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The freight industry’s essential weekly briefing
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FreightWaves Today
FreightWaves Today launched June 1st. The supply chain moves fast. Now your news does too. Craig Fuller and Julie Van De Kamp bring you a daily live show — real-time market analysis and interviews with the leading executives shaping freight & logistics. Live every weekday at Noon ET on FreightWaves socials and tv.freightwaves.com/today.
On The Desk
Lead Story
Amazon’s LTL gap has a name: Forward Air
The fastest way for Amazon to add a premium expedited tier to its new national LTL network is to buy the one carrier already built for it — and already operating in exactly the lanes Amazon needs. Craig Fuller makes the case for why Forward Air isn’t just a logical acquisition target, it may be an inevitable one.
Ports & Trade
Port of Los Angeles forecasts 7% container volume decline
The LA Harbor Commission has approved a $3.4 billion budget for fiscal 2026–2027 — even as the Port forecasts a 7% drop in container throughput. The pullback reflects softening import demand and ongoing trade policy uncertainty that’s pushing shippers to hedge their gateway choices.
Sponsored Insight
Truckstop.com
White Paper: Q2 2026 Freight Brokerage Rate Report
Featuring responses from a freight brokerage survey alongside SONAR data, the report is designed to provide intelligence that brokers can use to inform their strategies in the months ahead.
Rates & Markets
Truckload carriers eyeing multiyear rate upcycle
Carriers appearing at an investor conference this week laid out the thesis for a sustained period of rate recovery — not just a seasonal bounce, but a structural shift driven by fleet attrition and tightening capacity. The bullish case is building across the industry’s largest players.
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Labor & Regulation
The Faster Labor Contracts Act passed the House
H.R. 5408 gives employers 120 days to reach a first union contract — or a government arbitrator writes one for them. The House passed it 230–193. For trucking fleets navigating unionization drives, the Senate vote is now the last line of defense against a dramatic shift in labor negotiations.
Autonomous Technology
Volvo Autonomous Solutions to remove safety drivers in Q1 2027
Volvo plans to pull safety drivers from its autonomous trucks and launch fully driverless highway operations in Q1 2027, targeting a fleet of 300-plus trucks by year-end. It’s one of the most concrete timelines yet from a major OEM — and it’s coming faster than most expected.
Shipper Radar
Shipper Radar
Mexico holds top U.S. trade spot as Trump raises doubts on renewing USMCA
Mexico extended its lead as America’s largest trading partner in April — even as the White House signals it may not renew USMCA. For shippers with nearshoring strategies built around Mexico’s manufacturing corridors, the trade agreement’s fate is now a supply chain risk that needs to be on the radar.
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Upcoming Events
Supply Chain AI Symposium
July 15, 2026 • Chicago, IL — The Old Post Office
Join FreightWaves in the heart of Chicago for a high-impact symposium on the real-world application of AI in global supply chains. From seed-stage founders to global enterprise providers, we’re gathering the entire supply chain ecosystem under one roof to explore how artificial intelligence is being embedded into every mile of the supply chain.
