exceeding $100 million in annual revenue, joining the elite 1% of tech companies to hit this mark.
FREIGHT MEME OF THE DAY
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A penny stock wiped $4.8B off C.H. Robinson's market cap yesterday. Plus: self-driving trucks are now running 1,000 miles nonstop, STG Logistics cleared a major bankruptcy hurdle, the FMCSA revoked nine ELDs, and more.
Here’s what’s trending across freight and logistics on X, LinkedIn, Reddit, and YouTube.
In just three years, we have moved from an industry that relied heavily on manual phone calls and emails to one where many of us use AI to some extent to support the above.
Plus, XPO and Hub Group Q4 2025 earnings, a trucking private-equity firm files bankruptcy, Mexico long-haul truckers win union rights, and more.
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