| The Daily // Wed 09.09.26 | View in browser → |
.png){kind=logo}
The Daily
 |
NEWSLETTER BROUGHT TO YOU BY — AURORA
Your next truck could drive itself. Aurora Driver 2 is hauling freight on public roads. No one behind the wheel. Learn more.
|
|
ANNOUNCEMENTS
|
ArcBest tonnage growth accelerates in August, lifts Q3 guidance
|
+9%
August asset-based tonnage growth, y/y
|
$10-12M
New Q3 asset-light operating income guidance
|
+26%
August asset-light daily revenue growth, y/y
|
ArcBest’s asset-based unit (home to LTL carrier ABF Freight) posted 9% revenue-per-day growth in August, up from 7.7% in July, as tonnage climbing 9% year over year ran into a shipment count that kept shrinking. Shipments fell 4% from a year earlier while shipment weights rose 14%, pushing revenue per shipment up 14% even as yield held flat once fuel surcharges are included and slipped low-single digits without them.
The two-year stacked tonnage figure, which strips out easy comparisons against a weak prior year, climbed to 11.4% from 9.4% in July. Contractual rates rose 5.8% in the second quarter, or 9.8% on a two-year stacked basis, and a 5.9% general rate increase took effect June 22.
ArcBest’s asset-light segment moved faster still. Daily revenue rose 26% in August, just behind July’s 27%, on a 26% jump in revenue per shipment even as shipment counts held flat. Purchased transportation costs eased to 85% of revenue, down 60 basis points from July. The improvement was strong enough that ArcBest raised its third-quarter adjusted operating income guidance for the segment to $10 million to $12 million, up from $6 million to $8 million.
ArcBest is one of a handful of publicly traded LTL carriers, so its mid-quarter numbers are one of the few real-time reads shippers get on where LTL pricing and demand actually stand — accelerating tonnage against a shrinking shipment count points to carriers pushing yield over volume, and shippers negotiating LTL contracts this fall should expect that leverage to hold.
Panama Canal reverses plan to cut vessel draft limits
The Panama Canal Authority postponed a scheduled reduction in the maximum draft allowed through its neopanamax locks, holding the limit at 14.63 meters (48 feet) rather than cutting it to 47.5 feet as planned for Oct. 1. The original restriction was tied to drought and El Niño conditions pressuring Gatun Lake, which supplies both canal operations and civilian drinking water. Lighter trans-Pacific traffic after peak season appears to have eased the water-supply strain enough to hold off the cut, though the authority says it will keep monitoring conditions.
The largest container ships keep full-tonnage transit rights through the fall, avoiding another round of vessel-rotation and port-scheduling disruptions — and the fuller locks also preserve transit for U.S. military assets like the Wasp- and America-class amphibious ships.
Trump floats halting trade with Mexico, Canada, EU over deficits
President Trump said during a Sept. 4 Oval Office news conference that the U.S. could simply stop trading with countries running deficits against it, naming Mexico, Canada and the European Union. Citing a roughly $195 billion annual gap with Mexico, Trump said "we could do tremendous good for ourselves by just not trading with countries" and dismissed Mexican exports: "they have nothing we need. We have oil. We have everything." He added that he doesn’t want to follow through because he gets along well with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. The remarks land in the middle of ongoing USMCA negotiations.
Mexico supplies vehicles, machinery, electronics and agricultural goods that U.S. shippers and manufacturers depend on daily, and even a rhetorical threat to that flow injects fresh uncertainty into cross-border planning while USMCA talks are still open.
NTSB: Amazon freighter crew failed to deploy brakes before Miami crash
NTSB investigators say the crew of a 21 Air-operated Boeing 767-300 flying an Amazon cargo route failed to deploy critical landing deceleration systems before the aircraft overran a runway at Miami International Airport on Sept. 7, killing five people. The jet was carrying more than 32,000 pounds of contact lenses from Puerto Rico. Flight data show the aircraft touched down at 181 mph, and throttles were pushed to full power seconds before impact, consistent with an attempted go-around, before the plane struck two vehicles and a fence. Both pilots were 767-rated and experienced, including Capt. Joseph Carol’s 7,145 flight hours. Two of Miami’s four runways have been closed since the crash; one section reopened Tuesday evening.
"We hope to learn lessons that can prevent other accidents," NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homandy said. The early finding points to pilot error and procedural gaps at contractor 21 Air, not Amazon’s own operations, a distinction that matters for how much scrutiny falls on Amazon’s broader delivery network.
ICE launches tip line to report CDL fraud as crackdown widens
ICE and the Department of Transportation opened a tip line (866-347-2423) for the public to report suspected CDL fraud as the federal crackdown on commercial driver credentials expands. DOT has already removed 110 truck driving schools from the federal registry over roughly 5,000 English-language proficiency violations, with more than 160 additional schools proposed for removal. Homeland Security Investigations says it has received more than 1,000 leads on CDL-related businesses and issued more than 80 inspection notices, with investigations spanning more than 200 driving schools across 23 states covering CDL fraud, unauthorized employment, identity-document fraud, money laundering and labor exploitation. More than 28,000 commercial drivers have been placed out of service for English-language proficiency violations since June 2025. OOIDA’s Todd Spencer welcomed the move, saying the group has pushed for tougher enforcement of testing and training standards.
The tip line pushes the crackdown past individual drivers and into the schools, testers and businesses that issue CDLs in the first place, giving carriers and driver-training programs another compliance touchpoint to answer for.
Brought to you by Samsara — built with operators, for operators. Blind spots cause some of fleets’ costliest, most complex collisions. Learn how AI-powered 360-degree visibility helps you spot risks in real time and protect drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
| Time (ET) | Guest |
|---|---|
| 12pm ET | Jason Murray & Penny AllenCEO & Co-founder / SVP AI, Product & Engineering, Shipium |
| 12:45pm ET | Eric KulischParcel and Air Cargo Editor, FreightWaves |
F3: Future of Freight Festival
FreightWaves’ flagship event blends rapid-fire tech demos and world-class speakers with the most legendary networking in logistics. Join 1,000+ freight and logistics experts, industry leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators for a definitive look at the year ahead. Come for the insights, stay for the celebration and leave with the connections that will define your 2027.
| Oct. 27-28, 2026 · The Signal, Chattanooga | Register Now → |
High-Stakes Freight Brokerage: Risk and Accountability
How the pursuit of low-cost brokerage created a reliability crisis in high-stakes freight.
Your next truck could drive itself.
Aurora Driver 2 is hauling freight on public roads. No one behind the wheel.
What It Takes to Win in the Next Era of Drayage
Demand volatility, terminal congestion and driver shortages are squeezing drayage margins. FreightWaves and CargoWise Landside surveyed operators on where automation and digital investment are actually paying off.
High-Stakes Freight Brokerage: Risk and Accountability
Shippers moving high-value freight say lower-cost brokerage is starting to carry higher risk. FreightWaves and Werner surveyed where compliance gaps and carrier performance issues are driving accountability higher — timely, given today’s broker-liability coverage.
How Tariffs Raised the Execution Standard, Not Just Costs
New research from Infios shows 2025’s tariff overhaul turned transport mode, tariff exposure and trade-route selection into managed variables rather than fixed costs shippers can set and forget.
 ▶ |
Fuel Surcharge Gaps: What Carriers Miss on Every LoadWatch the full breakdown on FreightWaves TV. |
 ▶ |
Autonomous Trucking in 28 States: What Changes Next?Watch the full breakdown on FreightWaves TV. |
 ▶ |
Cabless Trucks Are Coming Faster Than Carriers ThinkWatch the full breakdown on FreightWaves TV. |
|
▸
|
The Lipe verdict on appealC.H. Robinson’s confident posture on litigation and insurance costs gets tested if the $600 million verdict survives appeal. Any FMCSA move toward a broker safe-harbor standard is the thing to watch next. |
|
▸
|
Panama Canal drought riskThe draft-limit reversal buys time, not certainty. If drought conditions return to Gatun Lake this winter, expect another restriction announcement before peak season. |
|
▸
|
21 Air’s contractor oversightNTSB’s early finding on undeployed deceleration systems puts training and procedures at contract carrier 21 Air under scrutiny — worth tracking how much of that lands on Amazon’s broader air network. |
