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The Daily // Wed 09.02.26 View in browser →
The DailyWednesday · September 2, 2026
The five minutes that makes you the most informed person in freight today
Lead Story
TruckSmarter shutting downTruckSmarter said it is being acquired and will shut down its driver app, Dispatch, on Friday, the company confirmed in emails to customers and a statement posted inside the app. The AI chat-based interface lets truck drivers find and book shipments without navigating traditional load boards, with AI agents handling the bidding and booking. More than 500,000 carriers use TruckSmarter’s platform, which includes a free load board. The acquiring company was not disclosed. Automated email replies from TruckSmarter said active Dispatch subscriptions will be canceled Friday, though invoices paid in the past 30 days will be refunded within seven business days of cancellation. Dan Kao, TruckSmarter’s co-founder and CEO, posted a statement inside the Dispatch app thanking users for their trust over the company’s five years in business; trucking groups and drivers have since reposted the message across social media. TruckSmarter sold its factoring and banking unit to OTR Solutions last year as part of a strategic shift to focus solely on Dispatch and load board solutions; OTR Solutions told FreightWaves it has not acquired the remaining portion of the company. TruckSmarter, a private-equity-backed company, raised $16 million in September 2025 to "accelerate growth and product innovation," and announced Dispatch’s launch alongside that fundraise. Why It Matters?
The shutdown of TruckSmarter’s Dispatch app ends a key tool drivers use to efficiently bid on and book freight without navigating traditional load boards. This disruption forces users to quickly find alternative methods for managing their business. Top Stories
Seasonal ag truckers from Mexico face same English-language rules, DOL saysA question from a Texas truck driver has produced a clear answer from the U.S. Department of Labor: H-2A visa holders who operate commercial motor vehicles are covered by the same federal English-language proficiency requirements as any other interstate driver. "The guidance applies to any person operating a commercial motor vehicle who is hired and employed under a temporary or permanent labor certification granted by DOL, including H-2A," a department spokesperson told FreightWaves. From Oct. 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, DOL’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification certified 2,609 H-2A truck-driver jobs — nearly 79% of all transportation-related H-2A positions cited by the agency. Texas led the country with 515 certified jobs, followed by Louisiana with 448 and New Mexico with 272. The Labor Department announced its English-language guidance May 14 and began applying it prospectively to filings June 15. DOL said it has not found significant compliance problems since implementation began. What remains unclear is how often H-2A drivers encounter the policy at roadside, since neither FMCSA nor Texas DPS supplied visa-specific enforcement data. Why It Matters?
Agricultural employers received certification for at least 2,609 H-2A truck-driver jobs in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, and those workers face the same federal English-language standard as other interstate commercial drivers. Sponsored · Aurora
Last-mile costs rise 12% for a second yearFarEye’s America 2026 survey found median last-mile delivery costs rose 12% in 2026, matching last year’s increase, with six in 10 operators reporting increases above 10% and one in five above 20%. Eighty-eight percent of operators said delivery cost is growing as fast as revenue or faster, and only one in eight is creating operating leverage as they grow, FarEye CEO Kushal Nahata said at the Last Mile Leaders America event in Chicago. Operators cited fuel (70%), driver cost and availability (51%) and vehicle operating cost (40%) as their top cost pressures. Reliability tracked closely with cost: visibility-first operators posted 90.3% on-time performance and 4.9% cost inflation, versus 76% on-time and 24% cost inflation for speed-first operators. AI adoption is outpacing execution — operators at an implementation or operational stage rose from 46.2% in 2025 to 66.3% in 2026, though trust in AI for real-time operational decisions remains low. Why It Matters?
Rising last-mile costs and the widening gap between reliability-focused and speed-focused operators point to where delivery networks are gaining — or losing — ground on margin as volumes grow. Bankrupt Yellow Corp. settles remaining pension claims for $526MDefunct Yellow Corp. has reached settlement agreements with four multiemployer pension plans totaling up to $526 million to resolve remaining withdrawal liability claims, backed by its largest shareholder, MFN Partners. The deal would end a legal battle that began shortly after the less-than-truckload carrier filed for bankruptcy in August 2023, with New York State Teamsters, Western Conference of Teamsters and Western Pennsylvania Teamsters and Employers pension funds receiving the bulk of the funds. A federal bankruptcy court in Delaware has been asked to approve the plan, which would let the liquidating trust begin making meaningful distributions to general unsecured claimants. MFN has agreed to drop its pending appeals and waive its right to file certain legal fees. Yellow’s June operating report showed it had paid out $293 million in professional fees and expenses since the Chapter 11 case began, with $593 million in cash on hand. Why It Matters?
The deal resolves outstanding pension fund claims, ending three years of legal disputes following Yellow’s August 2023 bankruptcy. This settlement paves the way for the liquidating trust to distribute payments to creditors and former employees. One complaint exposed $800K Texas grain theft spanning 176 loadsTexas investigators have linked an organized theft case to 176 grain loads weighing approximately 9.12 million pounds, valuing the agricultural product under examination above $800,000. The inquiry began March 11 after Guadalupe County deputies received a complaint, then expanded into a statewide investigation covering more than 200 confirmed or potentially stolen shipments across multiple counties. Larry Regalado, 57; Ricky Regalado, 52; and Pablo Franco Jr., 46, face charges including property theft and organized criminal activity. The Texas Department of Agriculture joined the investigation March 26, reviewing inventories, scale tickets and financial records to help trace cargo movements. Additional arrests remain possible as the investigation continues. Why It Matters?
The investigation shows how one reported theft can reveal coordinated activity spanning multiple jurisdictions. Transportation professionals should understand how load records helped authorities connect 176 incidents. 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.
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Special thanks to our sponsors: Highway, Love’s, OTR Solutions, Pallet, Premier Trailer Leasing, RXO, Trinity Rail, Motorcity Systems, Descartes, Saia, Centerline 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 Motive
The State of Fleet Maintenance: AI, Automation, and Cost of OwnershipFleet maintenance costs are rising, and reactive strategies are becoming more expensive. FreightWaves partnered with Motive to explore how fleet organizations are using AI, automation, and integrated operations platforms to reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and lower total cost of ownership. 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. Watch on FreightWaves TV
What We’re Watching
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TruckSmarter’s shutdown leaves a load-booking gap for small carriersDispatch let drivers find and book freight without navigating traditional load boards; more than 500,000 carriers used the platform before Friday’s shutdown. Watch which company acquired TruckSmarter and whether it revives Dispatch or lets the tool disappear entirely. ▸
Last-mile costs keep climbing even as reliability becomes the differentiatorFarEye’s survey found last-mile costs rose 12% for a second straight year, with visibility-first operators posting far better cost and on-time outcomes than speed-first ones. Watch whether more operators shift investment toward visibility and predictability rather than raw delivery speed. ▸
Yellow’s liquidating trust is closer to paying out creditors and former employeesA $526 million settlement with four pension plans would end three years of litigation stemming from Yellow’s 2023 bankruptcy. Watch for court approval in Delaware and the first meaningful distributions to unsecured claimants. That’s your Daily for today. See you tomorrow.
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