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Landstar's $100M Broker Play
Landstar sees a $100 million opportunity as smaller brokers seek liability protection. But its own claims expenses are climbing.
Nebojsa Lindic, Paul Jaroslawski · November 2, 2026 · 6 min read
Happy Monday. Landstar is looking to capitalize on the liability concerns facing smaller freight brokers, with $100 million in potential new-agent revenue on the table. Meanwhile, its own insurance and claims expenses jumped 67% last quarter.
Plus:
Shipper Spending Jumps 32.1%
The Busiest Truck in America
Account Takeovers Surge 200%
💡 QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Covenant Logistics' brokerage and transportation management revenue grew by ______% year over year in Q3 2026.
🍳 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT
💰 Shipper Spending Jumps 32.1%. U.S. shippers spent 32.1% more on freight in Q3 than a year earlier, according to the latest U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index, even as shipment volumes increased just 0.5%. It was the largest annual spending increase since 2021. Quarter over quarter, spending rose 5.2% against a 0.4% increase in shipments. The Southwest recorded the biggest gap, with spending jumping 51.6% while shipment volumes fell 2.6% year over year. Spending increased in every U.S. region, driven by tighter truck capacity, stronger carrier pricing, and diesel exceeding $6.50 per gallon nationally. The index covers domestic truckload and LTL payments, including fuel costs.
🚨 The Busiest Truck in America? How does a trucking company registered with one truck get inspected nearly six times a day? That's the question Danielle Chaffin raised about Illinois-based MLTZX Group LLC. In its first 59 days, the carrier's DOT number appeared in 339 roadside inspections, averaging 5.7 daily. On October 28 alone, trucks operating under that number were inspected in five states. Updated SearchCarriers records show 363 inspections, including 181 with out-of-service violations and two crashes. Its driver out-of-service rate stands at 33.06%, nearly five times the 6.67% national average. Yet MLTZX remains authorized to operate.
🎭 Account Takeovers Surge 200%. Trucking fuel-card and payments provider WEX warns of a 200% year-over-year increase in account takeovers. The figure came from anti-financial crimes VP William Fitzgerald, who did not specify whether it covers WEX customers or the wider industry. Speaking at the WEX OTR Summit, Fitzgerald described criminals using phishing, compromised emails, and fake websites to access fleet accounts. Some spend months studying payment patterns before changing account details and draining funds through money codes. Fraudsters also swap characters in account profiles, such as "l" for "1," to avoid detection. AI tools now allow scammers to mimic voices, faces, and accents to deceive employees.
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Landstar's Post-Montgomery Playbook
Landstar sees a $100 million revenue opportunity in the Supreme Court's Montgomery ruling, which opened the door to negligent-hiring lawsuits against freight brokers.
During its Q3 earnings call, CFO Jim Todd said Landstar could generate an additional $100 million in annual revenue from new agents if recruitment returns to historically strong levels.
The company has already brought in Show Me Global Logistics, a Midwest brokerage doing approximately $20 million in annual business.
Todd said another sizable agent joined recently, with two more prospects close to signing.
"We're seeing lots of really good conversations where folks are really looking for a safe haven," CEO Frank Lonegro said.
The $100 Million Opportunity
Landstar's strongest years brought in $140 million to $180 million in annual revenue from new agents.
During the 2023–2025 freight downturn, that figure dropped to $30 million–$50 million.
Todd believes the liability environment could help close that gap. The Supreme Court ruled in May that federal law does not preempt state negligent-hiring claims against brokers involving motor-vehicle safety.
Lonegro expects the full impact to take another one to two years as brokers renew their insurance policies.
Landstar is also considering what Lonegro called "little M&A," using capital to recruit established brokerages into its independent agent network.
He ruled out following C.H. Robinson's approach of acquiring a large brokerage, saying it would create competition with Landstar's existing agents.
Instead, Lonegro asked whether the company could bring in another five or ten brokerages similar in size to Show Me Global.
Landstar Isn't Immune
Landstar's liability bet has another side. The company reported $55.3 million in Q3 insurance and claims expenses, up from $33 million a year earlier.
That included $13 million in unfavorable reserve adjustments and $8 million in additional costs tied to settlements involving a 2024 brokered-truck accident and a 2025 accident involving a Landstar-leased owner-operator.
During the earnings call, management disclosed that three brokerage claims had required reserve adjustments in Q2. Two were settled within those reserves, but the third required another $5 million.
Two of the claims arose in jurisdictions where Landstar previously benefited from federal preemption protections. Despite those costs, Lonegro sees Montgomery as a net positive for Landstar's agent model.
"I think we've got the upper hand in that one," he said.
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🌎 AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB
🚔 48 Hours, 44 Arrests. An Arkansas trucking enforcement blitz resulted in 1,724 inspections, 44 criminal arrests, 183 English-proficiency violations, and 393 drivers and vehicles placed out of service. Authorities also recovered a stolen trailer.
💰 Covenant's Brokerage Revenue Surges. Covenant Logistics' brokerage and transportation management revenue jumped 68.4% to $121.6 million in Q3, helped by acquired brokerage operations. Segment operating income more than doubled to $7.1 million, while its truckload fleet shrank nearly 9%.
🚨 Motus Suspends Thousands. A CAB and CCJ analysis identified more than 6,475 carrier suspensions associated with insurance-requirement changes. FMCSA says 95% of carrier registrations are functioning correctly.
💸 TForce's Discount Gamble Backfires. TForce slashed LTL rates to attract freight, pushing volumes to 22,000 daily shipments and overwhelming its network. It then had to buy outside linehaul capacity at up to $2.90 per mile. TForce has since raised prices on some 3PL freight.
🤖 Driverless Trucks Learn Reverse. Venti's autonomous container trucks operated for nearly three years in Singapore without reversing. For U.S. rail yards, they've now learned to back up 60-foot combinations with just four inches of clearance on either side.
🎄 Mariah's Blasting in the Cab. A 76-foot Christmas tree is traveling 2,000 miles from Idaho to Washington, D.C., aboard a custom Kenworth T680. The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree is scheduled to arrive November 20.
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