EPISODE · Jun 12, 2026 · 8 MIN
The Load Letter — June 12, 2026
from The Load Letter · host Andrew
Volvo just put a date on driverless trucks — safety drivers off U.S. highways in Q1 2027, targeting 300 trucks by year-end — and the lanes they're going after first are the dense, predictable dry van corridors where your margin is already thinnest. Today's briefing covers what autonomous capacity flooding commodity lanes means for where your value lives in the next two years, PepsiCo expanding its Gatik deal on "hard to staff" lanes and why that exact pain point is your pitch to shippers who can't afford their own autonomous solution, and Amazon reportedly eyeing Forward Air to fill the expedited gap in its new national LTL network — which would put the most aggressive logistics buyer in the country directly in your premium freight lanes. We also get into Florida reefer unwinding fast while Yakima firms up and cherry season pulls capacity west, a freight fraud conversation every broker should take personally — verification isn't friction, it's the step that protects the shipper relationship you spent years building — and flatbed holding at $2.89 while driver retention costs keep specialized capacity tight. The freight that's easy to automate is where your margin is most at risk. Move toward complexity.
What this episode covers
Volvo just put a date on driverless trucks — safety drivers off U.S. highways in Q1 2027, targeting 300 trucks by year-end — and the lanes they're going after first are the dense, predictable dry van corridors where your margin is already thinnest. Today's briefing covers what autonomous capacity flooding commodity lanes means for where your value lives in the next two years, PepsiCo expanding its Gatik deal on "hard to staff" lanes and why that exact pain point is your pitch to shippers who can't afford their own autonomous solution, and Amazon reportedly eyeing Forward Air to fill the expedited gap in its new national LTL network — which would put the most aggressive logistics buyer in the country directly in your premium freight lanes. We also get into Florida reefer unwinding fast while Yakima firms up and cherry season pulls capacity west, a freight fraud conversation every broker should take personally — verification isn't friction, it's the step that protects the shipper relationship you spent years building — and flatbed holding at $2.89 while driver retention costs keep specialized capacity tight. The freight that's easy to automate is where your margin is most at risk. Move toward complexity.
NOW PLAYING
The Load Letter — June 12, 2026
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Mar 19, 2026 ·34m
Feb 18, 2026 ·11m
Feb 11, 2026 ·45m