With rising cargo theft, brokers need a simple way to safeguard freight

The US trucking market is worth an estimated $230 billion, and moves over 70% of the nation’s freight, but cargo theft by fraud is a growing industry problem. Last year alone, there were more than $130 million worth of stolen goods. 

There are now elaborate freight laundering rings that impersonate legitimate trucking companies or drivers to trick their victims in a variety of ways. Double brokering, identity theft, and stolen loads are all tactics that increasingly sophisticated criminal...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/with-rising-cargo-theft-brokers-need-a-simple-way-to-safeguard-freight

Missouri carrier, affiliate blame dispute with engine maker for bankruptcy 

Strafford, Missouri-based truckload carrier RBX Inc. and its equipment leasing affiliate, Humper Equipment, have filed suit against Paccar Financial Inc. of Bellevue, Washington. They are asking a Missouri bankruptcy judge to force Paccar to turn over 28 Kenworth and Peterbilt tractors it repossessed in late November amid an ongoing engine performance dispute with the global commercial truck financing company and its subsidiary, Paccar Engine Co. 

Humper Equipment filed its bare-bones emergency...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/missouri-carrier-affiliate-blame-dispute-with-engine-maker-for-bankruptcy

Firecrown acquires EnterTRAINment Junction, plans new interactive transportation museum in Chattanooga, TN

In a move that promises to reshape the landscape of transportation-themed attractions, Firecrown, a leading publisher of transportation and enthusiast titles, has acquired the railroad assets from EnterTRAINment Junction. The company plans to relocate the beloved train exhibits to Chattanooga, Tennessee, as part of an ambitious new transportation museum. Firecrown is the parent company of FreightWaves media. 

EnterTRAINment Junction, the popular family attraction in West Chester, Ohio, known for...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/firecrown-acquires-entertrainment-junction-plans-new-interactive-transportation-museum-in-chattanooga-tn

Challenges of a professional CDL driver – Taking the Hire Road

On this week’s episode of Taking the Hire Road, Shaun Lezer, professional CDL driver of over a decade, sat down with host Jeremy Reymer, founder of DriverReach and Project 61, to discuss the health challenges drivers face while delivering the nation’s goods. Lezer shares what motivated him to make some critical decisions to improve his health, and discusses the importance of taking small steps in the right direction.

Lezer, like many drivers, was looking for a reliable income at a young age, and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/challenges-of-a-professional-cdl-driver-taking-the-hire-road

Strategic cargo theft leaves drivers, brokers liable for massive losses

Cargo theft by fraud is a growing freight industry issue and has resulted in a massive increase in cargo loss claims in recent years.

Craig Leinauer, Director of Inland Marine claims at Travelers Insurance, says that strategic theft is an alarming new trend.

While straight theft (the physical taking of the truck and trailer or cargo from where it’s parked) remains the number one method for cargo theft, it’s strategic theft (the use of trickery or deception) that has seen the biggest increases...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/strategic-cargo-theft-leaves-drivers-brokers-liable-for-massive-losses

Focus on relationships is the key to navigating market downturns

As a well-established 3PL in the transportation management and brokerage space, Chicago-based Echo Global Logistics has proved that focusing on customer relationships and strategy is the best way to navigate a freight market downturn.

Zach Jecklin, chief information officer at Echo, has been with the company 17 years and has experienced every part of the market cycle.

“We’re ready for a tailwind,” Jecklin said. “It’s been a long bottom part of the market, for longer than we’ve seen in the history...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/focus-on-relationships-is-the-key-to-navigating-market-downturns

Missouri trucking company with 255 drivers files for bankruptcy

A family-owned Missouri trucking company with 265 trucks and 255 drivers recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Founded in 1983 by Randall Walker, RBX Inc. of Strafford, Missouri, hauls general freight, beverages and paper products, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website. 

The petition, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri, on Friday, lists James A. Keltner as CEO of RBX. 

No reason was given as to why the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/missouri-trucking-company-with-255-drivers-files-for-bankruptcy

Texas trucking company’s equipment going on auction block

An online auction was underway Tuesday to sell some of the assets of intrastate trucking company D.A.F.S. Transport of Monahans, Texas, which operates primarily in the Permian Basin in West Texas.

However, D.A.F.S. is continuing to operate and had not filed for bankruptcy protection as of late Tuesday.

The move comes nine months after a default judgment totaling over $275,000 was issued in April 2024 against D.A.F.S and Alfredo Sarinana Jr., the trucking company’s founder and CEO, in Monroe...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/texas-trucking-companys-equipment-going-on-auction-block

West Virginia trucking company files for bankruptcy

A West Virginia-based trucking company, which hauls coal, logs and wood chips, recently filed for bankruptcy.

Cedar Trucking Co. of Glasgow, West Virginia, filed its Chapter 11 petition Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

In the seven-page bare-bones petition, Cedar Trucking, which seeks to reorganize, lists its assets as between $500,000 and $1 million, and liabilities as between $1 million and $10 million. The trucking company states that it has up...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/west-virginia-trucking-company-files-for-bankruptcy

Manager of New York freight forwarder accused of illegal oil, gas product exports

The manager of a New York-based freight forwarding company is facing criminal charges alleging she violated federal export controls by illegally shipping oil and gas products to Russia.

Natalya Ivanovna Mazulina, of Federal Way, Washington, also known as “Natasha Mazulina,” was indicted on 12 counts of conspiracy to export controlled goods to Russia without a license, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to commit money laundering, exporting controlled goods to Russia without a license,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/manager-of-new-york-freight-forwarder-accused-of-illegal-oil-gas-product-exports