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The Daily
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NEWSLETTER BROUGHT TO YOU BY — AURORA
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Diesel hits record $6.285 a gallon as DOE/EIA price shows no sign of retreat
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$6.285
DOE/EIA diesel price, all-time record
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+$1.71
Per gallon gained since July’s $4.578 open
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$5.06
ULSD futures — only 2nd time above $5 ever
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The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration’s benchmark diesel price hit an all-time high of $6.285 a gallon Monday, eclipsing the prior record with no sign of slowing. SONAR’s DTS.USA retail index and AAA’s daily average price set their own records the same day, at $6.26 and $6.2694 a gallon respectively, both blowing past AAA’s previous all-time high of $5.82 a gallon set in June 2022 in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The climb has been fast: diesel is up $1.707 a gallon since the $4.578 open in July. ULSD futures touched $5.0575 a gallon Thursday, only the second time in contract history the futures price has cleared $5. The surge traces to a cluster of supply shocks — Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline have disrupted roughly 7 million barrels a day of capacity, ExxonMobil’s 264,000-barrel-a-day Joliet, Illinois, refinery shut down after a power outage, crude inventories have thinned, and flows through the Strait of Hormuz have been disrupted, all while Chinese demand has come back into the market.
"It’s harder to envision a scenario where prices soften quickly," Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said. Energy Aspects analyst Amrita Sen warned of an "upward spiral" as refiners compete for crude heading into winter.
A record diesel price flows straight into fuel surcharges, but the pass-through isn’t instant — carriers without airtight FSC agreements will eat the cost in the gap, and marginal operators already squeezed by a 3.5-year downturn are the ones most likely to get forced out before contract rates catch up to what’s happening at the pump.
C.H. Robinson, customer Unilever sued over catastrophic crash
Dalilah Coleman and her stepfather Michael Krause, who were struck from behind by a tractor-trailer while stopped in traffic on a California highway, are suing C.H. Robinson, Unilever subsidiary Conopco and warehouse operator United States Cold Storage over injuries the suit calls "catastrophic and permanent," including a traumatic brain injury that has required multiple skull surgeries for Coleman. The lawsuit alleges negligent carrier selection and negligent brokerage system management: C.H. Robinson assigned the refrigerated load to VVS Trans, which allegedly reassigned it to US Jet Trans, but the truck that actually showed up at the warehouse displayed US Jet’s placards despite the company’s motor carrier authority being inactive at the time. Plaintiffs say no gatekeeping procedure at the loading dock confirmed the arriving truck and driver, identified as Partap Singh, actually matched the authorized carrier before the freight left the warehouse. President Trump featured Coleman’s story in his February 2026 State of the Union address, which helped spur "Dalilah’s Law" legislation focused on commercial driver licensing; this civil suit targets a different failure point — the carrier-verification gap at pickup.
The suit puts loading-dock carrier verification, not just broker vetting at booking, squarely in the liability conversation — brokers and shippers alike should expect plaintiffs’ attorneys to keep probing whether anyone actually confirmed the truck that shows up is the carrier that was hired, especially as double-brokering and carrier-identity fraud keep climbing.
Northern Air Cargo names Mark Lester as permanent CEO
Northern Air Cargo has named Mark Lester as permanent president and CEO, effective Sept. 21, replacing interim leader Dave Karp. Lester most recently spent 18 months leading aerospace strategy at engineering firm Merrick & Co., and previously headed Alaska Aerospace Corp., a spaceport operator, for nearly three years and served as CEO of flight-training academy Doss Aviation. The Saltchuk Resources subsidiary has restructured significantly after a run of financial losses, exiting long-haul operations to focus on Alaska and intra-island Hawaii service; it now operates three Boeing freighters — one 737-400 and two 737-800s — as a key connector between Alaska and the mainland through Seattle. The carrier posted net income of $9 million in the 12 months ended March 31, with operating profit up 15% to $15 million on revenue that surged to $144 million, as it competes with Alaska Airlines and Lynden Air Cargo in its regional market.
Lester’s background is regulatory and aerospace-safety rather than pure air-cargo commercial — a sign Saltchuk wants Northern Air Cargo’s rebound, with net income and revenue both climbing after its long-haul retreat, managed by someone built for a tightly regulated, safety-first operation rather than a route-expansion push.
Hub Group warns of Nasdaq delisting notice, flags H1 operating loss
Hub Group told investors it missed Monday’s deadline to file its delayed financial statements and will request a Nasdaq hearing after receiving a delisting notice, the latest fallout from a $77 million understatement in purchased transportation expenses across the first three quarters of 2025 that the intermodal marketing company disclosed in February; restatements are also needed for 2023 and 2024. Hub Group lowered its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $3.6 billion-$3.8 billion, about 3% below prior expectations, and said it now expects an operating loss before one-time charges in the first half of the year, with H1 revenue projected at $1.7 billion-$1.8 billion. The company has also reshuffled leadership: Dave Yeager returned as chairman and CEO, Phil Yeager remains president and vice chairman, Todd Heeter is serving as interim CFO through the restatement process, and Patrick O’Donnell will take over as CFO once it’s complete. Hub Group says it’s pursuing cost cuts including rate increases, warehouse consolidation and yield-management improvements. "I am confident that this leadership team will help drive the business forward into its next phase of growth," Dave Yeager said.
A Nasdaq delisting notice and a first-half operating loss at one of North America’s largest intermodal marketing companies raises real questions about service continuity for shippers and rail partners leaning on Hub Group’s network, and the leadership shake-up during an unfinished restatement suggests the accounting cleanup — and the uncertainty it’s creating — still has room to run.
Texas couple sentenced in $2.4 million Mexico-to-US smuggling operation
Thao Duong and Lam Mai, a married couple from Garland, Texas, were sentenced Sept. 8 for running an online business that sold unapproved veterinary drugs and pesticides smuggled from Mexico — including veterinary medications Cipio Vet and Baytril Max and pesticides Taktic and Bovitraz, none of which are approved for use in the U.S. Duong received three months in prison, two years of supervised release and was ordered to forfeit more than $1.5 million; Mai, who served as the operation’s shipping manager, received two years of probation. Prosecutors said the merchandise crossed the border at Calexico, California, was stored near the border, then shipped to Texas before being distributed nationwide via postal and commercial shipping services to customers starting around 2011, with roughly $2.4 million worth of product moved between 2018 and 2022. "No one should profit from bringing illegal chemicals into the United States and poisoning American communities," an EPA official said. The pesticides contain amitraz, which is toxic to bees and can cause neurological effects in humans through contaminated honey products.
The case is a reminder that postal and commercial parcel networks remain the weak link smugglers exploit once contraband clears the border — carriers and last-mile networks moving small-package volume out of border regions should expect federal investigators to keep leaning on them for chain-of-custody data.
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.
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 → |
Trailer Flexibility Is Disappearing Faster Than Fleets Realize
Premier Trailer Leasing on the tightening trailer market, asset-visibility risk and why 2027 is the year to lease instead of buy.
Why freight visibility needs a second signal
Descartes MacroPoint’s new ELD+ capability combines ELD and mobile app tracking to close visibility gaps and better support fraud prevention.
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.
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.
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Best Of FreightWaves Today | September 15Watch the full breakdown on FreightWaves TV. |
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Whether diesel keeps climbing into winterChevron’s CEO says prices are unlikely to soften quickly, and Energy Aspects is warning of an "upward spiral" as refiners compete for crude. Watch fuel surcharge tables and spot rates for how fast the pass-through catches up. |
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FedEx Freight’s next movesWatch whether more executives depart as Rodgers consolidates commercial and tech authority, and whether the pricing platform he built gets tested against LTL rivals like Saia and Old Dominion. |
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Hub Group’s Nasdaq hearing outcomeWatch whether the panel grants continued listing during the 15-day stay, and whether the multi-year restatement is finalized before Patrick O’Donnell formally steps in as CFO. |
