“When I say you’re going to require high levels of authenticity and authentication at the point of entry... that is no longer going to be enough to prevent access. You’re going to need multiple points that all need to match in order to unlock access- that’s where we’re going."
FMCSA launched a new carrier registry three weeks ago to stop freight fraud — zero new carriers have been registered since. Plus: PepsiCo is running 41 driverless trucks, peak season and a shrinking driver pool, cameras know where your carriers have been, and more.
Freight AI pilots succeed. Production deployments often don't. Augment CEO Harish Abbott on the change management gap — and what ops leaders need to do before the tech even matters.
Oil spikes to $120 on Iran news before settling near $106. Plus: another influencer shipment gets stolen, Wyoming can now pull your truck, 24 states sue over tariffs, and more.
Happy Monday. The Strait of Hormuz closed. Diesel is $4.65 nationally and climbing. We break down what it could mean in today's feature.
Plus:
🚛 Influencers Keep Losing Truckloads. Bryan Johnson, the tech founder who spends $2M a year trying to reverse aging, says $630,000 worth of his Blueprint creatine was stolen in an elaborate freight heist. According to Johnson, the driver used a fake ID to pick up 15,918 units from the factory, then shut off the tracker and stopped answering calls. It’s the same playbook used last week when 378,000 tins of Tucker Carlson’s ALP nicotine pouches were stolen after a fraudulent pickup in Southern California. Within just the past few months, products tied to Guy Fieri, Shaquille O’Neal, Tucker Carlson, and now Bryan Johnson have all been targeted.
🤠Wyoming Can Now Pull Your Truck. Wyoming just gave every law enforcement officer in the state a new reason to pull over your truck. Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 32, which lets any local cop (not just Highway Patrol) yank non-English-proficient drivers off the road. Before this, only WHP could do it. Now the small-town deputy on a county road can too. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy celebrated the signing: "NO ENGLISH, NO TRUCKING!" Over 10,700 truckers have already failed English proficiency tests under the current federal crackdown, and the DOT has threatened to cut funding to California, Washington, and New Mexico for failing to enforce the rules.
⚖️ 24 States Are Suing to Kill the Tariffs. A coalition of 24 state attorneys general filed suit in the Court of International Trade last week, arguing that Trump doesn't have the authority to impose a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The statute has never once been used to enact tariffs in its entire existence. The states aren't just asking the court to block the levies; they also want refunds. Trump is already threatening to raise the rate to 15%.
Fraud activity accelerated in February, with more sophisticated tactics across the freight ecosystem. Highway identified risk early, enabling brokers to prevent losses.
As fraud evolves, Highway remains focused on proactive detection, giving brokers the visibility and time they need to protect every load.
Oil hit $120 a barrel Monday morning after Iran named a new supreme leader, before pulling back to $106.
GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan called it:
We're in uncharted territory- if WTI crude holds these gains tomorrow- the current rise of 29.9% or $27.16/bbl would be its largest single day price jump- in both percent and amount- ever. Ever. EVER.
This isn't a domestic supply problem.
Craig Fuller was clear about that on X:
"There is no diesel supply issue in the US... The pressure isn't domestic supplies, we have plenty, it's global."
Fuller went further:
"If past oil surges are a guide, we could see small trucking operators park their rigs, waiting for fuel prices to stabilize."
Per GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan, five states saw diesel skyrocket by over $1/gal in just 7 days: Texas up $1.09, North Carolina up $1.07, Georgia up $1.03, Tennessee up $1.01, and New Mexico up $1.00.
At the city level, the weekly jump tells the real story. Laredo is up $1.48 over the past week. Three North Carolina markets jumped over $1.40. Brownsville and Corpus Christi (both major border freight corridors) up $1.25 each.
The national AAA average as of March 9th is $4.65.
Jason Miller, supply chain professor and one of the most followed freight data voices on LinkedIn, put a number on where this is heading:
"Unless something changes with the Strait of Hormuz situation very soon, expect diesel fuel prices to rise to $4.50 a gallon in the US. That will affect fuel surcharges for contract truckload, less-than-truckload, and parcel shipments."
That was before the weekend escalation.
The Hormuz situation has no clear timeline for resolution. Fuller's comment about operators parking their rigs isn't hypothetical. It's what happened in 2008. Capacity that disappears during a fuel spike doesn't come back overnight. If this holds through March, the freight market may tighten faster than anyone expected.
But the freight market tightening might be the least of it. As Spencer Hakimian put it this morning: "I don't think people are realizing that NOTHING in the global economy works at $120/Oil. Nothing."
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🛒 $3.5M Amazon Fraud Scheme. A Connecticut trucking company owner has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after creating 22 fake carrier accounts inside Amazon Logistics’ system to book loads and submit fraudulent invoices.
🇲🇽 Redwood Doubles Down on Mexico Border Freight. Chicago-based Redwood Logistics just bought Laredo customs broker EELCO.
🚢 Panama Canal Traffic Is Surging Again. The canal is reporting 8–10% higher revenue so far in fiscal 2026, surprising officials who expected trade wars and tariffs to slow global shipping.
⚖️ Louisiana Staged Accident Trial. The first criminal trial tied to Louisiana’s massive staged truck accident scheme is now underway in New Orleans, targeting two attorneys accused of helping orchestrate crashes into trucks to trigger insurance payouts.
đź’Š $3.4M Meth Bust on Semi During Texas Stop. Texas DPS troopers pulled over a 2020 Kenworth on US-281 for a traffic violation and ended up uncovering 1,980 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a false floor compartment.
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“When I say you’re going to require high levels of authenticity and authentication at the point of entry... that is no longer going to be enough to prevent access. You’re going to need multiple points that all need to match in order to unlock access- that’s where we’re going."
FMCSA launched a new carrier registry three weeks ago to stop freight fraud — zero new carriers have been registered since. Plus: PepsiCo is running 41 driverless trucks, peak season and a shrinking driver pool, cameras know where your carriers have been, and more.
The freight boom arrived. For some carriers, it arrived too late. We explain why in today's feature. Plus: real gouda fellas, satisfactory doesn't mean safe, LTL is waking up, and more.
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