The Supreme Court just heard arguments in the broker liability case we’ve been tracking. Plus: oil shipping costs explode, trucking insurance is stuck in 1980, regulators brace for a carrier crackdown, and more.
Optimize freight broker operations by fixing payment workflows in Q1. Streamline carrier pay before capacity shifts compress your margins.
Tucker Carlson’s nicotine brand loses 378,000 tins in a cargo theft. Plus: produce rates reset, diesel climbs, and a bill that could pull hundreds of thousands of drivers off the road.
Plus: Tenstreet acquires TextLocate, Trump plans to impose automotive tariffs starting April 2, and two logistics giants report mixed Q4 results.
Happy Hump Day. In today’s feature story, we break down XPO’s non-compete lawsuit, the legal gray areas, and what it could mean for freight brokers.
Plus:
TOP LANE MOVERS POWERED BY GREENSCREENS.AI
🐔 WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT
📍 Tenstreet Acquires TextLocate. Driver recruiting platform Tenstreet has acquired Chattanooga-based TextLocate, a platform specializing in real-time driver communication and load visibility. TextLocate enables logistics providers to conduct two-way chats, verify proof of delivery, and monitor safety without requiring an app. This acquisition enhances Tenstreet’s offerings, streamlining communication, mitigating fraud, and improving supply chain efficiency. Notably, TextLocate was FreightCaviar's first sponsor and continues this partnership to date—big kudos to them! CEO Ryan Rogers celebrates this milestone, crediting customers and partners, “who made our vision a reality!”
🚚 Tariff Uncertainty Looms Over Auto & Freight Industries. President Trump announced plans for automotive tariffs to take effect “around April 2,” heightening concerns for automakers already impacted by steel and aluminum tariffs. These measures follow previous on-and-off tariff threats on Mexico and Canada, key trading partners responsible for significant U.S. vehicle imports. Freight officials and economists have criticized the instability caused by Trump’s tariff threats, which have disrupted markets and strained cross-border supply chains critical to the U.S. auto industry. For instance, Derek Leathers, CEO of Werner Enterprises, warned, “Potential tariff policy continues to be a moving target,” making it “difficult to comment specifically on depth and duration.” As of now, stability is being sought, but none is evident for the foreseeable future.
↕ Mixed Results in Logistics: PAM Struggles, Expeditors Thrives. PAMT, newly renamed PAM Transport’s parent company, posted a $37.7 million Q4 operating loss, driven by a $24.7 million accounting adjustment for truck depreciation and a $6.4 million equipment impairment charge. Excluding these factors, the adjusted loss was $6.6 million, highlighting challenges from reduced volumes and a shift to owner-operators. Q4 revenue fell 8% to $166.5 million. Conversely, Expeditors International achieved a 30% revenue increase, hitting $2.95 billion, driven by strong demand in air and ocean freight, particularly out of Asia. Despite “disruption-driven ocean demand” and geopolitical uncertainty, Expeditors thrived, attributing growth to tightened capacity and rising rates, though its stock performance remained subdued.
TOGETHER WITH HAPPYROBOT
HappyRobot is AI communication–built for logistics.
Our AI workers autonomously manage communication, deciding what to do, dynamically handling conversations and keeping things moving.
Book more loads with less overhead with AI workers that capture every message, email, call, & log every option.
Non-competes in freight brokerage are nothing new, but XPO’s latest lawsuit is putting them back in the spotlight. The LTL giant is suing two former employees, alleging they broke their contracts by jumping ship to a competitor—and the details of the case offer a peek into just how restrictive these agreements can be.
Tess Farnan and Mark Schatteman, former XPO sales reps, left the company in 2024 to join Central Transport. XPO is now suing them, claiming they violated their 11-page “Confidential Information Protection Agreement,” which bars them from competing against XPO or soliciting its customers for six months.
But here’s where things get interesting:
According to XPO, the impact was immediate:
XPO sent letters demanding compliance, but according to the lawsuit, neither former employee responded.
This case is part of a much bigger battle over non-competes. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has moved to ban non-compete agreements nationwide, calling them anti-competitive. But the rule is already facing lawsuits, and states are getting involved in their own way.
Adriana Pulley
One of the latest challenges? Ohio.
A bill introduced in Ohio earlier this month, S.B. No. 11, would ban non-competes entirely and even allow employees to sue their employers to void them. If passed, the law would:
Attorney Matthew Leffler weighed in on the bill:
Ohio would be the fifth state to ban non-competes, following California, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Oklahoma. With legal battles heating up and more states taking action, non-competes in freight may not have much time left.
This case highlights the growing tension in freight brokerage over non-competes. While some companies argue these clauses protect client relationships, critics say they stifle career growth and trap employees in jobs they no longer want.
The legal battle could set the tone for how aggressively companies can enforce non-competes in logistics. For now, freight brokers considering a job switch might want to read the fine print before handing in their notice.
THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR TMS
AscendTMS is the world's most popular & best-rated TMS. Use our referral code RA-FreightCaviar! to receive three months of AscendTMS Premium for free. It only takes 20 seconds to sign up and no credit card is required.
🌎 AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB
🚛 Strong Start. January US trailer orders surged significantly, showing robust 81% year-over-year growth in demand for commercial vehicles across the industry, reaching 23,966 units.
❄ Worst Weather Lanes. Drivers should beware of treacherous conditions on routes experiencing severe weather impacts. WeatherOptics has released their top 5 lanes to watch out for this midweek.
⚡ Tesla’s Public Plans. Tesla unveils plans for a public charging station dedicated to electric semi-trucks in the Los Angeles area. The station would allow electric semi-trucks to charge to 70% within 30 minutes.
🚔 Cash & Drugs Discovered. A Level II CMV inspection uncovered $1.1 million in cash, 183 pounds of marijuana, and about 7 grams of cocaine. The driver is facing possession with intent to distribute charges.
📦 Global Shipping Hits Record. Global shipping recorded a strong January, with record imports ahead of potential tariffs. Despite the record, questions remain unanswered about ongoing trade uncertainties with China, Mexico, and Canada.
✉️ New Postal Leadership. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is preparing to step down, according to an announcement Tuesday. Amber McReynolds, chairwoman of the Board of Governors, praised DeJoy, saying he, “has fought hard for women and men of the Postal Service.”
🌬️ Arctic Blast. The polar vortex is driving record-breaking cold temperatures across parts of the U.S., with some areas like the Northern Plains expected to experience wind chills as cold as minus 35°F to minus 60°F.
🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER
FREIGHT HUMOR
The Supreme Court just heard arguments in the broker liability case we’ve been tracking. Plus: oil shipping costs explode, trucking insurance is stuck in 1980, regulators brace for a carrier crackdown, and more.
Tucker Carlson’s nicotine brand loses 378,000 tins in a cargo theft. Plus: produce rates reset, diesel climbs, and a bill that could pull hundreds of thousands of drivers off the road.
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.
Join over 14K+ subscribers to get the latest freight news and entertainment directly in your inbox for free. Subscribe & be sure to check your inbox to confirm (and your spam folder just in case).
