Optimize freight broker operations by fixing payment workflows in Q1. Streamline carrier pay before capacity shifts compress your margins.
Tucker Carlson’s nicotine brand loses 378,000 tins in a cargo theft. Plus: produce rates reset, diesel climbs, and a bill that could pull hundreds of thousands of drivers off the road.
The Middle East crisis is already hitting carriers. Plus: Florida lost $3B in crops, flatbed rates posted a fifth straight weekly increase, a $5B brokerage was just acquired, and more.
Week of June 19: A round-up of the most engaging and talked-about freight content from around the web and from us.
FreightCaviar Weekly Recap. A round-up of the most engaging and talked-about freight content from around the web and from us.
Is AI the future?
Earlier this week on our Instagram page, we asked a question about whether AI will replace freight brokers & dispatchers in the next 20 years?
This question comes after we have had a slew of technological advances within our industry over the past couple of years. But as the saying goes, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Is too much AI ruining our field?
👍 What’s Working:
👎 What’s Not:
So, whose side are you on? Is AI going to take over? Let us know what you think by replying directly to this newsletter!
Over on r/FreightBrokers, Reddit user Boomroomguy shared how he made over $10 million as a broker and offered some advice for up-and-coming brokers. One piece stood out:
"Don't do RFPs. Waste of time, and money as you race to the bottom. Those customers won't ever have loyalty."
One user replied, saying:
Refusing to do RFPs was the best decision I made in my career. Such a waste of time.
Other users either offered congratulations or sought advice for escaping a "plateau" within their organization.
What advice would you give to someone as we enter Q3, or just in general, to help scale their operation? Drop your take in the FreightCaviar Forum.
FleetWorks is a AI agent for managing your carrier network.
Fred and Felice talk to carriers over phone, email, and text. They can:
FleetWorks frees broker time to help your customers and carriers with their toughest problems.
Carrier411 suspended access for a Mexico-based third-party agency following protests in Los Angeles linked to recent ICE raids.
Jerome Washington
“I see all these people standing above cars, waving Mexican flags, and the devastation, the destruction of Los Angeles. I said, ‘something’s not right,’” Brewer said during a June 14 appearance on FreightWaves' What the Truck?!?
Darren did acknowledge that this agency has a solid track record, stating:
“They were the only third-party staffing service that we allowed, because I know the guy who started it and runs it … I let him know first thing the next morning and explained to him why.”
Darren even took the time to comment on our Instagram post:
BONUS X POST:
This is an age-old situation that rears its ugly head again and again. Another damage load, but who's to blame? The loaders or the driver? 🤔
Our sponsors FreightClaims.com can help with situations like this.
A viral video on Candace Owens’ podcast accuses the trucking industry of trapping drivers in debt through exploitative lease programs. Drawing on The Secret Life of Groceries, the video claims drivers net far less than promised and face harsh, unsustainable working conditions. Though coming from polarizing figures, the exposé raises real concerns about driver pay, turnover, and leasing practices. We dive deeper into this in this week’s most-clicked FreightCaviar feature.
Our very own Krystian Gebis was conducting some research about this staggering stat line.
Commenters (on the same post via X) offered their opinions on why/how this could be:
What's your take on this alarming stat?
Don’t let RFP season catch you scrambling. Greenscreens' long-term rate prediction tool delivers accurate monthly freight forecasts up to 12 months out — With seamless system integration and support for high volume lane uploads, it improves efficiency, accelerates user adoption, and reduces time to respond to RFPs.
😅 Meme of the Week
Our most liked meme this week received over 850 likes on Instagram.
🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER
Tucker Carlson’s nicotine brand loses 378,000 tins in a cargo theft. Plus: produce rates reset, diesel climbs, and a bill that could pull hundreds of thousands of drivers off the road.
The Middle East crisis is already hitting carriers. Plus: Florida lost $3B in crops, flatbed rates posted a fifth straight weekly increase, a $5B brokerage was just acquired, and more.
Plus: autonomous trucking just raised $113M, California is fighting to keep 20,000 drivers, Arrive's 2026 truckload freight forecast, and more.
Two bills just dropped in the Senate that could reshape trucking faster than anything since deregulation. Plus: Russian hackers targeted your load board, flatbed rejection rates just hit 40%, and a robot is taking the Houston-Dallas overnight run.
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