🎣 Regional Reroute

Good Wednesday morning. U.S. Bank’s Q1 2025 Freight Index shows 11th straight shipment drop. Read how each region fared as storms, tariffs, and capacity shaped the market in today's feature.

Plus:

• 🚨 CDL Bribery Schemes
• 📈 Freight Company To Invest in Trump Coin
• ⛈️ Severe Weather Incoming
• ... and more.

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🐔 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT

🚨 Bribery Schemes Uncovered in CDL Licensing Across U.S. Two CDL bribery schemes are intensifying growing concerns over road safety nationwide. In Washington, regulators allege Skyline CDL School paid bribes to a state tester to issue licenses to unqualified drivers—80% of whom failed retests. “You’re putting the motoring public at extreme risk,” warned trucking safety expert Scott Turner. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, former State Trooper Gary Cederquist was convicted on 48 charges for accepting bribes, including cash, drinks, and a new driveway valued at over $10,000—to fraudulently pass CDL applicants. He even passed one applicant he described as “horrible” and “brain dead” after receiving a snowblower worth nearly $2,000. “His greed put the public at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Leah Foley.

📈 Freight Technologies Stock Soars After Trump Coin Investment Announcement. Freight Technologies Inc.’s shares more than doubled after the small Houston-based logistics firm announced plans to purchase President Trump’s memecoin as a treasury asset, calling it “a cornerstone of its digital asset strategy.” CEO Javier Selgas said the move supports “fair, balanced, and free trade” between the U.S. and Mexico. The company plans to raise up to $20 million for the purchase. The announcement mirrors crypto-driven rallies seen in firms like MicroStrategy. Critics, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff, warn the coin raises ethics concerns, calling for an investigation into potential “pay to play” corruption.

⛈️ Severe Weather Threatens U.S. Transportation as Storms Sweep Nation. A volatile weather pattern is disrupting logistics across the U.S. this week, with severe thunderstorms, tornado risks, flash flooding, and late-season snow creating operational challenges. WeatherOptics warns of “widespread vulnerability” from the South Central states to the Northeast. Severe storms are also forecast for Texas, Louisiana, and along the Gulf Coast through midweek, while the Northeast faces hail, flooding, and damaging winds, impacting key transit corridors and air travel into the weekend.

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What U.S. Bank’s Index Says About Q1

The U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index just dropped, and while it’s not the jolt we wanted, there are glimmers worth watching, especially region by region.

This index tracks shipment volumes and total freight spend using real payment data across truckload and LTL. “Shipments” = number of loads. “Spend” = total shipper dollars.

National Overview: Freight Freeze

• Shipments dropped 5.8% QoQ and 13.8% YoY, the 11th straight quarterly decline.
• Spend fell 2.5% QoQ, down 8.6% YoY, the smallest yearly drop since early 2023
• Meaning: We moved fewer loads but spent more per load due to tightening capacity, winter storms, and higher fuel surcharges.

"Severe winter storms, wildfires, tariff uncertainty and soft retail sales, led to a ninth consecutive quarter with national declines in quarterly and yearly shipment and spend volumes." – U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index

• Spot and contract rates inched up ~0.9% QoQ, while fuel ticked up 2.3% from Q4.

Nationally, tariff panic led to some preemptive import spikes, but retail and housing demand sagged. Let's take a look at each region.

Southwest: Historic Collapse

• Shipments: -21.2% QoQ, -40.1% YoY, the worst YoY drop in Index history.
• Spend: +7.3% QoQ, 6.0% YoY
• Texas took a double hit: rare snowstorms + a slump in regional manufacturing. Yet chemical freight demand and tight truck supply pushed spend higher.

"It was surprising to see that shippers spent more to move significantly less freight...However, it could be a combination of factors...Texas is a huge producer of chemicals, which are more costly to ship. Another reason could simply be that truck capacity left the region." – U.S. Bank Freight Payments Index

Northeast:

• Shipments: +3.6% QoQ, 2.1% YoY
• Spend: +4.1% QoQ, 2.3% YoY
• Strong retail sales and import surges at NY/NJ ports (up 5-10%) pushed the Northeast into full rebound mode. First region in 11 quarters to post across-the-board gains.

Midwest: Manufacturing Slump

• Shipments: -6.9% QoQ, -13.9% YoY
• Spend: -5.5% QoQ, -15.3% YoY
• Housing starts dropped over 30%, and regional Canada-U.S. volumes sagged. Add in factory slowdowns, and the Midwest just couldn’t shake the freight funk.

West: Ports in Focus

• Shipments: +1.0% QoQ, +1.5% YoY
• Spend: -1.4% QoQ, +0.6% YoY
• Despite wildfires, port traffic surged (imports up 5–10%), with rebuilding supplies and tariff-driven inventory pull-forward helping to prop up volumes.

In early 2025, importers accelerated shipments to West Coast ports like Los Angeles and Long Beach to preempt impending tariffs, leading to record volumes in January.

Last month, the Port of Los Angeles projected container volumes to plummet by around 35% as tariffs take effect and demand wanes.

Southeast: Slowed by Snow

• Shipments down 1.7% QoQ, 9.3% YoY
• Spend down 7.0% QoQ, 16.9% YoY
• Snowstorms in usually temperate states like Louisiana and Mississippi + sluggish retail = third straight quarterly decline in both metrics.

Final Takeaways:

Q1 2025 gave us a familiar story: freight volumes still falling, but the floor may be near. Spend shrinking slower than shipments hints at a tighter capacity market.

Tariff jitters, fuel bumps, and regional volatility all shaped this quarter’s freight map.

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🌎 AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB

💼 Rivian Cuts Forecast, Plans Supplier Park. Rivian cut its annual delivery forecast, citing higher costs from new tariffs. In response, the company announced plans to build a $120 million supplier park in Illinois, aiming to localize production, reduce dependence on imports, and stabilize operations.

🏗️ Reshoring Roadblocks. PackageX warns U.S. warehouses are unprepared for reshoring, citing outdated technology, limited automation, reliance on Excel for inventory, and poor supply chain visibility as key operational weaknesses.

🏢 Saia Buying Terminals. Saia and other carriers are purchasing 10 Yellow Corp. terminals in a bid to expand networks following Yellow’s bankruptcy and asset liquidation. Once the deal closes, Saia will have acquired 31 terminals from Yellow for an estimated $250 million.

🌏 US-China Trade Talks. The U.S. and China are moving toward new trade discussions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hopes “for de-escalation,” but China has been cited using a Chinese proverb in a separate statement, “Listen to what is said, and watch what is done...”

⚠️ Amazon Faces Lawsuit. Two truck drivers injured in crashes tied to poor signage at an Indiana Amazon warehouse are pursuing legal action after a judge reversed an initial dismissal of their lawsuit.

🚨 DUI Arrest. A truck driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI after reportedly hitting several parked cars and four poles causing “extensive property damage.” The driver suffered minor injuries in the collision.

🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER

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