| The Daily // Fri 09.11.26 | View in browser → |
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The Daily
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NEWSLETTER BROUGHT TO YOU BY — AURORA
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Descartes reports another record-breaking quarter
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$201M
Consolidated revenue, up 12% y/y
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$94.4M
Adjusted EBITDA, up 18% y/y
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$220M
Combined spend on the Extensiv and Tai acquisitions
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Descartes Systems Group posted consolidated revenue of $201 million, up 12% year over year and 1% above consensus, with services revenue of $189 million up 13% (about 9% organic once currency is stripped out). Earnings per share came in at 57 cents, 14 cents higher than a year ago and a penny above estimates. Adjusted EBITDA rose 18% to $94.4 million, pushing margin up 230 basis points to 46.9%, while operating cash flow climbed 28% to $81 million.
The balance sheet backs up the growth: Descartes closed the quarter with $401 million in cash, up $24 million from the prior quarter, and zero debt. After quarter-end, the company completed two acquisitions — Extensiv, a warehouse management and fulfillment platform, for $120 million, and Tai, a transportation management system built for freight brokers, for $100 million. Descartes still has a $350 million untapped credit line and says it’s willing to lever up to 3x annual EBITDA for a larger deal.
"Supply chains and logistics operations need to be agile in the face of an increasingly dynamic global trade environment," CEO Ed Ryan said, pointing to demand for integrated tools on the company’s Global Logistics Network that help customers manage shipments end to end.
Descartes is compounding organic growth with acquisitions — Extensiv for warehouse management, Tai for broker TMS — while carrying zero debt and $350 million of unused credit, a sign that logistics-software consolidation keeps accelerating even as freight volumes stay uneven across the physical network.
TQL dismissed as defendant in Colorado broker liability trial
A federal judge dismissed TQL, Intsel Steel West and Triple-S Steel Holdings as defendants in a wrongful-death lawsuit over a June 2024 crash on U.S. 285 in Colorado, in which falling steel beams killed Scott Miller. Judge Nina Wang ruled that plaintiff Deann Miller failed to show TQL employed driver Ignacio Cruz-Mendoza or had a principal-agent relationship with him, calling the allegations against TQL too vague. The dismissals were without prejudice, leaving Miller room to refile with more specific claims. TQL had initially argued for broker-liability protection under the F4A but withdrew that defense after the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II stripped brokers of that shield.
The ruling is a narrow, fact-specific win for TQL rather than a broader retreat from broker-liability exposure — C.H. Robinson has said the post-Montgomery landscape makes survival "very difficult" for smaller brokers, and this case shows even large brokers still have to fight each suit on the merits rather than lean on federal preemption.
Fire at China shipyard kills 25 aboard cargo ship
A fire aboard the Ocean Melody, a 20-year-old Liberia-flagged dry bulk carrier undergoing repairs at Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, killed 25 of the 42 people aboard Wednesday. The blaze broke out around 11:15 a.m. local time and was extinguished by about 2:30 p.m.; five people were hospitalized in stable condition and 12 were evacuated safely. The ship, owned by Huili Shipping Co. and managed by Yuyangkunpeng Shanghai Ship Management, had arrived at the yard — part of China State Shipbuilding Corp. — for repairs on Aug. 31. Authorities haven’t determined what sparked the fire during maintenance work.
The high death toll during routine repair work, rather than at sea, puts a spotlight on safety practices inside Chinese shipyards at a moment when the country’s yards are already running at capacity building and repairing much of the world’s bulk fleet.
4:59 AM · Sep 11, 2026 · View on X →
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Huntington sues 24 R&R companies over $12 million in debt
Huntington National Bank sued 24 companies tied to the collapsed R&R family of trucking and logistics businesses, seeking more than $12 million outstanding as of June 8. The Pittsburgh-based group — including R&R Express, RFX, GT Worldwide Transport, Load to Ride Transportation and New Taylor Transportation — ceased operations in January after lenders froze its credit lines in late 2025. The suit, filed in federal court in Pittsburgh, traces the debt to a 2022 credit agreement with Huntington and S&T Bank combining an $85 million revolving line with a $3.675 million term loan, and alleges the defendants missed debt-service payments, failed to pay carriers on time and transferred real estate while acknowledging they couldn’t pay creditors. Huntington is pursuing all 24 entities as jointly and severally liable rather than through bankruptcy. More than 500 employees were laid off across five states, and motor carrier Amerixpress already won a $152,050 default judgment over unpaid freight charges.
With creditors chasing individual judgments instead of a consolidated bankruptcy, carriers and vendors still owed money by R&R entities face a scattered, company-by-company collection fight rather than a single claims process.
Teamsters president says UPS strike coming in 2028
Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said he’s "not optimistic of coming to a tentative agreement without striking UPS" when the union’s current contract expires July 31, 2028, telling members "we’re gonna strike." The union, representing 330,000 UPS drivers and package handlers, plans to launch its contract campaign in fall 2027. O’Brien’s demands include protecting health and pension benefits, blocking automation and autonomous trucks, limiting outsourcing through UPS subsidiaries like Roadie and Happy Returns, and — new this cycle — the right to strike mid-contract over deadlocked grievances. The current five-year contract, reached in 2023 and valued at roughly $30 billion, delivered a $2.75-an-hour first-year raise and $7.50 in total hourly increases, with senior drivers now earning about $170,000 a year. UPS’s last national strike, in 1997, lasted 15 days and cost the company more than $600 million.
UPS moves more than 16 million packages a day — about 17% of U.S. domestic volume — so shippers building 2028 contingency plans should start now, especially anyone leaning harder on UPS during peak season given the union’s early, public commitment to walking out.
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| Time (ET) | Guest |
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| 12pm ET | Dave GilbertFounder & CEO, National Funding |
| 12:30pm ET | Andy KlobnockCOO, ServiceUp |
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El Niño Winter Forecast: Freight Risks Fleets Can’t IgnoreWatch the full breakdown on FreightWaves TV. |
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The TQL dismissal is without prejudiceDeann Miller can still refile against TQL with more specific employment claims. Watch whether the case comes back with sharper allegations rather than "defendants generally" language. |
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More R&R creditor suits likelyHuntington’s lawsuit is unlikely to be the last. With R&R staying outside formal bankruptcy, expect additional individual creditor suits against the 24 named entities. |
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UPS peak-season exposure into 2028The Teamsters’ contract campaign doesn’t start until fall 2027, but shippers leaning on UPS for peak season should start building contingency plans now given O’Brien’s early, public strike commitment. |
