Inside the 70% Cut

Happy Hump Day. Tighter capacity is driving the freight upcycle, while major brokers are getting more selective about who hauls their freight. Who still makes the cut, and what changed for carriers that previously qualified?

Plus:

• Gone in 60 Minutes

• Mexico Hits the Brakes

• BlueGrace on the Market

💡 QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Charger Logistics plans to buy up to ___ Aurora-equipped autonomous trucks.

🍳 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT

🎬 Gone in 60 Minutes. Super Ego has left its former U.S. headquarters in Elmhurst, Illinois, months after a “60 Minutes” investigation, Patch reported. An employee at 677 N. Larch Ave. said the company was gone but did not know where it moved. A truck leasing and maintenance business now occupies part of the building. Super Ego Holding’s TruckPaper dealer page lists equipment under the Sky Blue Leasing name at an Elgin, Illinois, address. Rob Carpenter has described Sky Blue Leasing as “the reincarnation of Super Ego.” The April CBS report cited nearly 15,000 safety violations and 500 crashes involving Super Ego-linked carriers over two years.

🚛 Mexico Hits the Brakes. Mexican truckers launched an indefinite nationwide strike October 26 over cargo theft, violent highway robberies, extortion, and rising operating costs. Protests included truck convoys, roadside gatherings and highway blockades. Mexico’s Interior Ministry counted 38 locations across 19 states on Monday morning, involving 691 vehicles and 858 participants. CANACAR said the movement extended to all 32 states. On October 27, trucking groups met with federal officials and agreed to four negotiating sessions covering highway security, infrastructure, tax incentives and regulations. The organizations had not confirmed that all demonstrations had ended and had earlier urged participants to continue peaceful protests at strategic highway locations.

💰 BlueGrace on the Market. Warburg Pincus-backed BlueGrace Logistics is for sale, Axios Pro reported, citing three sources. The company generated $985 million in gross revenue and $197 million in net revenue in 2025, according to Transport Topics, which ranks it No. 58 among North American logistics companies and lists 585 employees. Warburg committed $255 million to BlueGrace in 2016 through minority growth capital and acquisition funding. The Tampa-based 3PL provides truckload, LTL, and managed transportation services through its BlueShip platform. It serves more than 10,000 customers annually across North America. Its recent acquisitions include online brokerage FreightCenter in January 2025 and Idaho-based Truk TMS in August 2026.

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Brokers Narrow the Field

Landstar cut its approved carrier pool by roughly 35% between mid-2022 and Q2 2026. Schneider reduced its brokerage network from 60,000 carriers to 14,000, a nearly 77% reduction.

Now Knight-Swift CEO Adam Miller says his company’s approved brokerage carrier pool is down approximately 70% over two years.

He argues tighter screening could reinforce the capacity squeeze and slow the influx of carriers during the next freight upcycle.

Getting Approved Gets Harder

“We’re down 70% from maybe two years ago,” Miller said at the WEX OTR Summit on October 27. “Because we really vetted the type of carrier that we want.”

Knight-Swift requires carriers to have at least one year of operating history before joining its brokerage network. Miller linked stricter qualifications to cargo theft, safety, and potential broker liability.

Discussing Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, Miller said brokers could face greater exposure over the carriers they hire. He expects closer scrutiny of safety records, operating history, and insurance, while acknowledging that CSA scores do not definitively measure safety.

He said tighter screening, alongside federal CDL enforcement, could prevent the rapid capacity expansion that has historically followed stronger rates. He expects a more durable recovery despite relatively weak freight demand.

Schneider’s cuts also began with cargo theft. CEO Jim Filter said checking operating authority and excluding carriers with Conditional or Unsatisfactory ratings was no longer sufficient. The company added screening measures to protect customers’ freight.

Landstar’s Pool Is Growing Again

Landstar’s total approved brokerage carrier pool rose from 64,607 in Q2 to 67,915 in Q3, an increase of approximately 5%.

Its approved and active carrier count also increased, rising from 37,656 to 39,460, or 4.8%. Landstar defines active carriers as those that hauled at least one load during the preceding 180 days.

On the October 27 earnings call, CEO Frank Lonegro attributed the increase to established carriers adapting to tougher requirements, rather than new entrants.

Safety chief Matt Miller said carriers had become more willing to complete identity-verification steps that some previously resisted.

Federal Standards Remain Unsettled

The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) is still seeking a federal standard for carrier selection.

Speaking at FreightWaves’ Broker Compliance Symposium on October 26, TIA President and CEO Chris Burroughs said its requested rulemaking would take time.

The association is also seeking interim FMCSA guidance identifying checks brokers should perform before hiring a carrier. Burroughs said TIA has additionally asked the agency to publish its list of high-risk carriers.

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 🌎 AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB

📉 Spot Rates Ease. DAT reported spot linehaul rates fell 2 cents per mile across van, reefer, and flatbed last week as load posts declined 2%. Truck posts remained 20%–26% below a year earlier.

🔧 FMCSA Chief Goes Underneath. FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs performed a Level I truck inspection in Puerto Rico. His visit also included talks about the island’s transition to the federal CDL program.

🚂 Hot Wheels, Hot Freight. Police recovered approximately $54,000 in stolen Hot Wheels after a freight-train burglary in Colton, California. A 3 a.m. witness call led to one arrest and the recovery of 350 boxes of toy cars.

🤖 Charger Goes Driverless. Charger Logistics plans to buy up to 500 Aurora-equipped autonomous trucks for delivery in 2027–2028 under a nonbinding agreement. Deployment would include high-volume routes near the U.S.-Mexico border.

🗳️ Trucking on the Ballot. The November 3 midterms could shift trucking’s legislative agenda, with highway funding, cargo theft, and lawsuit reform among the issues at stake.

☕ Dispatcher’s Coffee Break. A broker on Reddit said a carrier quoted a 30% “war fee” on a domestic shipment. Their prediction for the next accessorial: “my dispatcher’s coffee break.”

🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER

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😂 FREIGHT HUMOR

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🎧 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR PODCAST

Michael Cherney, Co-Founder & CEO of Cooler Logistics, joined Paul-Bernard Jaroslawski and Lev Krasnopolskiy on the FreightCaviar Podcast to discuss how Cooler Logistics grew to a $25 million run rate with 29 employees, why he refuses to rely on public load boards, and why long-term carrier relationships matter more than quick fixes.

Watch it on YouTube, or listen to the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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