Five Freight Companies We Found Interesting

Happy Hump Day. We are attending F3 today in Chattanooga. Tune in live for free by registering here.

In today's email:

• Three Freight Headlines: US imports climb in October, Twins Express auctions off their equipment, & Meadow Lark declares bankruptcy.
• Five Freight Companies We Found Interesting
• Around the Freight Web: the transportation sector buzzes with Freight Gong's live demo by Reed Loustalot, a significant uptick in transpacific trade reported by Flexport, plus more.
• Carrier of the Week
• Freight Meme of the Day

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🐔 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT

📈 US Imports Climb in October. Despite concerns of an economic downturn, U.S. imports are still on the rise, with October showing a 4% increase year on year and an 11.5% increase compared to pre-COVID levels in 2019. The surge is led by Chinese imports, which reached their highest point since August 2022, constituting 38.4% of total U.S. imports. Trans-Pacific spot rates have also seen a recent boost, indicating a robust trade environment that continues to outperform previous years’ volumes, even amidst shifting global trade dynamics.

🚛 Twin Express: End of the Road in $19M Auction. Twin Express Inc., the Minnesota-based trucking company that shut down last month, is now facing the auctioning of its assets following a $19 million loan default. This comes after the company's safety rate revealed concerning figures with a vehicle out-of-service rate substantially higher than the national average. The upcoming auction includes over 206 items, notably 26 brand-new Kenworth T680 semi-trucks, and marks an end to Twin Express' 35-year legacy.

💵 Meadow Lark Declares Bankruptcy. Meadow Lark Agency and Meadow Lark Transport, trucking firms based in Montana, have declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy following operational cessation three weeks prior. Facing financial hurdles from unforeseen banking issues, higher costs, cyber attacks, and insurance problems, they reported assets of $10-50 million against liabilities of $1-10 million. With $800,000 owed to ex-employees and $2.7 million to trucking companies, the liquidation leaves up to 5,000 creditors and multiple lawsuits unresolved.

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Five Freight Companies We Found Interesting

We are back in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this week to attend the F3: Future of Freight event presented by FreightWaves. Chattanooga, with only a population of 182,000, has a significant influence on the freight industry in the US and the world. But why is that? It comes down to a few influential people who have paved the way for successful companies to build in this ecosystem of Chattanooga. One of these individuals, who will go down in history, is Ted Alling. Ted was the CEO & Co-Founder of Access America Transport (AAT). In 2014, Coyote purchased AAT for $125 million, of which $98 million was in cash (Source). A year later, Coyote ended up selling to UPS for $1.8 billion.

Ted was kind enough to give us a tour yesterday of the school he built for underprivileged teens, the venture firm he is a partner in, and another venture firm that is investing heavily in Chattanooga. We will have a video of our tour out on YouTube in the next few weeks. Additionally, we wanted to feature a couple of other companies we met yesterday at F3 that we found interesting. If you couldn't make it to F3, you will be able to stream the panels live today by registering for free at this link.

1. Brickyard: If you are thinking about starting a freight tech startup and are willing to move to Chattanooga for a year, Brickyard is a venture capital firm you have to check out. We got a private tour of their newly built facility, which is probably the most epic startup incubation space we’ve seen to date. They had an amazing workspace, but also included a full-blown gym with weight lifting machines, and even a sauna and cold plunge.
2. Dynamo Ventures: Dynamo is a logistics industry-focused fund. They focus on early-stage opportunities, including pre-seed and seed-stage startups, with a preference for enterprise (B2B and occasionally B2B2C) business models. They typically invest between $250K to $1.25M and are open to co-investing alongside local investors, primarily in the US and Europe.
3. Verified Carrier: Verified Carrier is a new carrier evaluation and vetting system started by an asset-based fleet Skyline Transport. The team gave us a live demo of the product, which had many similarities to platforms we’ve seen to date like Highway or Carrier Assure. However, Verified Carrier’s clean, easy, and intuitive interface has garnered noticeable amounts of interest at their booth. 
4. Gate Go: GateGo is putting yard automation on autopilot. The CEO Adrian Garcia, is only 22 years old and has managed to secure multiple warehouse yards as customers where GateGo streamlines the truck/trailer check-in/check-out process using yard gate cameras and software for gate guards. 
5. Repowr: Repowr is building Airbnb, but for trailers. We were surprised at how cheap it was to book a trailer, starting as low as $15/day for a dry van. Repowr allows you to rent out your extra unused trailer capacity to its network (airbnb host), where it will pair the capacity with a party in need of a trailer (the guest). Repowr also happened to be one of Brickyard’s first investments, and from what we can tell, the early bet looks to be paying off. We’ll be also releasing our podcast with them soon.

AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB

🖥️ Gong as a Service. Reed Loustalot, the creator of LOSTFR8 & FreightGong.com, will be live-demoing a revolutionary update to FreightGong at 1:40 PM EST during FreightWaves F3. He will also share how he's democratizing access to FreightGong for everyone.

🌊 Transpacific Trade. Ryan Petersen, Founder & CEO of Flexport, tweets that they've seen a 32% surge in transpacific bookings as U.S. businesses anticipate a busy holiday season.

🚓 High-Speed Semi Chase Ends in Arrest. After an extensive pursuit, Christopher Lubowski, 58, faces serious charges for meth found in his truck. Watch the video here.

📈 Uber Freight Sees Q3 Gains. Uber Freight reports a slight improvement in Q3 results, with reduced losses and increased revenue.

🌬️ ConMet Buys Eco-Friendly Truck Tech. ConMet acquires Truck Labs to enhance tractor-trailer aerodynamics and fuel efficiency.

FREIGHT CONFERENCES WE'RE ATTENDING

• Feb. 5th-7th, 2024: Manifest Vegas, February 5 - 7, 2024, is the world's largest global supply chain & logistics tech event, bringing together Fortune 500 global supply chain executives, logistics service providers, cutting-edge startups, venture investors, and technology leaders.  Join 4,500+ supply chain innovators to foster new strategies and relationships. Receive $200 off your ticket with our exclusive link.

CARRIER OF THE WEEK PRESENTED BY LOSTFR8.COM

Established in 2017, Veteran Carriers, a division of ARL Transport, operates as a Veteran-owned entity specializing in Flatbed and dray services from its base in Savannah, GA. Offering nationwide service with a focus on the Southeast to Midwest for Flatbed and local Savannah markets for drayage, they boast an 18-acre storage yard for containers and capacity in major port markets through ARL Transport. Known for reliability and extensive reach, Veteran Carriers comes highly recommended for their professionalism and dedication. Connect with them via Lost Fr8 for veteran-operated shipping expertise. Click here to view their Lost Fr8 Profile.

FREIGHT MEME OF THE DAY

Also, check out:

• 🎧 The FreightCaviar Podcast. Listen to this week's podcast on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
• ☕️ FreightCaviar Fall Essentials: purchase a FreightCaviar sticker, hoodie, long-sleeve, or mug by clicking here.