| The Daily // Fri 11.06.26 | View in browser → |
.png){kind=logo}
The Daily
 |
NEWSLETTER BROUGHT TO YOU BY — QUANTIX
One call covers dry bulk, liquid bulk, packaging, warehousing and managed transportation. Quantix removes the obstacles between your material and your customer. One partner, nationwide. Learn more.
|
Truck transportation jobs unchanged in October after BLS revisions
Truck transportation employment was unchanged in October, according to John Kingston’s reporting on the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Friday. The BLS revised September down to 1,471,300 jobs from 1,473,100, and its October estimate came in at the same number. In the 10 years of BLS data, it is the first time truck transportation jobs were flat from one month to the next after revisions.
The parity may not hold. September can be revised once more before the full-year revisions in the January report, and October can be revised twice. The revisions also erased last month’s first year-over-year gain since early 2023, with October jobs 1,600 below a year earlier. Warehouse employment was quiet too, down 300 from September. September itself was revised up to 1,839,700 from 1,831,800, which leaves October 700 jobs below October 2025.
Subsector data, published on a one-month lag, show little change. Truckload jobs fell 500 in September to 502,800, still 1,500 above a year earlier. LTL jobs reached 249,500, up 2,200 from a year ago and well above February’s cyclical low of 243,600. Jason Miller, a supply chain professor, said the flat truckload numbers suggest any rebound in capacity is “very slow at best.”
Miller read the totals as capacity among reporting establishments moving sideways, neither expanding nor contracting. He also expects the full-year revisions to lower the truckload employment figures.
Union Pacific CEO says rate-hike remark was a joke
Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena says he was not serious when he said he would raise rates for shippers that opposed UP’s merger with Norfolk Southern, according to Stuart Chirls’ reporting. Vena described the comment, made in March to the Southwest Association of Rail Shippers in Houston, as “a little humor.” UP had sought to keep the video confidential. Canadian Pacific Kansas City sought its release, arguing the remarks had chilled participation in the regulatory proceeding, and the Surface Transportation Board ordered it made public. UP released the video Thursday.
In the video, Vena said he would probably raise rates by three or four extra percent for shippers that said they did not want a “seamless railroad.” He told FreightWaves that supply chain costs will be lower with one.
Teamsters say they organized Amazon drivers in Indiana; company disputes it
The Teamsters said they have unionized Transportation Operations Management (TOM) drivers at an Amazon facility in Merrillville, Indiana, adding to earlier claims at facilities in Shepherdsville, Ky., and Liberty, Mo., according to John Kingston’s reporting. TOM drivers move trucks within a facility and are Amazon’s own W-2 employees. Amazon said no unionization occurred in Indiana, called the claim part of a “false narrative” and said the Teamsters are not a certified bargaining representative at any Amazon facility.
The union appears to have used card check, in which a majority of workers present signed cards to management, rather than an NLRB-run election. The article found no record of a vote at the facility and notes that the Sixth Circuit rejected the Cemex precedent behind that route in March.
US Army enlists FedEx Dataworks to modernize depot logistics
FedEx Dataworks began modernizing the U.S. Army’s domestic non-tactical logistics network, supply chain procedures and 23 government-owned industrial facilities in August, according to Eric Kulisch’s reporting. A FedEx team is integrating predictive analytics and time-definite next-day delivery into Army depots to optimize stock levels, demand forecasting and transportation routing. Working groups are analyzing existing networks, and the Army will pair the system with Google’s secure cloud.
CEO Raj Subramaniam called the work an example of logistics orchestration, which FedEx views as a new market opportunity, on the Oct. 28 earnings call. A finalized implementation plan for U.S. industrial sites is expected this month.
Americold raises full-year outlook as warehouse performance improves
Americold raised its 2026 AFFO forecast to $1.31 to $1.33 per share from $1.26 to $1.32, its second consecutive increase, according to Stuart Chirls’ reporting. Third-quarter revenue rose 4.2% to $691.6 million. Net income was $683.4 million, or $2.38 per diluted share, compared with a loss a year earlier, driven mainly by a $714.1 million after-tax gain tied to contributing real estate to a joint venture with EQT. In the global warehouse segment, same-store revenue rose 5.7% and the same-store services margin expanded to 15.9% from 13.6%.
AFFO per share was unchanged at 35 cents, so the profit swing reflects the one-time gain more than recurring earnings. The EQT deal closed Aug. 31 and let Americold cut debt by $1.15 billion.
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 | Guest | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 12pm | Robert Rose | CEO and Co-Founder at Reliable |
| 12:30pm | Matt Gialich | CEO and Co-Founder at Astroforge |
| 1pm | Ed Mehr | CEO and Co-Founder at Machina Labs |
| 1:30pm | Harrison Shih | Head of DoorDash Labs |
Grow Your Brokerage. Keep Profitability in Focus.
More customers. More loads. More decisions that affect your bottom line. As your brokerage grows, it becomes harder to know whether the additional volume is delivering the profit you expect. The New Rules of Freight Brokerage explores why margin discipline is becoming a competitive advantage, and five practical rules to help you stay in control as your operation expands.
Safety Technology Is Only as Good as the Trust Behind It
Werner® on how cameras, coaching and AI only deliver safety results when drivers trust them.
One Network for Every Form of Chemical Freight
One partner for dry bulk, liquid bulk and warehousing.
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.
New Research: Tariffs Didn’t Raise Costs. They Raised the Execution Standard.
Infios research shows the 2025 tariff overhaul turned transport mode, tariff exposure and trade-route selection into variables shippers now have to manage actively, not fixed costs they can set and forget.
 ▶ |
Flying Taxis & Cargo: Electric Aviation’s Future Takes OffBETA Technologies secured landmark FAA authorization for passenger flights in its electric VTOL aircraft. |
 ▶ |
Florida’s Space Race: 95% Cost Drop Fuels Private Sector BoomFlorida is rapidly becoming the epicenter of the new space race, with public-private partnerships driving down costs. |
 ▶ |
Electric ‘Flying Boat’ Lands $5 Billion in OrdersREGENT is building electric seagliders that merge the best of boats and planes, operating on a cushion of air over the water known as ground effect. |
|
▸
|
Truck employment revisionsSeptember can be revised once more and October twice before the full-year revisions in the January report. Watch whether the flat October reading holds. |
|
▸
|
Union Pacific merger reviewThe Surface Transportation Board ordered the Vena video released as part of its merger evaluation. Watch how the review treats it now that it is public. |
|
▸
|
Army logistics planA finalized implementation plan for FedEx Dataworks and the Army’s U.S. industrial sites is expected this month. Watch for details on scope and timing. |
