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Thomas Wasson

Based in Chattanooga TN, Thomas is an Enterprise Trucking Carrier Expert at FreightWaves with a focus on news commentary, analysis and trucking insights. Before that, he worked at a digital trucking startup aifleet, Arrive Logistics as an Account Executive, and 5 years at U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. with an emphasis on fleet management, load planning, freight analysis, and truckload network design. He graduated from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga with a MBA in 2020 and a Bachelors of Political Science from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2013.
Nov - 2024 -
07 November
Thomas Wasson

Trucking industry groups react hopefully to Trump win

In the wake of the 2024 presidential election, trucking industry groups see new opportunities to change the regulatory and legislative landscape.

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01 November
Thomas Wasson

The road to no-compromise renewable energy scaling

On a recent episode of Truck Tech, Alan Adler interviewed Eric Bippus, executive vice president of sales and systems development at Hexagon Agility, to outline key considerations and benefits of implementing renewable natural gas into your fleet.

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Oct - 2024 -
31 October
Thomas Wasson

NASEM study disputes driver shortage claims

A recent FMCSA-sponsored study looking at the impacts of pay and working conditions on long-distance truck and bus drivers also calls into question claims of a persistent driver shortage.

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24 October
Thomas Wasson

Freight market “return to normalcy” a promising sign for trucking

ATA economist Bob Costello cites macroeconomic “return to normalcy” as a promising sign for trucking amid stagflation and private fleet growth.

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23 October
Thomas Wasson

RNG for heavy-duty trucks: Spec it right

Learn insights from an MHC dealer and Kenworth OEM on why heavy-duty fleets should consider RNG a priority in their decarbonization strategy.

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17 October
Thomas Wasson

ATRI’s ‘Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry’ report spotlights parking woes

ATRI’s 2024 “Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry” report saw truck parking dominate driver concerns, while motor carriers worry more about the economy.

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10 October
Thomas Wasson

Great expectations or paper rates?

Recent research by MIT examines how market dynamics and relationships impact contract performance.

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09 October
Thomas Wasson

Technology trends impacting the drayage industry

Dennis Lane, head of revenue at CargoWise Landside, joined Craig Fuller to talk about recent trends and technology impacting the drayage industry.

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03 October
Thomas Wasson

Strong Class 8 orders beat seasonal expectations

ACT Research and FTR Transportation Intelligence reported strong September Class 8 net orders as OEM order books open up for next year.

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Sep - 2024 -
27 September
Thomas Wasson

Cummins X15N natural gas engine proven to deliver diesel-like performance

On a recent episode of Truck Tech, Alan Adler was joined by Shawn Hricko, Jamestown Engine Plant manager for Cummins, and Puneet Jhawar, former general manager of alternate fuels at Cummins, to discuss the nuts and bolts of the X15N natural gas engine.

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26 September
Thomas Wasson

‘Piggy banks with 18 wheels’: The explosion in trucking nuclear verdicts

On a recent episode of Loaded and Rolling, Matt Leffler, the Armchair Attorney, spoke about the explosion in nuclear verdicts impacting trucking.

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19 September
Thomas Wasson

Carriers forced to do more with less in lieu of market upswing

A recent FTR Transportation Intelligence conference highlighted continued poor freight market conditions that are forcing fleets to do more with less.

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12 September
Thomas Wasson

New study shows detention improving slightly but still pervasive

ATRI’s recently released study on the costs and impacts of driver detention found detention times exceeded four hours in 4.9% of stops.

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06 September
Thomas Wasson

Succeeding with renewable natural gas for heavy-duty trucks

On a recent episode of Truck Tech, Alan Adler interviewed industry leaders featuring insights from Cummins, Kenworth and Hexagon Agility spearheading the transition to renewable natural gas (RNG) for heavy-duty fleets.

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05 September
Thomas Wasson

Driver compensation rises despite poor freight market

A recent ATA Driver Compensation Study shows median truckload driver salaries are up 10% in two years despite the poor freight market.

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Aug - 2024 -
22 August
Thomas Wasson

NPTC report shows continued private fleet growth

A recent survey by the National Private Truck Council highlighted the growth of private fleets in size, volume and freight value.

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20 August
Thomas Wasson

Leveraging integrations to speed up document workflows

Scanbot SDK highlights customer success stories demonstrating the effectiveness of its software development kit in freight and trucking.

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19 August
Thomas Wasson

Leveraging network effects to mitigate risk

TriumphPay announces an upcoming white paper examining the benefits and security of the TriumphPay Network.

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15 August
Thomas Wasson

Christmas in July for Crete Carrier’s Halloween and Christmas freight

Crete Carrier highlighted positive trends in holiday and retail demand as customers stage shipments for Halloween and Christmas.

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08 August
Thomas Wasson

J.B. Hunt partnership with Kodiak reaches 50,000-mile milestone

J.B. Hunt announced the completion of 50,000 autonomous long-haul trucking miles in a collaboration with autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics and Bridgestone Americas.

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01 August
Thomas Wasson

Werner’s Q2 earnings – lower revenues and operating ratio but improving freight market conditions

Werner’s Q2 earnings saw worsening financial conditions but improving freight market conditions and signs of capacity tightening.

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Jul - 2024 -
30 July
Thomas Wasson

A better way for freight rail

Norfolk Southern highlights ways it’s creating sustainable growth through investments in people and technology.

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26 July
Thomas Wasson

Using telematics data and reporting to improve fleet safety and culture

Lytx highlights fleet safety trends and outlines ways fleets can improve their safety and culture through data, reporting and driver coaching.

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25 July
Thomas Wasson

Heartland Q2 earnings: Nowhere to go but up

Heartland Express’ Q2 earnings saw a net loss of $3.5 million as it works to improve its operating ratio and profitability

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19 July
Thomas Wasson

Selecting a provider you can trust 

Fastmore Logistics highlights its proven track record of picking the right carrier and using technology, people and processes to deliver service and security.

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18 July
Thomas Wasson

Optimistic retail numbers suggest trucking market is trending positive

Recent data by Motive suggests the freight recession is closer to an end as more robust June restocking spurs higher July retail sales.

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11 July
Thomas Wasson

Alternative delivery methods offer compelling options for e-commerce

The e-commerce landscape in the United States is continuously evolving, requiring retailers remain flexible and adaptable to maintain a competitive edge. Recent data from Statista projects that e-commerce revenue will […]

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Thomas Wasson

FMCSA delays closely watched trucking rulemaking until 2025

The FMCSA recently delayed rulemaking on truck speed limiters, pre-2000 engine ELD mandates and automatic emergency braking systems to 2025.

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10 July
Thomas Wasson

The staffing revolution in freight brokerage

Lean Solutions Group spoke with FreightWaves about nearshore and offshore workforce trends to watch.

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09 July
Thomas Wasson

Discover and share your fleet’s authentic story — Taking the Hire Road

Lane Williams, founder and CEO of Fusion Now, joined Leah Shaver, president and CEO at the National Transportation Institute, to talk about driver recruiting trends and highlighted authentic approaches to attract the right drivers.

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Jun - 2024 -
27 June
Thomas Wasson

Securing your competitive edge: Preparing for the next market upswing

Supply chain executives at companies ranging from freight brokerages to factoring companies discussed impacts of the freight cycle, technology and lower margins during Freightwaves’ Future of Supply Chain event in Atlanta. Here’s what you need to know.

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Thomas Wasson

ATRI releases June update to operational cost of trucking report

ATRI has released a June update to its operational cost of trucking report, which saw significant increases in insurance premiums and truck and trailer payments during 2023.

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Thomas Wasson

Technology at your fingertips, experts by your side

Zach Jecklin, chief information officer at Echo Global Logistics, spoke with FreightWaves about Echo’s pairing of people and technology and how it’s reshaping the industry.

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21 June
Thomas Wasson

Building the operating system for global and landside logistics

Mark Picarello joined Craig Fuller to talk about how CargoWise is creating a landside logistics operating system through developing and expanding its current tech via partnerships, acquisitions, and integrations.

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20 June
Thomas Wasson

OOIDA sues EPA over greenhouse gas emissions standards

OOIDA and other industry groups are suing over the EPA Phase 3 final rule on greenhouse gas emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles.

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18 June
Thomas Wasson

Unlocking hidden capacity with Repowr — Taking the Hire Road

Spencer Ware, co-founder and CEO of Repowr, and Patrick Visintainer, co-founder and COO of Repowr, join Jeremy Reymer to talk about asset underutilization and its impact on the freight industry.

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13 June
Thomas Wasson

Truck driver fatality data shows most weren’t buckled up

The FMCSA plans an online survey to determine driver seat belt usage after recent data shows an increase in fatalities from unrestrained drivers.

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07 June
Thomas Wasson

How smart labels are improving supply chain intelligence

Tag-N-Trac recently unveiled its suite of updated IoT devices that include low-cost, disposable smart labels and tags, as well as its Relativity platform.

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Thomas Wasson

Using advanced tech to navigate the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse

Fleetworthy Solutions highlights its technology command center built to handle safety and compliance issues, including navigating the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse.

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06 June
Thomas Wasson

Trucker Path names best major trucking corridors in US

Trucker Path released its annual Highest-Rated Major US Trucking Corridors results. The I-90, I-5 and I-44 corridors took top spots in parking availability, truck stop ratings and fuel prices.

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May - 2024 -
30 May
Thomas Wasson

Survey asks who’s hauling cheap freight

Overdrive recently surveyed owner-operators about their views on who is hauling cheap freight.

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23 May
Thomas Wasson

Poor trailer space utilization continues in 2023

A recent Flock Freight survey reports 43% of truckload orders were partially empty, highlighting ongoing challenges for trailer space utilization.

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16 May
Thomas Wasson

Trucking electrification throttled by excessive ownership costs

Recent reports from Ryder System and Knight-Swift highlight significant total cost of ownership and poor range for electric trucks.

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13 May
Thomas Wasson

NEXT Trucking releases expert tools to tackle supply chain complexity

NEXT Trucking recently announced product and program updates as part of its tech stack improvements following its merger with CDL-1000.

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09 May
Thomas Wasson

CVSA International Roadcheck hits Tuesday-Thursday

CVSA International Roadcheck is Tuesday through Thursday. Its focus is on tractor protection systems in addition to alcohol and controlled substance possession.

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02 May
Thomas Wasson

Shippers move LTL freight to full truckload

LTL executives highlight shippers moving spillover LTL freight to full truckload amid market weakness and low rates.

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Apr - 2024 -
25 April
Thomas Wasson

OOIDA president talks regulatory challenges facing owner-operators

Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, highlights regulatory challenges at the FreightWaves Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit.

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18 April
Thomas Wasson

Under pressure: Contract rate cuts heat up based on Q1 bid feedback

J.B. Hunt and Knight-Swift reported higher pressure from customers to cut contracted rates in Q1 bids in an effort to extend savings before the market’s eventual turnaround.

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11 April
Thomas Wasson

Motive debuts advanced safety and visibility features

Motive, a telematics, technology and fleet management platform, announced new AI-powered products and telematics hardware at the inaugural Vision 24 Motive Innovation Summit.

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08 April
Thomas Wasson

Broker-Carrier Summit roaring into Kansas City

The upcoming in-person Broker-Carrier Summit on April 22-24 in Kansas City, Missouri, seeks to take those relationships to the next level.

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04 April
Thomas Wasson

EPA releases strict new heavy truck emissions rule

Phase 3 greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles covering model years 2027 through 2032 mandate more zero-emission commercial vehicles.

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01 April
Thomas Wasson

Ship OGRE completes acquisition of Brokerage and Transportation Sales

OGRE’s successful conversion of Brokerage and Transportation Sales to its technology and services platform increases logistics accuracy, speed and customer satisfaction.

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Mar - 2024 -
28 March
Thomas Wasson

Analysts lower truckload carriers’ earnings expectations ahead of Q1

Ahead of Q1 earnings reports, analysts are adjusting their earnings expectations for truckload companies as excess capacity continues to weigh down pricing and margins.

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27 March
Thomas Wasson

How Bestpass drives fleet happiness

Cindy Ellers, chief customer officer at Bestpass, joins FreightWaves to talk about challenges fleets and owner-operators face in 2024. She also highlights recent partnerships and acquisitions by Bestpass.

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21 March
Thomas Wasson

Trucking companies look to solar panels to reduce costs

GP Transco is installing solar panels on its entire fleet of around 600 trucks after testing the tech on 10 trucks over a six-month period. The company says the technology will save around $1,700 per tractor per year.

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18 March
Thomas Wasson

The Logistics of Nearshoring: Navigating U.S.-Mexico Border Complexities

Nearshoring growth paired with lack of cross-border visibility is creating new challenges for cross-border logistics providers. Nuvocargo combines technology and expertise to overcome hurdles common to traditional big-box brokerages.

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15 March
Thomas Wasson

Paving the way for trucking’s next generation — Taking the Hire Road

Lindsey Trent, president and co-founder of Next Generation in Trucking, joins Jeremy Reymer to share her passion for creating a path for a younger workforce in the trucking industry.

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14 March
Thomas Wasson

Emerging technology drives improvement in fleet safety on the road

The main features of Modern Advanced Driver Assistance Systems include pre-collision assistance and blind spot monitoring. More advanced features include driver monitoring.

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Thomas Wasson

More shippers avoiding long contracts amid abundant truckload capacity

Excess truckload capacity continues to push down rates and change shipper behaviors to a more transactional approach.

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Thomas Wasson

QuikQ leverages technology to fight fraud at the pump

Fuel fraud is a growing problem for fleets of all sizes. QuikQ is using RFID technology and multifactor authentication to expand the ways fleets can fight back.

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07 March
Thomas Wasson

Florida poised to enact law against predatory truck towing

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears poised to sign legislation that addresses predatory towing fees aimed at trucking companies.

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Feb - 2024 -
29 February
Thomas Wasson

Knight-Swift President and CEO David Jackson steps down

Knight-Swift President and CEO David Jackson stepped down Tuesday after a nearly 24-year tenure at the company that saw many mergers and acquisitions, including an expansion into the LTL market.

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22 February
Thomas Wasson

Driver recruitment with Charles Gracey

Charles Gracey of Hot Seat Services says recruitment can be difficult even in the best of circumstances, with only a tiny fraction of applicants getting an offer and successfully completing orientation.

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15 February
Thomas Wasson

TFI International seeks to spin off Daseke in 2025

Canadian transport and logistics provider TFI International plans to spin off Daseke as a separate company sometime in 2025.

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08 February
Thomas Wasson

Werner aims to grow dedicated after Q4 earnings miss

Werner recorded a Q4 earnings miss as low rates, excess capacity and lower truckload demand weigh down its one-way truckload business. Dedicated remained a bright spot with management looking to grow in the coming months.

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Jan - 2024 -
25 January
Thomas Wasson

Insurance woes weigh down Knight-Swift earnings

Insurance woes weigh down Knight-Swift earnings. Reading tea leaves with Covenant Logistics’ Q4 results; evolution of cybersecurity in the supply chain with Antwan Banks

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18 January
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Autonomous trucking startup TuSimple goes private

On Wednesday, autonomous trucking startup TuSimple went private after voluntarily delisting from Nasdaq following two years of stock and boardroom drama. FreightWaves’ Alan Adler writes, “TuSimple was the first autonomous trucking company to demonstrate driverless operations on an open highway. One of its trucks traveled 80 miles with no human on board from Tucson, Arizona, to Phoenix in December 2021.”

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11 January
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Freight upcycle may come early, says Morgan Stanley

The freight recession may ease earlier than expected, according to recent comments from Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker. In a call to clients on Monday, Shanker said, “Shippers continue to remain on reorder ‘strike’ while they wait for stronger signals or more favorable conditions on macro but while destocking at the same time, which could lead to everyone wanting to restock at the same time, when the coast clears (or they run out of inventory).”

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04 January
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Team drivers eligible for compensation under FLSA

In December, a federal appeals court ruled that company team drivers’ time spent in sleeper berths after eight hours can be compensated under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The case involved a former CRST trainee who sued CRST in 2016 alleging that the team-based driver training program violated the FLSA based on the carrier’s compensation policy.

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Dec - 2023 -
28 December
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Driver pay data highlight earnings gain

The National Transportation Institute (NTI) recently released Q4 2023 driver pay data that shows driver earnings continue to climb in spite of the freight market undergoing a correction. Drivers’ base mileage pay brackets saw a shift, with the 40-to-50-cents-per-mile pay bracket falling 5.2% year over year as fleets raised wages to attract and retain drivers. The 50-to-60-cents-per-mile bracket saw a 6.1% y/y increase.

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21 December
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: ATRI reports on California’s electric truck challenges

A report released Monday by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) examines the costs and potential impacts associated with California’s push for zero-emission vehicles. This report is a companion to a December 2022 ATRI report titled “Charging Infrastructure Challenges for the U.S. Electric Vehicle Fleet.

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14 December
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: RXO: Too much trucking capacity heading into 2024

On Wednesday, FreightWaves hosted the Domestic Supply Chain Summit, a virtual event with RXO Chief Strategy Officer Jared Weisfeld as the keynote speaker. The interview, conducted by enterprise trucking carrier expert Thomas Wasson, included an outlook for 2024 and highlighted the biggest supply chain challenges and opportunities.

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07 December
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Florida seeks CDL skills testing waiver

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Monday published a notice in the Federal Register that the state of Florida is seeking an exemption to the CDL testing regulation pertaining to skills testing.

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Nov - 2023 -
30 November
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: ATRI predatory towing data

On Wednesday the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released a report that examined causes and impacts of predatory heavy-duty towing. The report defined predatory towing in which “a T&R [towing and recovery] company egregiously overcharges, illegally seizes assets, damages assets by use of improper equipment, or illegitimately withholds release of a truck, trailer, and/or cargo.”

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22 November
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Trucking turnover and retention debate rages on

FreightWaves’ Rachel Premack wrote an article on Wednesday outlining her experience attending a truck driver training conference in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the National Association of Publicly-Funded Truck Driving Schools (NAPFTDS). Premack sought to get more information on a fundamental disagreement in trucking that involves driver turnover and whether there is an ongoing driver shortage.

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16 November
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Freight media’s evolving landscape on display at F3

The changing freight media landscape was on full display at the F3: Future of Freight Festival last week in Chattanooga Tennessee, as influencers, salespeople, presenters and executives intermingled during and after the events.

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09 November
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: FreightTech 25 announced

On Thursday FreightWaves presented the FreightTech 25 awards, which were chosen independently by a panel of CEOs, industry leaders, academics and investors who scored the companies. Chattanooga, Tennessee-based accounting and auditing firm HHM administered the vote. The awards recognize the most innovative and disruptive companies in the freight technology sector.

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02 November
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Flexport acquires Convoy tech stack

The Convoy saga has taken another turn as venture-backed freight forwarder Flexport announced Wednesday that it has acquired Convoy’s technology stack for an undisclosed sum. This comes after Convoy, which was valued at $3.8 billion from its final funding round 18 months ago, shuttered operations on Oct. 19.

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Oct - 2023 -
26 October
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: ATRI finds congestion cost trucking $94.6B

On Wednesday the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released its latest Cost of Congestion study showing U.S. highway traffic congestion added $94.6 billion in costs to the trucking industry.

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19 October
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Convoy shuts down

Seattle-based digital freight broker Convoy on Wednesday canceled all shipments from its marketplace and company representatives promised more details of a business transition were forthcoming. By Thursday, company employees were told in a meeting that Convoy was “closing down its core business operations.”

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12 October
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Morgan Stanley sees freight industry move ‘deeper into limbo’

A Q3 shipper survey by Morgan Stanley suggests the freight industry has moved “deeper into limbo” as completion of an excess inventory purge now leads to uncertainty as there is no immediate need to restock.

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05 October
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: 70% of annual RFP lanes procured not materializing

FreightWaves on Tuesday interviewed Angela Acocella, postdoctoral researcher at Tilburg University and researcher with the MIT Center of Transportation and Logistics looking at the impact of ghost lanes on shipper and carrier networks.

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Sep - 2023 -
28 September
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: FMCSA slams brakes on 68 mph speed limiter plan

Confusion erupted on Monday following reports that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was looking to set a 68 mph maximum speed setting for trucks newer than the 2003 model year.

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21 September
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: GAO tells FMCSA to release carrier complaint data

A report published Tuesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) must make its complaint database more transparent and publicly available.

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14 September
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Truckload carrier executives predict muted peak season

At a Morgan Stanley investor conference Tuesday, trucking executives predicted a muted peak season after acknowledging the industry is in the midst bottom of the freight cycle while hoping for some improvement in 2024.

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Aug - 2023 -
31 August
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Small fleets and owner-operators gain market share

In an article published Tuesday, FreightWaves CEO and founder Craig Fuller made a case that the trucking industry is not consolidating anytime soon.

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24 August
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: FMCSA outlines new driver detention study

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Wednesday released parameters on data collection for a new study to determine the impact of detention time on drivers. The Information Collection Request (ICR) was submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval and opened the window for public comments.

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17 August
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Kodiak Robotics, Pilot open 1st autonomous truckport

On Thursday, self-driving trucking company Kodiak Robotics and Pilot Co. opened their first truckport for autonomous vehicles at the Pilot Travel Center in Villa Rica, Georgia. According to the news release, the truckport will be used by Kodiak to launch and land its autonomous trucks and serve as a hub for drivers to pick and drop off loads for first- and last-mile deliveries.

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10 August
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Safety officials want brakes on braking mandate

Proposed rulemaking on automatic emergency braking (AEB) introduced in June by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is getting more pushback from a coalition of state law enforcement officials and brake manufacturers that argue more dialogue is needed before moving forward.

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03 August
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: The Taylor Swift $100,000 driver bonus

Media outlet TMZ reported that singer-songwriter Taylor Swift gave each truck driver who worked as part of her Eras Tour a bonus check of $100,000 before her Santa Clara, California, show last Saturday.

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Jul - 2023 -
27 July
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Yellow exec says bankruptcy coming Monday

The saga of less-than-truckload carrier Yellow may be coming to a close based on reporting that Yellow’s senior vice president of sales told staff their last day would be this Friday, and that the carrier would file for bankruptcy on Monday.

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20 July
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: J.B. Hunt’s Q2 freight bottom-cycle blues

Truckload and multimodal carrier J.B. Hunt told analysts on an earnings call Tuesday that it’s still too early to tell how the 2023 peak season for freight will turn out.

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13 July
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: FMCSA truck leasing panel drafts recommendations

The first meeting of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Truck Leasing Task Force (TLTF) discussed and drafted recommendations on Tuesday regarding limiting or eliminating the power a trucking company has over lease purchase agreements with drivers.

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06 July
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: The plight of the owner-operator

The freight recession’s impact on small fleets and owner-operators gained mainstream media attention on Monday with an article by Shannon Pettypiece, a senior policy reporter for NBC News. The article related the story of Arnesha Barron, a 39-year-old driver who in 2021 became an owner-operator after working at a trucking company for six years.

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Jun - 2023 -
29 June
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Yellow stares down the precipice

Negotiations between the Teamsters union and Yellow Corp. remain ongoing, with the fate of the nation’s third-largest LTL carrier hanging in the balance. Yellow is facing stiff resistance from the Teamsters over proposed operational changes that would consolidate operations between purchased regional carriers New Penn and Holland and integrate them into Yellow’s nationwide network.

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22 June
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Kearney supply chain report sees ‘Great Reset’; Loadsmith orders 800 autonomous trucks

Consulting firm Kearney recently released its 34th annual Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) report, “State of Logistics 2023: The Great Reset.” A major theme of the report is the great rebalancing from the carrier-dominated market of the past two years to a shipper-focused one as freight volumes fell against a backdrop of higher truckload capacity. The report notes that total U.S. logistics costs rose 19.6% in 2022 to a record $2.3 trillion or 9.1% of U.S. gross domestic product.

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15 June
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: FMCSA crash reporting expansion draws ire

A proposal by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to alter and expand reporting categories for crashes is drawing criticism from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which argues the FMCSA should take stronger action to protect driver safety records.

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08 June
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Heartland’s pay guarantee aids retention; From driver to CEO with Brittany Traylor

At the recent UBS Global Industrial and Transportation Conference, Heartland CEO Mike Gerdin and Vice President of Finance Josh Helmich highlighted freight market weakness and outlined the retention impact of their driver minimum pay program.

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01 June
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: Back-office jobs still in demand; EPA electric truck plan draws concern

Using the California Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule, the Biden administration’s proposed Phase 3 truck rule sees the EPA potentially imposing stricter standards on carbon dioxide emissions for truck makers and buyers.

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May - 2023 -
25 May
Thomas Wasson

Loaded and Rolling: No signs of 2nd-half freight recovery

On Wednesday, FreightWaves founder and CEO Craig Fuller sat down with Zach Strickland, FreightWaves’ head of freight market intelligence, to discuss freight market conditions and expectations.

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