?? Future of Freight

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Good morning. FreightWaves Future of Freight Festival kicked off yesterday in the heart of Downtown Chattanooga. We're here recapping our favorite parts. Tomorrow we will have a deeper dive on the entire event as today is day two.

Plus: DOT Secretary announced, a new FMCSA broker transparency proposal, Walmart sales surge, and more.

??The FreightCaviar Podcast: In this interview, we detail why Will Jenkins sees ShipperCRM (a FreightCaviar product) as the next big thing.

TOP LANE MOVERS POWERED BY GREENSCREENS.AI

?? WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN FREIGHT

?? Sean Duffy Slated to Lead US Department of Transportation. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Sean Duffy, a Fox News host and former Wisconsin congressman, as Secretary of Transportation. Duffy, known for his nine-year tenure in the House and leadership on the Financial Services Committee, brings policy expertise and media influence. Trump lauded Duffy’s vision for revitalizing infrastructure while ensuring national security and economic priorities. OOIDA is looking forward to collaborating with Duffy, focusing on regulatory rollbacks and infrastructure improvements. Duffy’s past alignment with Trump’s economic agenda includes backing expanded tariff powers. The transition team also hints at policies targeting electric vehicle tax credits, signaling a potential shift in transportation priorities.

?? Industry Divided Over FMCSA's Broker Transparency Proposal. The FMCSA's newly proposed broker transparency rules have sparked mixed reactions. While OOIDA praised steps like mandatory electronic records and a 48-hour response time, they deemed the measures insufficient for meaningful change. TIA criticized the FMCSA for prioritizing transparency over freight fraud, citing 80,000 fraud complaints versus zero transparency-related complaints during COVID-19. Stephen Ruhe echoed this, emphasizing fraud's greater impact and questioning carriers’ responses to rate disclosures. American Trucker United raised concerns over brokers exploiting immigration and labor dynamics, urging drivers to focus on market fundamentals. The FMCSA remains skeptical of broker transparency's impact on freight rates, inviting public comments for 60 days to assess its implications further.

?? Walmart’s Q3 Surge: Low Prices, Strong Sales. Walmart delivered impressive Q3 results, with net income soaring to $4.58 billion and sales climbing 5.5% to $169.59 billion, driven by low prices attracting budget-conscious shoppers. US comparable store sales rose 5.3%, while global e-commerce sales surged 27%. The retailer raised its annual outlook, anticipating earnings of $2.42–$2.47 per share and 4.8–5.1% sales growth. Analysts are keen on Walmart’s resilience amid inflation and potential trade impacts, including proposed tariffs. As the holiday season approaches, Walmart’s performance shows steady consumer spending despite economic pressures. Shares rose nearly 4% in response to the strong results.

TOGETHER WITH RAPIDO

Rapido is a top nearshore staffing company providing logistics and supply chain talent to companies in the United States. Based in Guadalajara, Mexico, Rapido offers a unique combination of cost savings and access to a skilled workforce, making it an attractive option for American logistics businesses. See what makes nearshoring to Mexico an attractive option for scaling a logistics company and how partnering with Rapido Solutions Group simplifies the whole process.

F3: Day One Recap

FreightWaves Future of Freight Festival kicked off yesterday in the heart of Downtown Chattanooga, bringing together the best and the brightest of the industry.

Rapid-Fire Demo Spotlight: HappyRobot AI Steals the Show

At the Rapid-Fire Demos, HappyRobot’s AI Agent left the audience buzzing. The 7-minute showcase felt a bit like science fiction.

Co-Founder Pablo Palafox played the “carrier” as the AI negotiated rates, messaged its manager on Slack to confirm counter-offers, and seamlessly generated a rate confirmation—all in real time.

The lifelike interaction had some attendees wondering if the broker AI takeover is closer than we think. Others joked they’d love to let Happy Robot handle not just their brokerage tasks but their entire lives.

Either way, it was clear: Happy Robot delivered a glimpse of the freight industry’s future, and it’s looking smart, efficient, and maybe a little uncanny.

The Epay Manager Demo: Streamlining Freight Documentation

Epay Manager took a practical but powerful approach to its Rapid-Fire Demo, tackling one of the industry’s biggest pain points: paperwork and payment processing.

Their platform showcased how carriers and brokers can manage invoicing and disputes seamlessly. Carriers can upload documents, dispute invoices (e.g., unplanned detention), and track resolutions—all within the platform, eliminating the need for messy email threads or drawn-out phone calls.

For brokers, Epay’s document insights widget—powered by an AI model trained on millions of documents—brings speed and precision to document verification. With 99% accuracy, brokers can use a "no-look" approval system to clear invoices without sifting through every detail. The result? A process that typically takes weeks can now be done in minutes.

Networking & Nostalgia at J.B. Hunt’s 360o Party

After a packed day of innovation, J.B. Hunt’s 360o Party proved the perfect place to unwind. Guests enjoyed a lineup of indulgent bites—mini tacos, Tennessee Hot Chicken, shrimp skewers, and brownies—paired with cold Modelo beers and a lively DJ set to kick off the evening.

The highlight? A headlining performance by none other than Stone Temple Pilots. The iconic band played classics like “Plush” and “Interstate Love Song,” keeping the energy high as attendees mingled and networked.

TOGETHER WITH LEVITY

Levity?helps fast-moving 3PLs and freight brokers to do more with less by automating the most time-consuming and repetitive email tasks.

Whether it's spot quoting, load building, or answering track-and-trace requests,?Levity?connects to your inbox, TMS and other tools like rating engines, extracting the right information no matter the language or format. It performs tasks on your behalf automatically in the background so you can save time and focus on building shipper relationships instead of data entry. Learn more on?Levity.ai?today.

?? AROUND THE FREIGHT WEB

?? Highway Partners with WireBee. Highway is now integrated with WireBee’s AI-powered call-handling platform. This integration enables WireBee users to automatically route, block, or prioritize calls from carriers based on pre-configured standards established through Highway.

?? Big GenLogs Announcement. Effective immediately, GenLogs will assist in investigating all cases of stolen or rogue equipment within the industry—completely free of charge. As an added benefit, this service is available to everyone, whether or not you are a current customer. This offering applies to 3PLs, shippers, and carriers alike.

?? Starship Declares Bankruptcy. Starship Logistics in California has filed for Chapter 11. The loss of its largest “anchor” customer is the key reason, along with mounting legal matters the company is currently facing.

?? Solvento Secures Funding. Startup Solvento raises $12.5 million to expand upon its trucking operations and financial processes for cross-border shipping in Latin America.

?? Owner Sentenced in PPP Fraud. Herman Shaw, owner of Freight Masters, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for fraudulently securing $782,000 in PPP loans. He is also ordered to pay in restitution.

?? Truck Tips Over During Argument. A distracted truck driver flipped his truck while arguing with their boss over the phone. The cause of the accident was due to taking a left turn way too fast.

?? $1M Tequila Heist. A daring double truck theft in Texas results in the loss of $1 million worth of premium tequila. The load was believed to have been “illegally double brokered” which could have aided the thieves in their endeavor.

?? THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER

• Podcast: ShipperCRM announced Will Jenkins' investment and partnership. In this interview, we detail why Jenkins sees ShipperCRM (a FreightCaviar product) as the next big thing.
• Conferences: F3 Future of Freight Festival, November 19-21 in Chattanooga. In February, join us at Manifest Vegas 2025. Register with our link and save $200 before prices go up on Friday, November 22!
• Freight Jobs: Find the latest freight job listings here.
• Find Shippers Fast: Looking for customers? Check out ShipperCRM, the world's largest shipper database, and apply for access here.

FREIGHT MEME OF THE DAY