SONAR debuts host of improvements to charts and data
Freight data platform SONAR released some new product updates this week geared at helping users take a more specific look at data comparisons in one easy location.
Lane-level rate data can now be overlaid onto all charts, giving users a granular view wherever they are working. Chart titles have been updated to display the corresponding View Symbol information for ease of understanding.
The Trade War Command Center is adding more insights with a direct integration of all trade war coverage from FreightWaves. SONAR users can access the latest trade and tariff news directly from the Command Center just by clicking the image at the bottom.The Command Center will also take users directly to chart-displayed data with a single click.
Lastly, users can now add a customized view to Truckload National Insights. You can sort the Weekly Top Moving Markets table based on the data that is most relevant to you.
For more info on these exciting releases, visit gosonar.com or contact your customer support representative.The post SONAR debuts host of improvements to charts and data appeared first on FreightWaves.
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Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rates, Rejections and Red Tape – Reading the Market Before It Moves
For all the hope around trucking bouncing back, the new CSCMP 'State of Logistics Report' just affirmed what most small carriers already feel: Things are still off. Freight isn't booming, costs haven't come down, and the people at the top are still 'navigating the fog' — while small fleets are stuck in it with no GPS. Here's what matters from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals report and what you need to take away from it now: Logistics Costs Are Still High Based on the report, the industry spent $2.6 trillion on logistics last year. That's 8.7% of GDP — the same as before — even though volumes didn't really grow. That means it's still expensive to move freight, and the system isn't getting more efficient. If you're feeling like you're paying more just to stay in the same place, you're not imagining it. Rates Are Stuck Because Capacity Won't Budge The report admits it: The market is still oversupplied. And that's why rates are dragging. Tender rejections barely moved in 2024-2025, and although they've ticked up a little recently, it's not enough to quite call it a turnaround. The market isn't tight — it's still crowded. That means brokers are still low-balling and big fleets still have the majority of contract freight. Tariffs Are Back in the Picture New tariffs are going to hit certain equipment categories, and it's already adding more cost pressure. If you're thinking about adding trucks or trailers, you'll want to time that decision carefully. Prices could move again. It's not just about freight anymore — now you have to game out the geopolitical stuff, too. Sustainability Mandates Are Creeping In One of the quietest parts of the report is also one of the loudest signals for the future. While Europe is charging full-speed ahead on zero-emissions freight, the U.S. is still stuck in a patchwork of state-by-state rules. That uncertainty means carriers are going to be the test dummies again — dealing with new equipment costs and unclear enforcement. So What Should Small Carriers Do? Get real with your costs:Don't expect market rates to do the work for you. Use your breakeven number as your anchor — if a load pays under it, walk away. Control what you can control! Avoid overextending:The report shows volatility isn't going anywhere. Be cautious with debt and expansion right now. Grow where you have control — better broker/shipper relationships, better lanes, better driver performance. Watch for real capacity shifts:The freight market won't move until capacity really bleeds off. We're not there yet. Track net authority changes weekly and listen for shifts — not noise. SONAR's data still isn't showing exits fast enough. Build a resilient business, not a reactive one:The ones who'll win in this fog are the ones who aren't hoping it clears — they're building a GPS system of their own. You do that by tracking your key performance indicators weekly, staying nimble and treating every load like a business decision — not a survival scramble. A South Florida man is facing serious federal charges after allegedly using his trucking company, Royal Bengal Logistics Inc., as the front for a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that preyed on hundreds of truck investors across the country. According to the indictment unsealed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, Sanjay Singh, 45, of Coral Springs, Florida, was arrested and charged with wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering tied to a fraudulent investment operation that took in more than $158 million from approximately 336 investors between June 2020 and September 2023. The scheme, as outlined in court documents and the DOJ press release, revolved around convincing people — many of them aspiring owner-operators or individuals with no prior trucking experience — that they could earn passive income by investing in the purchase and operation of semitrucks run by Singh's company. 'Singh is alleged to have tricked investors into thinking they were purchasing commercial trucks to be operated by his trucking company,' said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe in a May 30 press statement. 'Instead, Singh took investors' money and used it to keep the scheme going and for his own personal benefit.' False promises: Singh told investors they were buying trucks that would be leased out through his company and used to generate revenue. Investors were promised high monthly returns, often guaranteed in the form of fixed payouts. Bogus contracts: According to prosecutors, Singh fabricated trucking contracts and revenue statements to back up his claims, giving the illusion that trucks were on the road and generating profit when, in reality, many didn't exist or weren't in use. No real ownership: While Singh claimed that investors owned physical trucks or had partial ownership in them, court records show he never actually transferred any truck titles into their names. Some trucks allegedly didn't even exist. Ponzi mechanics: The indictment describes a classic Ponzi setup — new investor money was used to pay earlier investors, not from actual trucking revenue, but to create the illusion of profitability and keep the scam alive. Lavish spending: Singh is also accused of using investor funds to bankroll a luxury lifestyle, including high-end cars and personal expenses, rather than running a legitimate logistics business. The government's case includes records from wire transfers, bank accounts, and alleged misrepresentations made through email and investor communications. The FBI and IRS are both involved in the investigation. Singh faces multiple felony charges, and if convicted, could spend decades in federal prison. He has not yet entered a plea at the time of this publication. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Young and Gabrielle Charest-Turken. This week's charts are a reminder: Just because rates lift, it doesn't mean the recovery is here to stay. Let's break it all down for the small fleets and owner-operators who don't have time to guess what's next. Linehaul rates took a slight dip to $2.30 a mile after last week's strong climb. This comes after a steep rebound in mid-May, when we saw NTI gain about 10 cents in just over a week. That's fast — and when that happens in this market, it's usually tied to short-term pressure, not a long-term shift. But here's the truth: This number is still higher than what we saw for most of April, which means capacity did tighten. If you were quick, you likely caught better rates on hot lanes, especially out of the Southeast and parts of Texas. If you waited for confirmation, you probably missed your shot. What to do now: Don't assume this bump will last. This is a week-by-week game. Stick close to your best brokers, stay aggressive on accessorials, and if you're in a soft market — run short, don't deadhead far chasing what's not there. Rejections are down just slightly this week, but here's what matters: They're still above 6%, and for the past two months, they've refused to drop back into that 5% danger zone. This means one key thing: Carriers are getting choosier. Brokers are getting pushback, especially on the lowball stuff. And where that happens, rates have room to climb. Important to note: This is the canary in the coal mine. If this number trends back toward 7% in June, you're going to see stronger rate floors, even on bread-and-butter lanes. Small carrier takeaway: If rejections are up in your outbound market, don't undercut yourself. Run your breakeven. Ask for more. Use phrases like: 'Rejections are up this week. Trucks are saying no to cheap freight. I need $X to move this.' You don't win by staying quiet while the data works in your favor. Load volume is slightly up. A 0.69% bump might not seem like much, but it confirms one important trend: Volume isn't crashing. We're still hovering just under that 10,000 index mark — the line that usually signals solid, steady demand. The good news? More tenders usually mean more choices for carriers. The bad news? If volume is stable but too much capacity is still out here, rates stay unpredictable. Your move as a small fleet: Pick your battles. Avoid long-haul loads that drag you into cold markets. Stay clustered around areas where tenders are climbing — North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, parts of Texas, etc. Work short hops. Stack regional wins. This one speaks volumes. For the first time in several weeks, the market is losing capacity again — 173 authorities dropped off the map. That's not massive, but it's notable. If this pace continues through June, we'll start to feel the gap between freight volume and available trucks widen — and that's when rates stop flirting with a rebound and actually start moving. Keep this in mind: Small fleets and single-truck ops have been holding on since Q4. A decline in new entrants and a slow drip of exits puts the pressure back on brokers to pay up when freight starts moving fast again. Advice for small carriers: Watch this number every week. It's your forward indicator of pricing power. The less competition out here, the more leverage you have. If this negative trend continues, your negotiating seat gets stronger by the day. This isn't a recovery yet — but it's a setup. The market hasn't flipped, but it's coiling. If tender rejections climb while net authority drops and volume holds, you're looking at an upward freight cycle brewing. Don't celebrate. Don't overextend. Just be ready. The winners in this type of market are the ones who run lean, watch closely and don't flinch when it's time to charge more. More updates next week. Until then — run smart. There's been growing pressure in D.C. for regulators to take underride crashes more seriously — but this past week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration took a step in the opposite direction. In a recent move, the agency decided to roll back a rule that would've required carriers to add a label showing the manufacturing date of rear underride guards. On the surface, this might sound like a minor tweak, but here's why it matters. The FMCSA's proposed rule would eliminate the requirement for these certification labels, asserting that this change would remove an unintended regulatory burden without compromising safety. The agency emphasizes that the physical condition and proper maintenance of rear impact guards remain critical for safety compliance. Rear underride guards — those metal bars attached to the back of trailers — are designed to prevent cars from sliding underneath in a crash. When they fail, the consequences are catastrophic. Think sheared-off rooftops, instant fatalities and no chance of survival for the folks in those smaller vehicles. That's why safety groups and crash investigators have been sounding the alarm for years. The now-rolled-back label rule came from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which required FMCSA to implement labeling so enforcement officers could easily verify that the guard was compliant with federal safety standards. It was supposed to be a commonsense step forward — one more way to ensure unsafe or outdated guards weren't flying under the radar. So why did FMCSA back away? According to the agency, it's all about logistics. It argued that since rear guards are often added after the trailer is built — sometimes by aftermarket shops or upfitters — requiring the OEM to date-stamp the guard itself would be confusing and difficult to enforce. In FMCSA's view, the existing process of checking the equipment visually during inspections is good enough. But that position isn't sitting well with safety advocates. Groups like the Institute for Safer Trucking and the Truck Safety Coalition argue this is one more example of regulators backing off when the pressure gets real. And with fatal underride crashes still making headlines, they say now's not the time to ease off the gas. Here's the takeaway for small carriers and fleet owners: Even without the label requirement, you're still on the hook to keep your rear impact guards in top shape. DOT inspectors can (and will) write you up for damaged, rusted or missing components — and that means possible fines and CSA points. But beyond the compliance box, there's a bigger ethical issue here: These guards save lives. They are the only thing protecting a family sedan from going under your trailer at 70 mph, so they better not be an afterthought. Keep your maintenance tight. Stay ahead of inspections. And don't wait for Washington to tell you what's safe. Regulators may be backpedaling — but that doesn't mean you should. This week, we say goodbye to a true road warrior and pioneer in the trucking community — Lesa 'Yo-Yo' Worley. Yo-Yo wasn't just a trucker. She was a trailblazer. Back in 1979, she made history as the first winner of the Atlanta Motor Speedway's semitruck race — a moment that shattered expectations in a male-dominated field and set the tone for the decades she'd spend behind the wheel. Her CB handle was known far and wide, and her presence on the road earned the respect of drivers from every corner of the country. She drove for 39 years. Not just for a paycheck — but because trucking was in her bones. It was her identity, her freedom, her family. In 2011, Yo-Yo was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and eventually had to park her rig for good. The disease slowly stripped away her physical strength, including the muscles around her heart. Even in the face of terminal decline, Yo-Yo remained sharp, spirited and full of gratitude for the life she lived on the road. A few years ago, thanks to an outpouring of support from drivers and her Tennessee community, Yo-Yo got to ride in a semi one last time. It wasn't just a gesture — it was a full-circle moment. Her eyes lit up, her spirit soared, and everyone in that convoy knew they were witnessing something sacred. She passed away this week, leaving behind a legacy that deserves to be remembered in every driver lounge, fuel island and old CB radio story. Rest easy driver … If you'd like to honor her memory and help her family with final expenses, you can do so here. There's no FMCSA regulation for a life well lived. But if there were, Yo-Yo would've passed inspection with flying colors. This week wasn't just about data and headlines — it was about reading between the lines of where this market is really heading. Tender rejections are quietly ticking up. Freight volumes are holding steady. But capacity? Still sticky. That means we're in a market where discipline matters more than momentum. The wins right now are small — but they add up if you know what you're looking for. And while the FMCSA debates rear guard labeling and the courts wrestle with AB5's long-term impact, small carriers need to be wrestling with something else: how to build staying power. Because surviving isn't about waiting for the market to change. It's about being prepared for when it does. Take the lesson from Yo-Yo Worley's legacy: Commit to the craft, respect the road, and never lose sight of the bigger picture. Until next week — stay sharp, and keep rolling. The post Rates, Rejections and Red Tape – Reading the Market Before It Moves appeared first on FreightWaves. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Truck Parking Club doubles network in under 6 months
Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Truck Parking Club recently announced it has surpassed 2,000 property member locations nationwide, a doubling of its footprint in six months. Part of the growth came from targeting diverse property types, from trucking companies and repair shops to storage facilities and real estate investors. 'This isn't just about hitting a number – it's about solving a decades-old problem that costs the trucking industry billions annually,' said Evan Shelley, co-founder and CEO of Truck Parking Club, in a press release. 'Every new location means drivers spend less time searching and more time earning. Our goal is clear: reduce parking search time to under 10 minutes per day.' The rapid expansion and milestone followed an announcement in February of the addition of industry veteran Brent Hutto as chief relationship officer, the position he formerly held at Truckstop. Part of the push is to build on driver momentum and turn it into enterprise-level relationships. Reed Loustalot, chief marketing officer at Truck Parking Club, said in an earlier interview with FreightWaves, 'Truck Parking Club grew organically and doing that we coincidentally have drivers in 60 of the top 100 fleets booking parking with us, and we have never talked to the fleets directly about having their drivers use our app. It's their drivers, their dispatchers and their fleet managers finding us.' Another advantage of being a truck parking aggregator is it's less expensive and turns otherwise unused parking locations into income production opportunities. Shelley wrote, 'New truck parking construction typically costs $100,000-$200,000 per space and takes years to complete, while Truck Parking Club can activate existing spaces within a day.' Looking ahead to the next milestone, the company is setting its sights on 10,000 locations. The Logistics Managers' Index's recently released May data showed a second consecutive month of expansion. The May LMI came in at 59.4 points, up 0.6 points from 58.8 in April. The m/m increase was impacted by inventories, which saw higher costs and slower movement compared to earlier in the year. The LMI is a diffusion index, with a score above 50 signaling expansion, while below 50 is a contraction. The interplay between warehousing costs and inventory levels was a big theme in May. Warehouse capacity fell 5.4 points in May to 50, while warehousing prices rose 0.2 points to 72.1, a strong expansion. 'This suggests that the inventories that were rushed into the country earlier this year are now static and holding them is expensive,' noted the report. The LMI transportation metrics were mostly stale, with movement less than 1 point. There were some nuances, according to the report. Capacity dipped slightly to 54.7, with upstream firms facing tighter space at 50 points compared to downstream firms' expansion of 65.3 points. Transportation prices rose more for downstream (66.7) than upstream (61.7), but the gap wasn't significant. Transportation utilization fell to 52.6 points, the lowest since November 2023. Despite lower diesel prices ($3.487 a gallon), a predicted import surge could stress intermodal and over-the-road networks, testing supply chain flexibility. On the import front, prognostications for an import boom similarly seen during COVID remain cloudy, due in part to American consumers having less cash than during the stimulus-fueled buying binge. The report adds that it was demand-driven, while the current surge in imports during Q1 was more supply-driven, as shippers tried to pull goods forward to avoid higher costs. 'Even though costs were high, there was a sense that they could grow higher in the future. Today, after several rounds of start-and-stop tariffs, shippers may doubt that the highest levels of threatened tariffs will ever come to pass. At the same time, costs are higher on imports from essentially every country than they were a year ago,' added the report. The post Truck Parking Club doubles network in under 6 months appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Trac Intermodal preps 200K chassis for China container surge
A top executive with the largest provider of intermodal chassis says his company is ready for the coming crush of China container imports headed to the United States. 'We're preparing for a bounce back of volume this summer,' said Trac Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Jake Gilene, in an interview with FreightWaves. 'We're staying very close to our customers gathering their forecasting data, so we can see what they see. We are preparing now for volume that's coming in late June-early July.' For Trac, which maintains a fleet of 200,000 domestic, marine and specialty chassis, that means making sure there are available chassis in the right markets, and coordinating those efforts across all ports and terminals. After the pandemic supply chain crisis, Gilene said, Trac worked with major railroads to establish strategic chassis reserves.'Post-COVID, we began a strategic chassis reserve program where Trac worked with Union Pacific to set aside chassis at specified locations where it makes sense for our host and our customers. This was done in the event of a black swan event. We are actively looking to expand this in other markets where it makes sense,' Gilene said. To build up sufficient fleet resiliency, 'Trac has developed a number of key locations around the country where our usage data and customer demand would indicate the need for safety stock.' In addition to participating in 12 neutral chassis pools across the country, Trac operates four private pools on the West Coast with ocean carriers CMA CGM, Zim (NYSE: ZIM), Evergreen ( and Hong Kong-based Hede International Shipping. During the lull in China traffic precipitated by the trans-Pacific tariff dispute with Washington, Trac looked to reposition chassis where they could do the most good. Upgraded units sitting idle in California were moved to the Midwest to refresh fleets worn by winter is anticipating higher-than-normal container volumes come June. 'The ocean services that were suspended are being reinstated and schedules are now booked,' said Gilene. 'Carriers are swapping vessels into the eastbound trans-Pacific trade lane to bring in more TEUs. From our customer conversations and forecasting, it's a mix of goods that were ready to ship and some new factory production, but mostly new, reinstated production.' One component Trac will be watching closely is dwell time. 'Average dwell is six to seven days, and during COVID we saw that increase [by] two to four times, depending on the market. If the supply chain isn't making a quick turn, the dwell time is longer for where the chassis is going, impacting chassis availability.' The big unknown is how long the surge is going to last. 'We've seen varying timelines for backlog recovery. During COVID, a three-month supply chain shutdown took 18 months. Building on what we learned, we are proactively repairing additional chassis and are exploring reserve expansions where they make sense.' Gilene added that since the pandemic, more motor carriers have acquired their own chassis, making them less dependent on pools. The import surge could give Trac a needed boost. In December, Moody's revised its outlook for the company to negative, saying then that tariffs posed a risk to import volume more articles by Stuart Chirls world order: Ocean rates up 88% as shippers pounce on lower tariffs New week sees ocean container rates soar Dirtier ports will hurt jobs, US maritime revival: AAPA Texas port completes $625M ship channel deepening project The post Trac Intermodal preps 200K chassis for China container surge appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
