Bulk Freight News & Industry Updates - Stay Ahead in Trucking

Diesel Exhaust Fluid sensors will no longer be required on equipment that runs on the fuel, following a change in policy announced Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA had signaled in August that such a move was likely.  “EPA understands that sudden speed losses and shutdowns caused by DEF system failures that compromise safety and productivity are unacceptable and problematic,” the agency said in a prepared statement announcing the change. 

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Bankruptcies across the freight transportation and logistics sector continued to mount in March, with trucking companies, logistics providers, last-mile delivery firms and marine operators filing for Chapter 11 protection, continuing a trend that began in January and February as financial pressure across the supply chain persists. A wide range of companies filed for bankruptcy protection, from small trucking fleets with only a handful of drivers to larger marine transportation operator

A single burnt-out taillight can cost a carrier tens of thousands of dollars in higher insurance, lost freight and extra DOT inspections. For many fleets that pain starts long before the roadside stop — in the 27 seconds it takes some drivers to “complete” a pre-trip inspection without ever leaving the cab. That gap between paper compliance and actual safety is exactly why CSA scores have become the trucking industry’s public report card.

A new era of all-electric trucking is being hailed after Australia’s first inter-city delivery from warehouse to customers was completed at a much lower cost, and even faster than traditional diesel trucks. The electric trucking company New Energy Transport is claiming the Australian first after organising the delivery of a bulk load of Who Gives A Crap toilet paper from Sydney to Canberra, using an electric prime mover and then a fleet of electric last mile delivery trucks to get the merchand

President Donald Trump on Friday announced the Environmental Protection Agency was removing the DEF sensor requirement for all diesel equipment used by farmers, truckers, and bus drivers. At the same time, Congress introduced the Diesel Liberation Act, which seeks to do much the same with the full force of law.

Federal emissions rules for diesel trucks are back in the political spotlight after Rep. Mike Collins (R-Georgia) introduced a bill that would strip Environmental Protection Agency authority over truck emissions, a move that could reshape truck prices, fleet replacement cycles and freight costs. Collins said the bill is aimed at stopping what he described as federal overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency and reducing compliance costs tied to emissions systems on heavy-duty tr

Owner-operator income gained less than 1% on average among business services firm ATBS's clientele in 2025, yet strong year-over-year performance for owner-ops in the last months and market signals this year so far suggest a trucking recovery in the offing.  That's according to parallel updates delivered Tuesday, March 24, by ATBS CEO Todd Amen and firm Vice President Mike Hosted for fleet partner owner-operator programs and owner-operator clientele, respectively. 

The software powering the back office is empowering grain businesses to originate grain more efficiently and for farmers to find better margin. With any job, part of it is science and part of it is art. Grain origination is no different. But with today’s tight to negative margins, professionals in the space are finding a threefold series of benefits:

Shippers could soon experience the most unfavorable market conditions they’ve ever seen, since transportation analysis firm FTR says surging fuel costs and a tightening freight environment have exacerbated its existing grim forecast for that sector. However, to achieve that milestone, sharply higher fuel costs also would have to reduce capacity and raise freight rates in the near term – not just spike fuel surcharges. FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) was already forecast in

Three times in five years. That is how many times the federal standard governing whether an owner-operator is legally classified as an independent contractor or an employee has fundamentally shifted under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The 2021 Trump rule. The 2024 Biden rule. And now, on February 27, 2026, the Department of Labor’s formal proposal to rescind the 2024 rule and return to something close to the 2021 framework. Each time this pendulum swings, the trucking industry produces

Some Estonian farmers may skip sowing grain later this year as fertilizer prices have risen worldwide due to the Iran war. Food prices are not expected to rise as grain reserves are currently at a five-year high. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran following the start of U.S.-Israel attacks on the country is also concerning the fertilizer market. Nitrogen fertilizer production requires large amounts of natural gas, meaning the price of one is dir

"No federal or state law requires an insurance company to evaluate a motor carrier’s safety fitness before binding a commercial trucking policy. Every for-hire interstate carrier must carry minimum liability coverage to operate, but the process by which that coverage is obtained varies enormously, from rigorous actuarial underwriting with safety audits and ongoing loss control monitoring to instant-issue digital platforms where coverage binds without a single question about the carrier’s

The economic downturn in the trucking industry led to dozens of bankruptcy filings in 2025, as the Great Freight Recession victimized the sector since the end of the Covid pandemic. The downturn has claimed another trucking company this month, as Sparhawk Trucking battles financial distress to stay afloat.

The freight market momentum is building at a rapid clip. National dry van spot rates — tracked via the SONAR National Truckload Index (NTI.USA), the 7-day moving average of booked rates including fuel — have broken out to a new cycle high of $2.89 per mile. This represents the strongest level since 2022 and confirms the market’s shift toward carriers is gaining real traction.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved legislation on partisan lines Wednesday that would upend commercial trucking by restricting state licenses including for legal non-residents as demanded by President Donald Trump in his State of the Union weeks ago. Alleged problems with immigrant commercial drivers in Democratic-led states have been a top target of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Critics say the legislative effort is leveraging the safety

In 2026, the U.S. government took two big steps to fix problems with truck drivers who live outside the country. One is a new rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL), which tightens rules on who can hold a commercial driver’s license. The other, Delilah’s Law, is a new Senate bill that proposes even stricter nationwide changes. The bill is named after Dalilah Coleman who was five yea

One month ago the national average for diesel was $3.65 a gallon. As of this week, it is over $5.00. According to AAA, that is a 38% increase in roughly 30 days — the fastest one-month fuel price spike the trucking industry has experienced in years, driven by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iran that have choked off Strait of Hormuz oil flows. And according to DAT Freight & Analytics, the national average spot linehaul van rate has barely moved in response. The fuel surcharge embedded in

Most small carriers operate their entire business through a load board. The freight comes through a broker, the rate gets negotiated down, the carrier moves the load, gets paid on net-30 or net-45 (or quick pay/factoring), and then goes back to the board looking for the next one. That cycle is familiar. It is also the most competitive, lowest-margin, least differentiated way to run a trucking operation that exists. You are competing against every other carrier on the platform for the same loa

Industry research shows the average Class 8 truck now costs about $2.26 per mile to operate. Most drivers know what they are getting paid per mile. Far fewer know what their truck actually costs per mile. Without understanding that number, it becomes difficult to know whether a truck is truly profitable. According to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the average cost to operate a Class 8 truck across for hire carriers

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a bulletin on Friday warning the trucking community that improperly transferred USDOT numbers and MC numbers will be deactivated. The March 13, 2026, bulletin issued by FMCSA reaffirms the agency’s policy that USDOT numbers are not transferable and are assigned to only one person. The bulletin comes amid increased federal scrutiny of fraud and chameleon carriers within the trucking industry.

Agribusiness giant Archer-Daniels-Midland is partnering with a national nonprofit to support farm resiliency in Illinois and five other Midwest states. The funding comes as Illinois farmers continue to navigate the economic impacts of the Trump administration’s tariffs. Soybeans farmers in particular have seen negative impacts on their profits amid rising costs for fertilizer, seed, pesticides and equipment, according to the Illinois Soybean Association. “This partnership is des

Some 200,000 immigrant truck drivers will begin to lose their commercial driver’s licenses as they expire under a new Trump administration rule that takes effect Monday. The Transportation Department’s rule will weigh on the beleaguered trucking industry, which is critical to transporting goods across America at a time when energy costs are surging due to the war in Iran. The rule bars immigrants who are asylum seekers, refugees or recipients of Deferred Action for C

When a federal agency leads a formal, dated, publicly addressed warning with the words “DO NOT” in all capital letters, it means the behavior they are describing is already happening at scale, right now, and it has gotten big enough that the agency felt the need to put the entire industry on notice. When I met with Agency leadership originally and in ongoing discussions since, one of our discussion points has been this very issue, and the sites and messenger apps that sell these authorities a

The Missouri Corn Growers Association (MCGA) joined a coalition of corn grower organizations from 14 states in a formal letter to U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) Brooke Rollins, urging continued action in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into fertilizer pricing and market concentration. The letter reflects farmers’ serious concerns about rising fertilizer costs and limited competition in the input marketplace.

Most drivers know what they are getting paid per mile. Far fewer know what their truck actually costs per mile. Without understanding that number, it becomes difficult to know whether a truck is truly profitable.

The freight market is improving. That part is true. Spot rates on the Sonar National Truckload Index climbed from around $2.60 per mile in mid-January to nearly $2.82 by February — a 20-cent jump that had carriers posting on social media for the first time in years without the word “survival” attached to it. Tender rejection rates are creepi

Many fleets extended truck replacement cycles during recent market disruptions. But holding equipment too long can lead to higher repair costs, longer downtime, and new operational risks.

The average truck driver covers many miles every year. According to data from the American Trucking Associations, a trucker in the United States averages 100,000 to 110,000 miles yearly. 

Time flexibility to get products to market, using labor in the off-season and the ability to custom-haul for neighbors are all benefits to truck ownership.

U.S. railroads including CSX Corp (CSX.O), opens new tab, Union Pacific (UNP.N), opens new tab and BNSF are moving to recapture freight from truckers as tightening trucking capacity and rising road-haul rates bolster rail's competitive position. For years, low trucking rates and greater flexibility helped road carriers capture cargo that might ​otherwise hav

In the transportation sector, growth alone is not a reliable indicator of long-term strength. Sustainable expansion depends on disciplined fleet planning, operational investment, and the ability to align services with enduring industry demand. Within agricultural freight logistics, where seasonal variability and cross-border regulatory environments shape operations, these factors become even more critical. Over the past several years, Favel Transportatio

The nation’s motor carriers entered 2026 coping with the fourth year of a freight recession—the longest in memory. Yet as winter turns to spring, are there signs that the market may finally be turning? Depends on who you ask.

Sept. 23 – South Dakota’s tactic of stopping Canadian trucks to protest what it sees as unfair trade practices with Canada is spreading to other states. A week ago, South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow ordered state troopers

As the 2027 EPA mandate looms, OEMs are still proving that advanced diesel engines are the most efficient way to keep fleets profitable and the U.S. economy moving.

Permits, renewals, IFTA, IRP — they’re necessary, but they shouldn’t slow you down. With BulkLoads Permitting, our team handles your compliance paperwork so you can focus on hauling and making money. From new authority setup to quarterly filings and renewals, we’ve got it covered. Spend less time on paperwork and more time on the road.

Want to know more about a company? Sure, you can look at their website, and follow them on social media. But, to get the real lowdown, talk to the drivers. Here's what a broad selection of drivers had to say when asked about their experiences driving for Oakley Trucking, a dry bulk carrier which has over 900 drivers and is headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas. 

The trucking industry has faced economic challenges, known as the Great Freight Recession, for almost four years, as firms battle reduced shipping demand, lower freight rates, and rising costs of labor, fuel, and insurance driven by inflation. Long-haul truckload demand plummeted by 25% in the first half of 2025, with trucking becoming more of a short-haul delivery method for the final leg of freight movement, according to the Long Outbound Tender Volume Index, FreightWaves reported.

A U.S. Senator introduced legislation this week that would employ multiple measures to fight back against cargo theft and fraud within the trucking industry.

For trucking companies that rely on owner-operators, the federal government may once again be shifting the ground rules. The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed rescinding its 2024 independent contractor rule implemented under the Biden administration and largely restoring the standard adopted in early 2021 — a move supporters say would bring more clarity to how owner-operators are classified under federal wage and hour law.

The trucking industry has faced economic challenges, known as the Great Freight Recession, for almost four years, as firms battle reduced shipping demand, lower freight rates, and rising costs of labor, fuel, and insurance driven by inflation. Long-haul truckload demand plummeted by 25% in the first half of 2025, with trucking becoming more of a short-haul delivery method for the final leg of freight movement, according to the Long Outbound Tender Volume Index, FreightWaves reported.

Some days it feels like the Earth is such a big place and I’m such a small person. It’s like I have this little patch of grass and two cute boys and words on a page, but that’s about it. How does that hold up when the world feels so wide?  I know farmers feel that, too. When to cut the pumps or roll the combine probably feels like small stuff when the crop leaves your farm and enters a veritable hurricane of obstacles outside your control.

On Friday, Feb. 20, DOT Secretary Sean Duffy and FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs outlined a variety of efforts to clean up the trucking industry. Those efforts include taking unsafe truck drivers and motor carriers out of operation, improving driver training and cracking down on fraud. “When we get on the road, we should expect that we should be safe,” Duffy said. “And that those who drive those 80,000-pound big rigs, that they are well-trained, they’re well-qualified, and they’re goin

Global logistics provider C.H. Robinson's (CHRW.O), opens new tab CEO Dave Bozeman dismissed a recent selloff tied to AI-led disruption in the freight industry, and said the race to adopt the technology would spur consolidation instead.   C.H. Robinson's shares posted their biggest single-day drop in roughly two years on February 12 amid a broader selloff in transportation and logistics stocks, driven by headlines about new AI-enabled freight platforms that investors f

The used truck market is often volatile season to season, and for those who know how to read it, the truck market is one of the most honest real-time indicators of where the broader freight economy is heading. For Steve Oliver, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Taylor & Martin Auctioneers, that kind of analysis features in the daily reality of running one of the country’s most established commercial vehicle auction sales teams. Oliver sat down with FreightWaves Loaded and

Flatbed tender rejection rates (STRIF) in the newly enhanced SONAR tender dataset jumped above 32% this past week for only the second time in their eight-year history. The first occurrence was last March, when the surprise rollout of tariffs on the U.S.’ North American trading partners boosted cross-border flows as manufacturers rushed to stockpile parts and components. Is this an early sign of a manufacturing renaissance?

Mast Trucking plans to reorganize through the bankruptcy and is still operating as normal, the company told Trucking Dive.  Customers’ experience and drivers are unaffected by the legal proceeding, President Leroy Mast said in an email. The business has between $1 million to $10 million in assets and at least 100 creditors, according to estimates in the bankruptcy filing.

One of the biggest headaches in bulk operations is settlements. Tracking loads, verifying tickets, calculating pay, and making sure everything matches. That’s where BulkTMS really shines. Instead of chasing paperwork and double-checking spreadsheets, you can manage load details, rate confirmations, and settlements all in one system, reducing errors and saving serious back-office time. If settlements are slowing you down or eating up admin hours, BulkTMS i

The trucking industry has faced economic distress with declining revenues and profits since 2022, which companies have blamed on reduced shipping demand, lower freight rates, and rising costs of labor, fuel, and insurance driven by inflation. Industry experts have called the downturn the Great Freight Recession, and financial results in the last year have not predicted an end coming soon. While the downturn is devastating for trucking companies, the lower freight rates have bene

When a truck kills someone on an American highway, we ask the obvious questions. Who was driving? Who was the carrier? Was the driver fatigued, impaired, distracted, or untrained? Was the vehicle maintained? Were the hours-of-service records real? There’s a question almost nobody asks: Who insured them?

California is tightening the rules on its roads, and this time the ripple effects go far beyond traffic tickets or a long morning at the DMV. Nearly 20,000 immigrant truck drivers are caught in a licensing mess that could sideline them from one day to the next, while the same regulator is calling out Tesla for misleading marketing of its self-driving features.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) said that Illinois stands to lose millions in transportation funding over improperly issued non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). On February 17, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that an ongoing Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) audit revealed that nearly 20% of Illinois’ non-domiciled CDLs were issued illegally. According to Duffy, issues uncovered by the FMCSA audit include that Illinois

Pro Farmer’s Spencer Langford reported that “the number of U.S. farms shrank by 15,000 in 2025, bringing the total to 1.865 million, USDA said [last week] in its Land in Farms report.” “This continues a long-lasting trend of declining farm numbers. Analysis from the American Farm Bureau Federation noted that farm bankruptcies were also on the rise,” Langford reported. “The largest decline at the state-level was Texas, which lost 2,000 operations. No state saw an increase in farms, but

U.S. farmers, though punished by slumping prices after last year's monster corn harvest, are expected to cut back only slightly on their plantings of the grain in 2026 as they brace for a fourth straight year of narrow profit margins or even losses.   Farmers expect corn, the most widely grown U.S. crop, to hew close to break-even levels this year, supported by strong usage. Some see soybeans as riskier, given rising competition from Brazil and a volatile U.S. trade re

Keith Manufacturing Co., a material handling solutions company based in Madras, Oregon, will exhibit its RX Technology drive systems at the Mid‑America Trucking Show, March 26-28, in Louisville, Kentucky, giving attendees an opportunity to experience the RX2 and RX3 Walking Floor drives in operation.   The RX2 and RX3 drives deliver advanced thermal protection, cleaner hydraulics and smarter controls designed for demanding bulk‑hauling and severe‑duty applicati

A sell-off rippled through software, real estate and trucking stocks this past week as investors worried artificial intelligence could upend some industries — and analysts say the white-knuckle drops might not be over yet. Software stocks bore the initial brunt of AI disruption nerves. But those fears soon spread to insurance companies, brokerage firms, real estate services — even logistics and trucking.

A major Texas trucking company has filed for bankruptcy after being sued by its creditors for not paying millions in debts.   Balkan Express and its sister company Balkan Logistics have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Northern District of Texas. The Fort Worth-based dry van trucking company employs 166 drivers and has around 170 trucks which ship freight across 48 states, the company confirmed on Tuesday. 

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For those seeking to make a career in trucking in or around Mississippi, a recent analysis shows that being in a big truck does not always mean insulation from danger. With over 5,800 large trucks involved in fatal crashes annually (a 49% increase in the last decade), being in the largest vehicle on the road does not necessarily offer protection for America’s 3.5 million truck drivers. Factors like traffic, road conditions and other drivers often influence how frequently accidents happ

Shares of C.H. Robinson Worldwide on Thursday were hit with their steepest drop in more than five years, as investors seemed to focus their fears about AI disruption onto the transportation and logistics company. C.H. Robinson’s stock tumbled 14.5% for its lowest close since Jan. 8 and its largest one-day percentage loss since Oct. 30, 2019, when it fell 14.85%.

On February 12, 2026, trucking and logistics stocks suffered a sharp equity market sell-off that few had anticipated just weeks earlier. Shares of RXO, C.H. Robinson, Expeditors International, XPO, and J.B. Hunt suffered stock price losses that ranged from -5.0% to -20.5% in a single session. The catalyst was not due to higher fuel costs, labor unrest, or a recession signal. Instead, it was the unveiling of a new artificial intelligence freight-scaling platform by Algorhythm Holdings.

Shares of several trucking and logistics companies declined Thursday on fears that new artificial intelligence tools could slash major freight inefficiencies, leading to less demand for the industry’s services. A new tool from AI company Algorhythm Holdings has made trucking companies the latest victim of the market’s AI jitters, adding to the historic sell-off in software stocks and real estate companies. The notable market rotation has come as investors are increasingly scrutinizing

The USDA, long the world's gold standard for crop estimates, faces mounting doubts about the reliability of its data from farmers, grain traders and economists following deep staff losses and a sharp upward revision in how many acres of corn were harvested. Farmers, traders and food manufacturers everywhere closely follow monthly USDA reports on production, supplies and demand so they can anticipate prices and inventories.

Farmers faced many challenges last year, including low commodity prices, high input costs and being stuck in the crossfire of a trade war. It’s a new year, but farmers face another challenge: increased insurance premiums.  The Affordable Care Act’s Enhanced Premium Tax Credits were available to people making 400% more than the federal poverty level who purchased insurance through the independent marketplace. Those subsidies allowed participants to have lower health insurance premiums o

Berrigan is a town located in the Southern Riverina region of New South Wales, around 30 kilometres north of the Murray River. Kel Baxter started out farming in the district and quickly saw opportunities in transporting his own produce, consisting mainly of sheep and grain. Kel’s understanding of the freight requirements from a primary producer’s perspective meant that the transport operation soon became in demand by other growers.

A bill filed in Georgia last week seeks to tighten commercial driver’s license (CDL) standards for noncitizen truck drivers. Last week, Georgia State Senator Jason T. Dickerson introduced Senate Bill 442. If passed, the bill would require that the state of Georgia automatically revoke the CDL of any noncitizen truck driver if their visa expires, or after five years, whichever happens first.  

For months now, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have vowed to take unqualified truck drivers off the road. According to the DOT, a recent operation conducted in 26 states and the District of Columbia sidelined more than 2,000 truckers. Meanwhile, FMCSA is working toward the release of an updated final rule on non-domiciled CDLs. Operation SafeDRIVE, carried out 8,215 inspections from Jan. 13-15, placing 1,231 commercial motor

Husch Blackwell served as counsel to The Redwood Group, LLC and its related entities in the acquisition of grain assets and inventory in a competitive auction arising from Hansen-Mueller’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.  The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nebraska approved Redwood's acquisition of a grain elevator, a significant amount of grain inventory, and assumption of grain forward contracts for oats and wheat and railcar leases.

As farmers in Kansas approach planting season, many are facing the ever-increasing costs to run a farm, and this year may be particularly difficult for grain farmers. “For the grains and everything, it’s going to be a terribly tight season,” said Robert White, a crop insurance specialist and farmer. White is worried about this year’s crop, and he points his fears toward global politics. “Too much of it in the world,” White said. “Simple as that. And no trade. When you go

Four Amish men from Bryant, Indiana, are dead because a system designed to keep dangerous operators off the road has been reverse-engineered into a growth engine for the people it was supposed to stop. The Sam Express network. Super Ego Holding. The dozens of operations that don’t have names you’d recognize yet but are running the same playbook right now in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and every other metro area with a critical mass of immigrant labor and a Penske or Ryder dealership

The founder of one of the nation’s largest trucking and logistics firms and his wife are being sued by a bank that alleges the Marco Island couple fraudulently transferred the company’s $10.4 million waterfront corporate retreat to themselves to shield it from creditors.  The lawsuit, filed Jan. 23 in Collier Circuit Court by The Huntington National Bank, alleges Richard S. Francis and Kathleen S. Francis transferred the six-bedroom, 6½-bathroom, 5,181-square-foot home on 0.53 acres at

The Federation of Professional Truckers (FOPT) petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an exemption from the electronic logging device requirements. FOPT was established in September 2025 "to restore professionalism, accountability, and fairness to the trucking industry," according to the organization's website.

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Trucking in the United States faces a crisis. Rates have been squeezed, and costs have continued to climb, according to data from the American Trucking Association. “The U.S. trucking industry continues to face a harsh economic reality: spot rates have failed to keep pace with inflation, squeezing carrier margins and contributing to significant financial pressure on truckers nationwide,” wrote Freightwaves CEO Craig Fuller.   <

Paladin Capital Inc., a Tennessee-based private equity firm that owns multiple trucking and logistics companies, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, impacting hundreds of truck drivers, mechanics and logistics industry workers. Paladin Capital filed its voluntary Chapter 11 petition on Jan. 26 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, listing between $10 million and $50 million in assets and between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities, acco

The U.S. Department of Transportation has enacted what officials describe as the most significant overhaul of commercial driver licensing and training compliance in recent memory. According to federal figures, 7,500 commercial driver’s license training schools have been shut down nationwide after failing to meet federal standards set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The driver at the centre of a widely-shared social post has been fired after police discovered he was driving a semi truck held together with duct tape. On Sunday, Corman Park Police were contacted by an off-duty RCMP member who reported a dangerous semi truck driving along Highway 11.

Truck drivers across the U.S. say they are increasingly pressured to operate equipment they believe is unsafe — from dilapidated trailers, to overloaded tankers and malfunctioning braking systems — and some say speaking up can cost them their jobs. Two former truck drivers interviewed by FreightWaves, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation, described what they say were repeated attempts by their former employers to push productivity over safety.

Thirteen Kansas and Colorado farmers filed an antitrust lawsuit last week against Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad Company, alleging the companies conspired to prevent competition and control westward grain shipments. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas by farmers from Lane, Scott, Wichita and Greeley counties in Kansas and Kiowa County, Colorado, along with Weskan Grain and Colorado Pacific Railroad, both subsidiaries of Sol

Poor business conditions and challenges with a financial backer converged to force another trucking company to close its doors. In January, Pittsburgh-based R&R Family of Cos. shut down, according to a source close to the situation. According to the source and court documents, R&R lost the backing of its largest lender. R&R Family of Cos. ranks No. 48 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America, and No. 63 on the logistics l

The CEO of King of Freight, a shipping company based in Wichita, Kansas, has been charged with felony child abuse and has stepped down from his leadership position as legal proceedings begin, according to court records and company communications. Michael Ricklefs, who served as CEO and was listed as part owner of King of Freight, was arrested on January 11, 2026, and charged with felony child abuse in Sedgwick County District Court. In a message sent to employees, a company offi

Trucking is an increasingly data-driven industry. Numbers matter. There’s no end to the available software and analytics available to fleets today to help them analyze and improve their operations. But sometimes you want to look at statistics and data to help give you the big picture, and this is what Heavy Duty Trucking’s annual Fact Book is all about. It’s designed to provide a snapshot of the current state of the industry, where it’s been, and where it’s going. These numbers can hel

Ryan Joyce’s world for more than 15 years as a CIA operations officer conducting counterterrorism operations likely consisted of sitting in a basement, looking for one guy with a beard in the mountains of a Middle Eastern country. He helped disrupt terrorist networks using what the intelligence community calls “all-source intelligence”, fusing data from distributed sensors, satellite imagery, and human sources to pinpoint targets and prevent attacks.

When commercial truck drivers are speeding down California’s highways and interstates with thousands of pounds of cargo in tow, a single mistake can be catastrophic.  Yet California fails to regulate most of the schools that train truck drivers, allowing nearly 200 unlicensed schools to operate with effectively no oversight, according to a CalMatters analysis of state and federal records. And when the state has tried to use its limited authority to discipline schools for shortchanging

Keeping up with permits, filings, and renewals can pull you off the road fast, especially when you’re juggling both federal and state requirements. BulkLoads Permitting takes that paperwork off your plate. From new authority and IRP/IFTA to renewals and ongoing compliance, our team handles the details so you can stay focused on hauling freight, not chasing deadlines. We work specifically with bulk haulers, which means we understand your equipment, your lanes, an

Heavier truck weight limits are back on the agenda in Washington, with a coalition of 20 national organizations urging Congress to reject measures that would allow larger tractor trailers on the nation’s roads, highways and bridges, as reported by Progressive Railroading. The coalition says increasing truck weight limits would accelerate damage to road infrastructure, and it points to local bridges as a key concern. Signatories include the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the A

California is known for many things. Traffic. Rules. Paperwork. And a love for regulations that can turn simple things into long processes. Most of the time, people grumble and move on. But this time, something feels different. Lately, the message coming from the state sounds firmer than usual. “Enough is enough.” And for thousands of people, that warning is no longer abstract. It’s starting to affect their daily lives, their jobs, and their future.

ITS Logistics, the broker that tried "offsetting" its way out of $85,000 in payments on uncontested, claim-free loads hauled by 350-truck Illyrian Transport, emerged at least partially successful after the dispute over a cargo-theft scam. Since covering the original dispute in detail (read all about it here), Overdrive learned the final settlement amount: $45,750, just about 53% of the total amount in question.

The U.S. Transportation Department said Friday it plans to propose rolling back fuel economy standards for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, the latest effort to unwind stringent vehicle standards set by former President Joe Biden. In 2024, Biden’s administration finalized rules to require heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans to increase fuel efficiency by 10% per year for model years 2030-32 and 8% per year for model years 2033-35.

Owner-operator out of Tennessee. Good guy, been running for 12 years. Hauled a load for a broker he found on DAT. The rate confirmation looked legit. Delivered on time, got a signed POD, and submitted his invoice. Thirty days later, no payment. Forty-five days, nothing. Calls go to voicemail. Emails bounce back. He checks SAFER and discovers the broker’s authority was revoked two weeks after he delivered that load.

An antitrust lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas against Union Pacific Railroad and the Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad. The lawsuit was filed earlier this week on behalf of 13 Kansas and Colorado-based farmers, Weskan Grain and Colorado Pacific Railroad.

A father and son who build Jeeps have spent the last two days along Interstate 55 in Mississippi, with their 4X4s, getting 18-wheelers and traffic moving along the icy, treacherous roadway. Tuesday night, traffic on I-55 and I-22 near Batesville came to a standstill due to deteriorating road conditions.

In a big Supreme Court showdown over trucking accidents, major business groups have filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting freight brokers. The case, Shawn Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, et al., stems from a 2018 crash where a trucker hired through broker C.H. Robinson hit Montgomery’s car, causing injuries. Montgomery sued the broker for negligent hiring, claiming CH picked an unsafe carrier. The Seventh Circuit Court said federal law blocks such state lawsuits agains

Several CEOs of Minnesota-based agricultural companies are joining other business leaders in calling for a de-escalation of tensions in the state. Cargill, CHS, Hormel, and Land O’Lakes are among the companies that signed a letter released by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. There continues to be unrest around the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.  The letter says members of the state’s business community have been working behind the scenes with public of

It’s no secret that the trucking industry is overwhelmingly made up of small fleets. That was true even before the pandemic, but the number grew rapidly when Covid-era spot rates spiked and new carriers flooded into the market.  Most of those carriers were very small. At the end of 2023, nearly 70% were one- or two-truck operations, according to FMCSA data. Even though they’re technically motor carriers, many of them still think like drivers. In many cases, that works just fine.

Profit margins in trucking are under relentless pressure and have been for some time. After three years of soft rates and rising operating costs, too many carriers are running harder just to stay in the same place. According to the American Transportation Research Institute, average operating margins across nearly every sector fell below 2% in 2024, with the truckload market slipping into negative territory. For many carriers, the cost to operate now outpaces the revenue coming in. Some peopl

At the 2026 Bulk Freight Conference, one thing stood out: AI in bulk trucking is no longer hype, it’s delivering real results. That’s exactly why we built BulkTMS and introduced Bandit, our AI assistant designed specifically for bulk carriers. Instead of spending hours filling out forms and building loads, dispatchers can now just tell the system what they want. “Build 30 loads of corn on this lane at this rate.”

Hopes for a freight rate recovery in 2025 were dashed; expectations for moderate freight growth never materialized. Will 2026 be any better? “Ultimately, it [2025] was kind of a lost year.” Avery Vise, VP of trucking for FTR Transportation Intelligence, told FleetOwner. “Looking ahead to 2026 … I think it puts the trucking industry arguably in an even stronger position for recovery because capacity has tightened even further.”

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) hereby declares that an emergency exists that warrants issuance of a Regional Emergency Declaration and provide emergency regulatory relief from certain requirements in Part 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). This Emergency Declaration is issued in response to severe winter storms and cold temperatures substantially below normal in the Affected States and the

The American Trucking Associations recently delivered a stark warning to Congress that critical safety protocols are being undermined within the U.S. Department of Defense supply chain. He warning raised profound questions about how war-fighting equipment is being transported across the country. In testimony before a House Oversight Committee hearing focused on foreign threats to the U.S. transportation system, ATA President and CEO Chris Spear reportedly alleged that unauthorized motor carrier