|
The Daily // Mon 09.07.26 View in browser →
The DailyMonday · September 7, 2026
The five minutes that makes you the most informed person in freight today
Lead Story
Big jump in truck transportation jobs in latest BLS reportWith the overall jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing a surprisingly big jump in employment, truck transportation participated in that rebound. The monthly report showed truck transportation employment rising 4,800 jobs to 1,470,300 — the highest level in the sector since October. But with employment mostly trending down each month since then, the sector is still about 10,000 jobs below where it stood a year ago. David Spencer, vice president of market intelligence at Arrive Logistics, cautioned that "a single month trend does not in itself indicate that conditions are beginning to shift," citing an April jump of more than 5,000 jobs that was mostly offset by two months of declines. Still, he said "recent stability in truckload spot rate volatility, including a muted response to the Labor Day holiday" is context that shouldn’t be ignored, and sustained employment growth could signal carriers shifting priorities away from replacing aging equipment and toward driver wages and benefits. Long-distance truckload driver employment, which lags a month, rose to 501,400 jobs in July — up almost 5,000 since January but still down from 505,300 a year earlier. LTL driver jobs grew just 100 from June to July, to 247,100. Warehouse jobs fell for a second straight month, down 2,600 to 1,837,400 — 32,000 below a year ago — while rail jobs rose 900 to 150,400. Why It Matters?
A rebound in truck transportation hiring, paired with signs of stabilizing spot rates, hints that carriers may be shifting from cost-cutting mode toward retaining and growing driver capacity — though one month of data isn’t enough to confirm a durable turn. Top Stories
Borderlands Mexico: Trucker protest raises stakes in Mexico-US B-1 visa disputeTrucking industry leaders in Mexico are intensifying calls for U.S. officials to clarify how B-1 visa rules are enforced against cross-border drivers, warning that continued uncertainty could disrupt freight flows between Mexico and the U.S. Officials with Mexico’s National Chamber of Freight Transportation (CANACAR) say Mexican drivers are losing visas over alleged cabotage violations — including disputes over whether an empty trailer counts as a prohibited domestic move — but carriers lack clear information on how eligibility is being determined at different crossings. The dispute spilled into public view Thursday when truck drivers blocked commercial traffic at the Mexicali-Calexico East border crossing. CANACAR estimates more than 25,000 visas have been revoked from commercial drivers along Mexico’s northern border, based on member reports rather than official U.S. statistics, and is urging drivers not to expand the protests to other crossings like Tijuana while it seeks binational talks through Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Ministry. Separately, CBP will extend weekday hours for empty tractors and trailers at the Laredo bridge starting Sept. 14 to ease congestion, and Imperative Logistics has expanded its cross-border footprint by combining with El Paso-based RM Customhouse Brokers. Why It Matters?
Mexican trucking companies depend on B-1 drivers to move international freight across the border, and industry leaders warn that unclear or inconsistent enforcement of cabotage rules could reduce available cross-border capacity and trigger additional protests at major commercial gateways. Sponsored · Aurora
Jones Act service gets new 10-year port dealJacksonville-based carrier Trailer Bridge and terminal operator Ports America have signed a 10-year agreement — with two optional five-year extensions — to handle stevedoring and deploy terminal technology for Trailer Bridge’s Jones Act barge service between Jacksonville and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The deal gives Ports America responsibility for cargo handling at Trailer Bridge’s Blount Island terminal and calls for rolling out Ports America’s Dockworks terminal operating system, with customer-facing visibility tools expected in 2027. The arrangement consolidates cargo-handling functions under a single terminal operator experienced in ro-ro, breakbulk and Jones Act trades, reinforcing Jacksonville’s role as a primary mainland gateway for Puerto Rico-bound freight. Both companies expect the shared platform to reduce handoffs, improve equipment utilization and create a more predictable service profile for shippers dependent on the Jacksonville-San Juan corridor. Why It Matters?
Long-term terminal agreements like this one signal carriers and port operators betting on stability in Jones Act trades, giving shippers on protected domestic routes like Puerto Rico more predictable capacity and visibility even as broader ocean freight markets stay volatile. CargoNet tracks $31.8M in Labor Day thefts as criminals breach trusted freight accountsVerisk CargoNet recorded 273 cargo-theft incidents across the U.S. during the seven-day windows around Labor Day from 2021 through 2025, with an estimated commodity value of about $31.8 million. The annual count climbed 70% over that span, from 33 incidents in 2021 to 56 in 2025, with a five-year high of 70 cases in 2024. Criminals increasingly enter trusted freight channels through compromised carrier accounts, email systems, phones or compliance platforms, then change delivery instructions after a legitimate trucking company already has possession — a tactic that bypasses safeguards focused only on carrier selection. Friday led all weekdays with 55 incidents, and the four surrounding weekdays accounted for 71% of all cases, while the holiday weekend itself produced far fewer reports. California, Texas and Illinois accounted for nearly half of all incidents, and food and beverage shipments were the most targeted commodity. CargoNet said broader cargo theft losses topped $359 million in the first half of 2026 alone, with an average stolen shipment value near $341,518. Why It Matters?
Brokers, carriers and shippers face exposure before, during and after the holiday weekend. The findings show that routine business activity can give criminals more opportunities than complete closures. FreightWaves Today · Live at 12PM ET
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. Download the Guide.
● LIVE at 12PM ET — tv.freightwaves.com/today, streamed on LinkedIn, FB and X.
Special thanks to our sponsors: Highway, Love’s, OTR Solutions, Pallet, Premier Trailer Leasing, RXO, Trinity Rail, Motorcity Systems, Descartes, Saia, Centerline, Shipium and SONAR.
FreightWaves Events
F3: Future of Freight Festival
Your team works hard every day to keep supply chains moving. This Labor Day, invest in their growth—and your company’s bottom line—by sending them to F3: Future of Freight Festival (Oct. 27-28 in Chattanooga). Get ahead of market trends and regulatory shifts, experience the latest FreightTech insights that directly impact your margins, and expand high-value relationships with 1,000+ supply chain leaders spanning the industry. October 27–28, 2026 · The Signal, Chattanooga
Sponsored Insight
Presented by Aurora
Your next truck could drive itself.Aurora Driver 2 is hauling freight on public roads. From the Research Desk
In partnership with CargoWise Landside
What It Takes to Win in the Next Era of DrayageFreightWaves and CargoWise Landside surveyed drayage operators on the automation investments separating growth from margin compression amid demand volatility and driver shortages. In partnership with Werner
High-Stakes Freight Brokerage: Risk and AccountabilityFreightWaves and Werner surveyed shippers moving high-value freight and found compliance failures and limited visibility are turning low-cost brokerage into a reliability risk, not just a pricing one. In partnership with Trimble
White Paper: AI Agent Readiness and Adoption in FreightAI is moving beyond experimentation and into everyday freight operations. FreightWaves and Trimble surveyed carriers, brokers, shippers and owner-operators on where the industry is adopting AI today and what leaders expect next. Courtesy of Infios
New Research: Tariffs Didn’t Raise Costs. They Raised the Execution Standard.Infios-backed research breaks down how tariff volatility turned transport-mode selection and trade-route monitoring into daily operating decisions instead of annual ones. What We’re Watching
▸
Truck transportation jobs jumped, but is it a turning point?Truck transportation employment rose 4,800 jobs in the latest BLS report even as the sector remains down about 10,000 jobs from a year ago. Watch whether stabilizing spot rates and easing Labor Day disruption turn into a sustained hiring trend, or fade like April’s short-lived gain. ▸
Mexico-US B-1 visa dispute risks spreading beyond MexicaliCANACAR estimates more than 25,000 driver visas have been revoked over alleged cabotage violations, and industry leaders are urging calm after truckers blocked the Mexicali-Calexico East crossing. Watch whether U.S. and Mexican officials reach a binational protocol before frustration spreads to Tijuana and other border crossings. ▸
Freight-account breaches are turning cargo theft into a year-round riskCargoNet’s $31.8 million Labor Day theft tally shows criminals increasingly hijacking loads by compromising carrier logins and phone systems rather than stealing parked freight outright. Watch whether brokers and carriers tighten identity verification ahead of the fall peak season, when cargo theft historically climbs further. That’s your Daily for today. See you tomorrow.
Have a tip? Reply to this email.
Stay Connected
FreightWaves · 405 Cherry St., Chattanooga TN 37402
|
.png){kind=logo}
