🎣 September Freight Update

Good Monday morning. The numbers say flat, but compliance and trade rules may be the wild cards shaking up September’s freight market. We’re breaking down what really matters in today’s feature.

Plus,

• 💵 TQL's $2K "Pay to Quit"
• 🍬 Candy CDL Bribery Sentencing
• 📉 PAMT in Hot Water with Lenders
• ... and more.

TOP LANE MOVERS POWERED BY TRIUMPH

🍳 What's Cookin' In Freight

💵 TQL Offers $2,000 Resignation Incentive. Total Quality Logistics is again offering employees $2,000 to resign if they are not “all in,” CEO Ken Oaks wrote in an internal email shared on social media. The Cincinnati-based 3PL, with $8 billion in annual sales, has used similar programs in 2015 and 2019 to filter out disengaged staff. The incentive comes amid margin pressures, digital platform competition, and industry overcapacity. Comparable offers have appeared at rivals like Steam Logistics. The offer reflects TQL’s recurring strategy, seen in 2015 and 2019, of testing employee commitment in a sector defined by $8 billion in annual sales, thin margins, and intense competition from digital platforms.

🧃 Boston Man Sentenced in CDL Bribery Scheme. Eric Mathison, 48, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison for conspiring with a Massachusetts State Police sergeant to falsify CDL test scores. Prosecutors said Mathison supplied bottled water, iced tea, candy, and energy drinks in exchange for passing marks for unqualified drivers. Texts revealed the officer referred to one applicant as “an idiot” who “should have failed about 10 times already.” Investigators said false scores were issued to 40 drivers. Mathison pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion in March. Former trooper Gary Cederquist was convicted in May and faces sentencing later this month.

📉 PAMT Breaches Debt Covenant Amid Mounting Losses. Truckload carrier PAM Transportation (PAMT) disclosed it violated a key rule with its lenders that limited how much debt they could have compared to earnings as of June 30, 2025. The breach, driven by $144 million in equipment purchases and weak earnings, was temporarily waived by lenders on August 7. PAMT’s operating ratio worsened to 112.5% in Q2, its seventh straight quarterly loss. Shares have fallen more than 70% since 2022, while CEO Joe Vitiritto resigned earlier this year. SeekingAlpha warned, “The recent breach of financial covenants … only reinforces this weak position.” With heavy exposure to automotive freight, PAMT’s $1 billion revenue goal by 2025 remains far out of reach.

Brought To You By GenLogs

Every carrier. Every equipment type. Every lane. GenLogs delivers whole-of-market capacity with its Truck Intelligence platform.

A nationwide network of cameras captures 10 million images of trucks every day, then powerful AI delivers trusted capacity at your fingertips. GenLogs finds you the right truck faster than you can post on the fraud-laden load boards.

Come see why most of the Top 50 freight brokerages are now powered by GenLogs!

Freight Market September Check-In

Freight data shows the market stuck in neutral, but chatter on LinkedIn suggests something else might be brewing.

A recent Q3 outlook from Nolan Transportation Group says cycles have been smoothed by tech and analytics, and only a big shock can move the market these days. Arrive’s August update reached a similar conclusion: supply is stable, demand is soft, and rates aren’t budging.

The Official Numbers

• Cass Freight Index: volumes down -3% YoY in Q2, keeping freight in mild contraction.
• Spot rates: slipped -0.2% YoY at quarter’s end, with tender rejections staying below 10%.
• Carrier exits: FMCSA data shows 5–6K revocations per month vs ~4K new authorities, signaling ongoing contraction but no sharp shock yet.
• Bankruptcies: even long-time carriers are folding, with PAMT violating debt covenants and a 40-year-old company filing Chapter 11.
• Box Numbers: Craig Fuller flagged that cardboard shipments — a classic barometer of economic activity — fell to their lowest Q2 reading since 2015, according to the Fibre Box Association.

NTG notes that only big shocks: “natural disasters, regulatory shifts or global crises," can meaningfully disrupt today’s data-driven equilibrium.

"Traditional freight cycles as we knew them… are they gone? Did technology and data level the playing field?" –CTO Drew Herpich, Nolan Transportation Group

The Supply

Capacity is bleeding out slowly. Refrigerated lanes in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and rural Northeast are flagged as the most likely to see volatility in October.

Arrive noted fleet utilization already at 93% and heading toward 95%, making the market more vulnerable to shocks even as employment stays relatively stable.

The Curvebals: Compliance & Trade

• ELP enforcement: Texas and other states have begun stricter enforcement of English language proficiency rules. Some on the ground are seeing rates spike in these areas. It's an early sign of regulatory-driven tightening.
• Trade policy: Postal traffic to the U.S. plunged more than 80% in late August after the de minimis exemption expired, according to the UN. The collapse shows how tariff and rule changes can instantly reroute freight flows.

The September picture is clear: demand is soft, supply is thinning slowly, and rates remain flat. But beneath the surface, compliance checks and trade rules are injecting new volatility.

Struggling to survive the slump? This piece from Ari Levy offers some solid advice for brokers suffering from freight fatigue.

Brought To You By CloneOps

CloneOps.ai transforms business communication with AI agents that keep your operations always on, precise, and scalable.

This isn’t theory or hype, it’s live and delivering results today!

🌎 Around The Freight Web

👮‍♂️ Meth Seized. Texas officials seized $37 million worth of meth hidden in a commercial truck hauling aluminum burr at the Laredo port of entry on August 29. In total, CBP uncovered four sacks weighing over 4,000 pounds.

🤝 Logistics Plus Acquisition. Erie-based Logistics Plus acquired Chicago broker LoadDelivered Logistics, expanding its food and beverage network. “This acquisition represents another step forward… creating a more robust and scalable platform,” said Craig Warnhuis, director of North American operations.

📈 ELP Enforcement Impact. In a LinkedIn post, Eric Williams said a carrier reported rates from a major retailer up 70% vs April in states enforcing English Language Proficiency rules, pushing September averages above seasonal norms.

⚖️ Crash Subpoenas Issued. Prosecutors issued subpoenas for records from the trucking company, White Hawk Carriers of Ceres, California, involved in the Florida U-turn crash. Authorities are probing safety practices and compliance failures tied to the carrier.

😔 Xtreme Quality Bankruptcy. Xtreme Quality Logistic, LLC filed for bankruptcy, citing declining freight demand and mounting debt. The carrier, operating about 50 trucks, reported millions in liabilities owed to lenders and fuel suppliers.

🎤 Singer’s Family Sues. The family of R&B singer Angie Stone filed a lawsuit on September 2, stemming from her fatal March collision with a semi-truck. Defendants include the trucking company and the truck’s collision avoidance system manufacturer.

🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER

• FreightCaviar Podcast: Top Supply Chain VC Santosh Sankar, Co-Founder of Dynamo Ventures, reveals what it takes to get funded and how AI is creating the broker of the future. Catch the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
• Manifest 2026: We're proud to be an Official Partner of Manifest: The Future of Supply Chain & Logistics conference, the premier event shaping what's next in freight and logistics. Save an additional $200 when you register now before prices increase September 12.
• Freight Broker Group Chat: Lost a load to a ghost MC? Just discovered a 15-layer carrier spoof ring? Come swap war stories, drop memes, and ask the stuff no one wants to post on LinkedIn. Join us on forum.freightcaviar.com
• Now Hiring! IIK TRANSPORT INC is looking for a Driver Recruiter in Bridgeview, IL. If you or someone you know may be interested in this position, you can apply directly from our freightjobs.co job board.

FREIGHT HUMOR