Supply Chain Intelligence Brief

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TRUCKING

Old Dominion leaning on cost controls, yield management amid tonnage declines

Freight Waves Todd Maiden October 29, 2025

Management noted continued softness in the industrial (55-60% of revenue) and housing markets on a Wednesday call with analysts. It also said volumes from 3PLs have been weak and that some shippers are consolidating LTL shipments into full truck loads.

Old Dominion reports market softness, tonnage declines

Trucking Dive David Taube October 29, 2025

“It’s been a very disruptive and challenging period over the last three years,” CFO Adam Satterfield said on an earnings call Wednesday.

Nevertheless, the company is focusing on what it can control, and it announced an approximately 4.9% general rate increase in October for Nov. 3 that will cover about 25% of its customer base, President and CEO Marty Freeman said on the call.

NMFTA’s freight classification overhaul: surprising shipper preparedness

Freight Waves John Kingston October 29, 2025

“All the feedback that we’ve gotten from the classification changes is that they were prepared for the worst, not just the LTL carriers but the shippers and and the brokers,” Ohr said in an interview with FreightWaves on the sidelines of the NMFTA cybersecurity conference. “It was more of a non-event.”

Largest capacity purge in history coming

Freight Waves Craig Fuller October 29, 2025

The freight industry is experiencing what experts describe as one of the most interesting times ever in freight—though unfortunately, not in a positive way for most participants. Motor carriers and freight brokers across the spectrum are feeling significant pain from weak freight volumes and a rapidly changing operating climate. What we’re witnessing appears to be the calm before a significant storm, with indicators pointing toward what could become the largest capacity washout in trucking history.

Aurora adds second driverless route in Texas

Trucking Dive Alejandra Carranza October 29, 2025

The 600-mile route addresses customer pain points since it is known to be a challenge to staff and for traditional drivers to complete in a single day, Aurora said in a 2025 Q3 shareholder letter.

Link: Aurora Press Release Aurora Expands Driverless Trucking Service from Fort Worth to El Paso

Volvo Group cuts North America forecast by 10K trucks

Trucking Dive Haley Cawthon October 29, 2025

Volvo Group has lowered its 2025 sales outlook in North America to 265,000 trucks — a reduction of 10,000 units — citing new tariffs and weak demand, according to its Q3 earnings this month.

President and CEO Martin Lundstedt said the company’s customers are in “wait-and-see mode” due to the high level of uncertainty brought on by current market conditions.

SHIPPERS / 3PLs

C.H. Robinson’s AI strategy boosts 2026 financial forecast

Freight Waves John Kingston October 30, 2025

C.H. Robinson’s aggressive adoption of AI in its operations has enough legs that the company Wednesday sharply increased its projections for what the strategy will mean financially into 2026, and investors embraced what they heard.

Related: Freight Waves First look: C.H. Robinson again is strong, and Wall Street throws roses

Link: C.H. Robinson Q3 2025 Earnings Presentation

DHL Global Forwarding launches consolidated clearance service to simplify U.S. import process for retailers

Logistics Management Jeff Berman October 29, 2025

Earlier this month, DHL Global Forwarding, a subsidiary of global logistics and express delivery provider Deutsche Post DHL focused on air and ocean freight, announced it has rolled out a new consolidated clearance service, which it said is geared towards U.S. imports to support retailers as they deal with trade shifts and tariff complexity.

INDUSTRY

Transflo names Jay Tomasello as CTO to advance AI, digital strategy

Freight Waves Noi Mahoney October 29, 2025

“Jay is a transformational technology leader who understands the operational realities of transportation and the art of what’s possible with AI,” Renee Krug, Transflo’s CEO, said in a statement. “His experience modernizing mission-critical systems at scale will accelerate how we deliver value to carriers, brokers, factors, and drivers across the Transflo network.”

Link: Transflo Press Release Transflo Appoints Jay Tomasello as Chief Technology Officer to Accelerate AI and Technology Strategy

Rail volumes down 3%: what it means for 2025

Freight Waves John Paul Hampstead October 29, 2025

Is the industrial economy still cooling?

According to the latest data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR), U.S. rail volumes for the week ending October 25 (Week 43) dipped 3% year-over-year, with 498,462 combined carloads and intermodal units moved.

Oil Giants Join OPEC in Boosting Production as Crude Tumbles

Transport Topics/Bloomberg News Mitchell Ferman and Kevin Crowley October 29, 2025

The world’s biggest oil companies are expected to press ahead with plans to accelerate production growth when they report earnings this week, despite weak crude prices and higher supplies from OPEC and its allies.

J.B. Hunt’s East Coast strategy is shifting as rail alliances realign

Journal of Commerce Ari Ashe October 29, 2025 $Subscription Based

J.B. Hunt’s relationships with Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation are already shifting and will continue evolving through 2026. How much will change is unclear, however, as J.B. Hunt wants relationships with both eastern railroads, even if Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern become one.

TECHNOLOGY

How corporate changes at OpenAI will affect CIOs

CIO Dive Lindsey Wilkinson October 29, 2025

The ChatGPT-maker restructured itself to form two entities, a nonprofit called the OpenAI Foundation and a for-profit public benefit corporation dubbed OpenAI Group. The reorganization announced on Tuesday was also accompanied by news of an adjusted Microsoft partnership that is loosening the reins on both AI players.

Microsoft 365 Copilot now enables you to build apps and workflows

Microsoft Charles Lamanna October 28, 2025

This week, we’re bringing AI-powered building to employees across the organization, with new agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot customers in the Frontier program: App Builder and Workflows. Using these agents and Copilot Studio, Copilot now enables employees to turn ideas into impact by creating apps, workflows, and agents—just as easily as having a conversation.

SUSTAINABILITY / SAFETY / SECURITY

Trucking Combats Soaring Nuclear Verdicts and Insurance Costs

Transport Topics Connor D. Wolf  October 29, 2025

Nathan Meisgeier, president and chief legal officer at Werner Enterprises, also stressed the importance of ingraining safety into company culture. That means making sure every driver knows that nothing is worth the risk of hurting themselves or others and that people and loads aren’t being pushed too hard. At the foundational level, he said it boils down to good training across the company.

Save me some of that valuable carbon dioxide

Supply Chain Xchange October 29, 2025

That company, Remora, designs and manufactures carbon capture technology for trains and trucks. It then converts the exhaust into what it calls “beverage-grade” liquid and sells it to industries like farming, food production, and manufacturing, sharing the revenue with its transportation partners.

Exxon Mobil Sues California Over Looming Climate Disclosure Rules

The Wall Street Journal Clara Hudson October 27, 2025 $Subscription Based

Exxon Mobil asked the court to halt the rules, arguing that they would violate free speech protections by forcing the business to use frameworks that put “disproportionate blame on large companies” such as the energy producer itself.

Does a detailed freight emissions calculation really matter?

Science Direct Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment Valentin Schmidt et al. Volume 148 November 2025

Logistics and transportation account for a substantial share of global greenhouse gas emissions. An increasing number of companies are faced with the challenge of calculating their direct and indirect emissions, and to do so, they can choose between different standards, methods, and emission factors or intensities of varying granularity and complexity.

Mapped: The Average Cost of Electricity by U.S. State

Visual Capitalist Bruno Venditti and Miranda Smith October 28, 2025

Electricity costs vary widely across the United States, reflecting a combination of geography, infrastructure, fuel mix, and policy.

This visualization ranks states based on average electricity rates, taking into account both residential and commercial rates. The data for this visualization comes from Electric Choice.

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