Archived edition — October 29, 2026  ·  Read the latest news →
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Fuel & rates

Shipper spending surged 32.1% in the third quarter — the biggest jump since 2021 — while freight volumes barely moved

The U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index, released Thursday, puts hard numbers on the week’s capacity story: shippers paid a five-year high to move essentially the same amount of freight, with spending up 32.1% year over year on shipment volumes up just 0.5%. The Southwest, where enforcement cut into the driver pool, saw spending jump 51.6%.

Fuel & ratesUpdated Thursday, October 29, 2026
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Recalls

Great Dane recalls 6,810 Champion and Everest trailers: landing-gear brace welds may fail and drop a parked trailer

NHTSA recall 26V708 covers certain 2026 and 2027 model year Champion dry vans and Everest reefers built with one supplier’s K-brace assemblies. The welds can be off-seam and weak; the failure risk is a trailer parked without a tractor and without safety stands, above all during loading and unloading. Inspection and replacement are free; owner letters go out by Dec. 22.

Enforcement

22 and a half years for the I-71 stopped-traffic crash — and a CDL investigators say was built on identity fraud

Modou Ngom, 50, was sentenced Thursday in Delaware County, Ohio, for the April 11 crash that killed two parents and their young son in an I-71 construction zone. A jury convicted him in September on all eight counts. The case behind the sentence is a records story: a license obtained fraudulently in 2003, a CDL obtained under a different identity in 2007, a brake citation three weeks before the wreck, and an earlier unsafe-vehicle conviction that never reached federal records.

Enforcement

A driver reset his hours by phone in front of FMCSA and state police — the agency vows to 'hold violators fully accountable'

At a Wednesday meeting with Illinois State Police in DeKalb, a Meiborg driver parked at police headquarters, called a federally registered ELD provider and had his hours reset in about 10 minutes, on video. The carrier staged the demonstration to show regulators how ELD fraud works; FMCSA answered with its registry record and a promise of accountability.

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Law & safety

Werner's Leathers: capacity cuts are in the 'early innings' — about 15% of trucks still out of alignment, only 3% to 4% gone

Werner Enterprises Chairman and CEO Derek Leathers told analysts Tuesday that enforcement-driven capacity reductions have barely begun, with driver-application rejection rates up 170% since January and driving-school enrollment down 20% to 30%. Werner's third-quarter revenue rose 23% to $950.5 million and it swung to a $6.6 million profit — while spending heavily to hire drivers into the tightening market.

Closures

221 trucking companies have filed for bankruptcy this year — and nearly 40% of small carriers say they may be out within six months

Bloomberg data compiled for an Oct. 28 report puts 2026 bankruptcy filings at 221 trucking companies, extending a three-year spike at levels not seen in decades. A Truckstop and Bloomberg Intelligence survey of hundreds of small carriers found two-thirds with revenue flat or down, squeezed by diesel, insurance and the cost of the money they borrowed to get started.

Newsletter

The Morning Mile — Thursday, Oct. 29

A driver resets his hours by phone in front of FMCSA, Werner says capacity cuts are in the early innings, 221 trucking companies have filed for bankruptcy this year, Charger signs on for up to 500 driverless trucks, insurance claims slam two brokerage stocks, and the Parks Highway braces for up to 15 inches of snow.

Enforcement

A driver reset his hours by phone in front of FMCSA and state police — the agency vows to 'hold violators fully accountable'

At a Wednesday meeting with Illinois State Police in DeKalb, a Meiborg driver parked at police headquarters, called a federally registered ELD provider and had his hours reset in about 10 minutes, on video. The carrier staged the demonstration to show regulators how ELD fraud works; FMCSA answered with its registry record and a promise of accountability.

Carrier watch

Strong quarters, slammed stocks: insurance and claims costs knocked 11% off C.H. Robinson and nearly 18% off Landstar in a day

C.H. Robinson raised truckload linehaul rates charged to customers 31.5% year over year and still watched its stock fall 11.14% on Wednesday, after disclosing claims expenses drove a 29.7% jump in selling, general and administrative costs. Landstar fell 17.76% as its finance chief detailed claim severity and reserves up 27% on a shrinking truck count. The thread through both calls was Montgomery-era broker liability.

Weather and roads

Winter storm warning for the Parks Highway: 7 to 15 inches through Friday, visibility to a quarter mile through Broad Pass

The National Weather Service in Anchorage has a winter storm warning in effect from 1 p.m. Thursday to 2 p.m. Friday Alaska time for the Northern Susitna Valley, including the Parks Highway corridor through Broad Pass — the main road link between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Light snow adds 3 to 6 inches before the warning even begins; the heaviest snow falls Thursday night into Friday morning.

Enforcement

Driver pleads guilty in the I-35 construction-zone deaths: the cab camera showed Netflix as he reached slow traffic at 68 mph

Billie Joe Grimes, 57, switched his plea to guilty on Monday to two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and one count of criminal vehicular operation for the August 2023 crash south of Faribault, Minnesota. Investigators said a driver-facing camera showed him watching a Netflix show as he approached stopped traffic he never braked for. Sentencing is March 17, 2027.

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