The Middle East crisis is already hitting carriers. Plus: Florida lost $3B in crops, flatbed rates posted a fifth straight weekly increase, a $5B brokerage was just acquired, and more.
Plus: autonomous trucking just raised $113M, California is fighting to keep 20,000 drivers, Arrive's 2026 truckload freight forecast, and more.
Two bills just dropped in the Senate that could reshape trucking faster than anything since deregulation. Plus: Russian hackers targeted your load board, flatbed rejection rates just hit 40%, and a robot is taking the Houston-Dallas overnight run.
Plus: shutdown jitters for trucking, ICE pulls 130 drivers in Oklahoma, Alvys scores $40M for AI freight ops, and more in today's newsletter.
Happy Hump Day. Texas has stopped issuing CDLs to non-citizens, fueling debate over safety and regulation. Meanwhile, new data ranks the deadliest states for truck crashes.
Plus,
🚨 Oklahoma, ICE Remove 130 Truck Drivers in 3 Days. Oklahoma’s Sept. 29 enforcement sweep at the Beckham County Port of Entry sidelined 130 drivers, focusing on California-licensed trucks. Governor Kevin Stitt highlighted a suspicious New York CDL with “No Name Given.” Commissioner Brian Bingman warned: “The inability to read road signs written in English will lead to accidents.” OCC Chair Kim David added the effort “remov[ed] non-compliant and dangerous drivers from our roads.” The crackdown aligns with FMCSA’s Sept. 29 interim rule tightening CDL issuance, underscoring mounting federal-state efforts to tackle credentialing vulnerabilities.
🥃 ‘Sophisticated’ Cargo Thieves Steal $1M in Whiskey. Thieves posing as a freight carrier made off with 12,000 bottles of Westland Distillery’s Garryana whiskey, worth nearly $1 million, in a rare U.S. liquor heist. The July theft wiped out nearly half of the distillery’s 10-year anniversary stock, a product more than a decade in the making. Investigators call it a “sophisticated, fraudulent carrier scheme,” highlighting growing concerns about cargo theft. Experts say fencing the rare bottles will be tough, given strict U.S. alcohol rules and the Garryana’s high visibility in whiskey circles. Westland says it’s bolstering supply chain security while focusing on customers.
💰 Alvys Raises $40M to Automate Freight Ops. Alvys secured $40 million in Series B funding, led by RTP Global, to scale its AI-driven TMS that integrates dispatch, billing, and driver management. CEO Nick Darman said the goal is to “remove wasted steps, give teams smarter decision-making in real time, and help carriers and brokers grow … without adding overhead.” Investors see it as freight’s future operating system. RTP’s Julius Schwerin said: “Alvys rewires how loads are sourced, dispatched, and reconciled.” Customers report 28% more loads and 90% faster accounting, bolstering confidence in its model.
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Texas has stopped issuing commercial driver’s licenses to non-citizens, citing federal compliance. The move immediately sparked debate across trucking, where immigration and driver capacity are already hot-button topics. But state officials point to safety and compliance as the driving forces behind the decision.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said it’s aligning with federal rules, halting CDLs for non-citizens until further guidance.
On FreightX, many argue the move is too little (questioning what happens to non-citizen drivers already on the road), and too late (coming five months after Trump ordered states to comply with federal CDL rules, including English language testing requirements.
The timing of CDL crackdowns coincides with new data on truck crash fatalities:
The National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NHTSA) reported nearly 5,500 truck-related deaths in 2023, with more than 150,000 injuries.
Wyoming, New Mexico, and Mississippi topped the “Deadliest Dozen” list for truck crashes, with Wyoming leading fatalities per 100,000 residents.
From 2016 to 2022, fatal crashes involving large trucks and buses rose 26.4%, according to FMCSA.
Jason Cannon of Commercial Carrier Journal noted: “The Truck Safety Coalition is urging lawmakers to require Automatic Emergency Braking, new motor carrier exams, and stronger drug/alcohol testing after fatal crashes.”
FMCSA and NHTSA are jointly proposing rules to mandate automatic emergency braking for all heavy trucks.
A new Crash Causal Factors Program study will start in 2026, analyzing 2,000 fatal crashes to identify root causes. This data will be key in the debate over whether the crackdowns are rooted in concern for road safety, rather than just discrimination, as some argue.
Lawmakers are pushing bills requiring more transparency in crash reporting and higher safety standards for new carriers.
With crash deaths still alarmingly high (despite a projected 8.2% decline in roadway fatalities in 2025), regulators and advocacy groups argue the industry needs tougher guardrails, not weaker ones.
As FreightCaviar readers know, safety and compliance don’t just shape the road they shape capacity, costs, and who gets to operate in trucking at all.
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⚖️ U-Turn Driver Pleads Not Guilty. Harjinder Singh, charged in a fatal illegal U-turn crash on I-75, pleaded not guilty through his attorney without appearing in court due to waiving his first appearance hearing.
🤝 Rose Rocket Acquisition. Rose Rocket acquired Centro, a Toronto-based tech firm specializing in converting emails into structured data, which is then uploaded into supply chain systems. This is Rose Rocket’s first acquisition.
🚂 CSX CEO Departs. CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs abruptly stepped down after less than three years in the role, following pressure from an activist shareholder for a new leader. CSX has appointed Mike Cory, a former CN Rail executive, as interim chief.
😔 First Brands Bankruptcy. Auto parts maker First Brands Group, parent of Raybestos brakes and Trico wipers, filed for bankruptcy with over $1 billion in debt. The company plans to restructure while continuing operations.
💰 TCI Buys NationaLease. Transportation Consultants Inc. acquired Kansas-based Success NationaLease, expanding its truck leasing, rental, and maintenance network across the Midwest. The deal adds regional capacity to TCI’s national fleet.
🛢️ Pipeline Oil Theft. Federal prosecutors charged five people with stealing millions of dollars in crude oil from New Mexico pipelines. The group allegedly used commercial trucks to siphon and sell the stolen product over several years.
🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER
FREIGHT HUMOR
The Middle East crisis is already hitting carriers. Plus: Florida lost $3B in crops, flatbed rates posted a fifth straight weekly increase, a $5B brokerage was just acquired, and more.
Plus: autonomous trucking just raised $113M, California is fighting to keep 20,000 drivers, Arrive's 2026 truckload freight forecast, and more.
Two bills just dropped in the Senate that could reshape trucking faster than anything since deregulation. Plus: Russian hackers targeted your load board, flatbed rejection rates just hit 40%, and a robot is taking the Houston-Dallas overnight run.
This week: The Dalilah Law, a trucking bankruptcy that wiped out thousands overnight, a FreightGuard civil war on Reddit, and the payroll data that's predicting Q4 capacity.
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