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.
Plus: Morgan Stanley is bullish on the freight market, RXO stock jumps after Coyote acquisition announcement, and more on the Uber Freight, Aurora partnership.
Today's newsletter:
TOP LANE MOVERS POWERED BY GREENSCREENS.AI
*Greenscreens.ai, forecasts real-time truckload buy prices that are suited to each freight brokerage's purchasing power using AI and machine learning. Its engine takes into account over 130 attributes and data points in each rate forecast.
🐔 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT
🚛 Morgan Stanley: Truck Rates Ready to Rocket? Morgan Stanley's latest freight forecast is painting a bullish picture for trucking rates. Spot rates could jump from around $1.60 today to $1.91 in 6 months and $2.16 in 12 months. The optimistic scenario even sees rates hitting $2.85 by mid-2025. What's driving this? Likely expectations of economic recovery and potential capacity exits. But remember, forecasts aren't guarantees. The wide range between bull and bear cases shows there's still plenty of uncertainty.
📈 RXO's $1B Coyote Buy: Wall Street's Bullish Reaction. RXO's stock price shot up over 20%, closing at $24.81 Tuesday after news of its billion-dollar Coyote Logistics acquisition from UPS. Wall Street's bullish, with Stifel bumping its price target to $26 and Jefferies aiming high at $30. The deal creates the 3rd largest freight broker in North America, promising immediate earnings boosts. But analysts flag some concerns – think leveraged balance sheets and integration challenges. RXO's betting big on tech-enabled brokerage at massive scale, but can they deliver on the hype?
🤖 Uber Freight and Aurora Democratizing Self-Driving Trucks. Uber Freight and Aurora just unveiled "Premier Autonomy," offering carriers of all sizes a chance to join the self-driving trend. The program lets qualified trucking companies buy Aurora-equipped autonomous rigs through 2030. Uber and Aurora are already hauling real loads on a Dallas-to-Houston route. Aurora aims for fully driverless runs by year-end, with their safety case 95% complete. Plus, Premier Autonomy allows access to $18 billion in Uber Freight-managed volume. With a 12-18 month carrier onboarding process, the race to autonomous trucking is picking up pace.
TOGETHER WITH TRUCKER TOOLS
Check out Trucker Tools' latest FreightWaves webinar, Shipper Retention: Top Strategies for Brokers in a Volatile Market, featuring MegaCorp's Winnie Barton, Manager of Strategic Partnerships, Trucker Tools' Kary Jablonski, CEO, and FreightWaves' Mary O'Connell, Freight Broker and 3PL expert.
Watch the webinar recording today to learn the critical importance of shipper relationships, key indicators of future market swings, and how to leverage carrier sourcing strategy, partner technology, and transparency to build stronger relationships.
The trucking industry faced some big challenges in 2023, as proven by the latest Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire Carriers list. A prolonged freight recession, which began in mid-2022 and continues to drag on, left its mark on even the largest players in North American trucking.
Seth Clevenger, Managing Editor of Features and Multimedia at Transport Topics, noted that the financial strain caused by this downturn is "plainly evident" in this year's rankings. Let's take a closer look at how the top 10 carriers fared in this brutal environment.
Here's a look at revenue changes for all of the Top 10:
Clevenger pointed out that despite challenges, some companies in the top 100 managed to grow or maintain pretty stable revenues. He also mentions that the absence of Yellow Corp., which shut down in 2023 after 99 years in business, reshaped the competitive landscape, especially in the LTL sector.
What's Next? Safe to bet on these giants tightening their belts, hunting for new opportunities, and gearing up for the market to swing back.
TOGETHER WITH EPAY MANAGER
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🌎 AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB
🌡️ Widespread Heat Wave. A deadly heatwave spreads across the U.S., straining freight movement and impacting driver safety. Relief expected in coming days.
💰 FedEx Freight Sale? Company explores selling less-than-truckload unit, boosting investor interest by 15%. Meanwhile, the company plans to shut down 4 facilities in Carolinas, affecting 310 employees.
🏗️ Saia's Expansion. LTL carrier reopens former Yellow terminals in Texas, California, and Minnesota.
🚛 Colorado's CDL Crackdown. State increases penalties for driving commercial vehicles without proper licensing after series of major crashes.
🚢 Supply Chain Strain. Houthi attacks on Suez Canal vessels cause soaring shipping rates, raising fears of shortages.
🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR PODCAST
In this week’s episode, we sat down with Dynamic Logistix leaders Billie Rodriguez, Director of Carrier Solutions, and George Schergen, Vice President of Carrier Services.
They discussed the importance of realistic pricing, transparency, and building strong client relationships. Billie and George also emphasize the importance of the human element in the industry and having a great team.
Catch the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
FREIGHT MEME OF THE DAY
Also, check out:
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.
Indiana pulled the trigger on carriers employing illegal CDL holders. Plus: tariff ruling could flood LA with imports, DC finally moves on double brokers, spot rates are outrunning contract, and more.
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