No Landstar

Happy Monday. A "No Landstar" comment on a posted load isn't unfamiliar. Now there's a report that might explain why.

Plus:

• From Russia With Love

• $1 Million From USPS for Freight He Never Hauled

• New Rules, Same Loophole

💡 QUESTION OF THE DAY:

A 2024 federal audit flagged $___ million in USPS freight payments made without reliable proof-of-delivery records.

🍳 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT

⛽ From Russia With Love. President Donald Trump says Russia will send diesel to the United States under an agreement with Vladimir Putin: more than 300,000 tons immediately, 500,000 in November, 1 million after that, and another 3 million tons “within a short period.” Treasury issued a temporary license shielding Russian diesel already loaded onto tankers as of Oct. 9 from sanctions through April 2027. The United States has not imported Russian oil or gas since 2022. The pledge comes as the International Energy Agency forecasts Russian diesel output down to about 30%, and Moscow has restricted diesel exports since July to meet domestic demand.

💰 $1 Million From USPS for Freight He Never Hauled. Khayyam Arif Oglu Farajov pleaded guilty Friday to wire fraud and money laundering after running a scheme that collected more than $1 million from the USPS Freight Auction program without moving the freight. His Orlando trucking and brokerage company, Talishco LLC, won hundreds of contracts, then routinely skipped the pickups, blamed drivers, and let USPS reassign the work. He later returned and falsely marked those same shipments as delivered, triggering payment for hauls that never happened. He laundered the proceeds through shell companies into personal investment accounts, which federal investigators seized. A 2024 audit had already flagged $197.9 million in USPS freight payments made without reliable proof-of-delivery records.

🪖 New Rules, Same Loophole. The Army Transportation Command (ARTRANS) issued guidance Oct. 1 that bans paper and magnetic markings for military freight outright: trucks need permanent decals, a 30-day lease on file, and a USDOT number that matches both the truck and the carrier’s Electronic Logging Device. Mismatches can get a truck rejected, and the carrier hit with a service failure. Five days later, a witness gave Overdrive evidence that carriers not registered in the military’s own freight system were still hauling the loads. The rules bind carriers. ARTRANS says policing the Transportation Officers who award the freight isn’t its job.

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One More Report, Same Old Story

Last week, an X user claimed Landstar had 250+ FreightGuard reports.

On Saturday, Carrier411 CEO Darren Brewer shared a specific customer-submitted report, filed Oct. 7, against Landstar Ranger Inc.

We already wrote about the Landstar phenomenon in 2024, describing brokers’ frustration with agents reposting loads, while also noting trusted Landstar agents and specialized capacity.

The Load That Reappeared

The Oct. 7 report says a new broker-in-training offered a load to a Landstar agent. Five minutes later, the filer says, the same load appeared on a load board under Landstar.

The report lists unauthorized rebrokering, operating under an alias, fraudulent activity, and unethical or deceptive business practices.

In its Oct. 8 response, Landstar says corporate contacted the agent’s management, reminded her not to post customers’ loads without written permission, and said management would monitor her closely.

A Pattern Brokers Keep Describing

A Reddit thread from a few days ago features a broker with seven years in the business and four brokerage jobs asking how Landstar stays in business when none of those companies used it.

In the same thread, a Landstar agent says 90% to 95% of calls and emails get rejected, but says they eventually built a customer base and no longer scavenge load boards.

Other brokers say Landstar is on their office’s do-not-use list, and that they filter its name and MC number out of emails.

A former Landstar agent, now a broker, says most agents calling on posted loads are trying to double-broker rather than haul the load themselves.

Another commenter advises checking the load board while the agent is still on the phone.

One Instagram video posted a few days ago also shows a dispatcher calling Landstar for a posted load, and ending the call in shock without the load information.

Some Would Disagree

Several brokers described a completely different side of Landstar. Branches that work directly with shippers, rather than through brokers, got consistent praise, especially in hazmat, where multiple commenters said few other carriers can match Landstar’s capacity.

A separate Reddit thread came from a new freight agent in Europe who said Landstar was their only option.

The post was deleted, but comments remain. Some brokers said callers may not have a truck lined up and may repost a load; others urged the agent to build relationships.

The Landstar agent who said 90% to 95% of his calls get rejected also recalled a broker saying they would rather “push the load off a cliff” than give it to a Landstar agent.

Disclaimer: The opinions and experiences in the X and Reddit posts belong to the individual users who wrote them, not FreightCaviar. The FreightGuard report is one broker’s allegation, followed by Landstar’s response; neither establishes what actually happened or how widespread the issue is.

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 🌎 AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB

🚀 When Shipping Costs Need a Space Comparison. Shipbrokers needed something truly extreme to describe tanker rates, so they reached for outer space.

🚨 $250K in Copper, Zero Paperwork. A Nebraska traffic stop turned up 44,000 pounds of stolen copper wire, no bill of lading, no trailer seal, and bolt cutters in the cab.

🛣️ Virginia’s Worst Bottleneck Just Got Funded. $89.7 million is headed to fixing I-81, with construction already underway, though the fixes won’t be finished until 2035.

🚛 Daimler’s Best Quarter in Years. North American truck and bus sales jumped 51% year over year, even as the company’s own electric sales fell.

🌀 Relief Trucks Get a Paperwork Break. Alabama is waiving IRP and IFTA paperwork for 30 days, but only for trucks hauling relief freight for Hurricane Isaías.

🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER

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