🎣 Freight vs Winter Storm

Happy Hump Day. Snow, ice, and extreme cold are set to disrupt trucking, intermodal, and spot pricing across the South and East.

Plus:

• J.B. Hunt Strong Q4
• Bulmaks Files For Bankruptcy
• OpenAI Seeks U.S. AI Suppliers

🍳 What's Cookin' In Freight

📈 J.B. Hunt Posts Strong Q4 Finish. J.B. Hunt Transport Services reported Q4 operating income of nearly $247 million, up 19% year over year, driven by cost cuts, lower personnel expenses, and productivity gains. Revenue growth came from truckload and dedicated contract services, though full-year revenue fell 1% to $12 billion. CEO Shelley Simpson said the freight market “feels fragile” entering 2026. Dedicated services added 40 new customers, helping J.B. Hunt gain market share despite uneven demand.

😔 Bulmaks Files For Bankruptcy. Bulmaks, a West Chicago-based carrier, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 5, reporting $6.7 million in liabilities and $2 million in assets. The carrier saw revenue drop nearly 19% in 2025 to $19 million, according to court filings. FMCSA data shows Bulmaks operated 170 power units and 182 drivers. At least 50 creditors are affected, including lenders tied to Freightliner equipment.

🤖 OpenAI Seeks U.S. AI Suppliers. OpenAI issued a request for proposal to expand U.S.-based manufacturing for AI hardware, robotics components, and data center infrastructure. The company said advanced AI requires more than chips, citing racks, power systems, cooling, and assembly capacity. The effort supports OpenAI’s broader push to scale domestic compute tied to its Stargate data center initiative. Proposal submissions are due by June 2026, with vendor selection planned for March 2027.

Together With CtrlChain

Running a successful trucking operation means doing more with less, and CtrlChain makes that possible.

• Our automated systems let carriers handle more freight without adding staff.
• Route and trip planning reduce deadhead miles and wasted time, with dashboards to monitor performance.
• Back-office automation cuts paperwork and frees time for booking and moving loads.
• And our Conversations feature streamlines customer communication with faster updates and resolutions.

Every tool working together to make operations leaner, smarter, and more profitable.

Let’s build a future where freight moves efficiently and carriers operate with confidence. Contact us to see how CtrlChain can support you.

Winter Storm Puts Freight Under Pressure

A powerful winter storm is set to disrupt freight movement across the South, Midwest, and Eastern U.S. through the weekend and into early next week.

Snow, ice, and prolonged cold are converging across core trucking lanes at the same time.

The Forecast

• Heavy snow and widespread ice are forecast from Texas through the Carolinas and into the Northeast.
• Freezing rain poses the highest operational risk across the South, where road treatment and power infrastructure are limited.
• Subfreezing temperatures will linger after the storm, increasing refreeze risk and slowing network recovery.

Freight markets in the storm’s path include: Dallas, Austin, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.

What the Data Shows

According to Scott Pecoriello, Founder and CEO of WeatherOptics:

• Road conditions across large portions of the South and Midwest are trending toward high to extreme risk of delays.
• Freight movement is expected to slow by approximately 30%.
• Power outages and utility failures will likely add to regional supply chain disruptions.

How This Hits Pricing and Capacity

David Spencer, VP of Data Intelligence at Arrive Logistics, offered his thought on upcoming storm in an email to us:

“As this winter storm approaches there is still a great amount of uncertainty in its path and expected impacts. From that perspective, impacts to the freight market long term are impossible to predict. However, we know there will be widespread areas of ice and snow, likely in areas not used to seeing that kind of winter precipitation.”

This comes Spencer spoke on weather directly feeding into spot pricing in our interview with him:

“I look at the weather every day — I’m basically a part-time weatherman. Even when the longer-term forecast looks calm, if there’s snow or ice showing up in the Midwest or Northeast, that affects how we price spot. We’ll protect a bit when there’s weather risk. That’s part of day-to-day operations.”

To gain more context, watch our full podcast with Spencer:

Expect The Expected

Winter storms are nothing new for brokers and carriers.

Expect delays. Expect rough conditions. Expect volatile rates.

Stay safe out there.

Together With Epay Manager

Cash flow 101: Know your DSO and DTI. Then cut them both down with Epay Manager.

• 18% Decrease in DSO on average
• 25% Decrease in DTI on average

Epay is your back-office automation and payments partner that is an expert in helping you run a smooth back-office and maintain healthy cash flow with a proactive, streamlined, and connected invoicing workflow.

Real automation, real results.

 🌎 Around The Freight Web

⚖️ Tariff Ruling Delayed Again. The U.S. Supreme Court issued three rulings Tuesday but left undecided the legality of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs. No date has been set for the next ruling.

🚧 I-196 Pileup. Blinding snow caused 100-vehicle pileup on I-196 in near Zeeland, MI. Two dozen semi trucks were involved. Ten people suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

📊 January Resilience. The trucking market held up in January, with stable volumes and firming rates suggesting early-year demand remains intact for now.

🕵️ MC x Facebook. Danielle Chaffin warned that MC numbers are increasingly being sold in Facebook groups, one of which was on sell for $8,000.

🚢 Long Beach Growth. The Port of Long Beach projects container volume will double to 20 million TEUs by 2050.

🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER

• FreightCaviar Podcast: We sat down with Garrett Allen, Founder of SearchCarriers.com, in which we talked about building a carrier discovery and investigation tool and what’s coming next for the platform. Catch the episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
• Now Hiring: Western Reserve Logistics Group is looking for a remote Logistics Account Manager.

FREIGHT HUMOR