66% of logistics pros say talent quality — not cost — is the #1 factor in choosing a nearshore partner. Rapido's integration model explains why that's the right question to be asking.
Plus, a carrier pleading guilty to mob money laundering while still FMCSA-active, Iran's first post-ceasefire attack and what it means for diesel surcharges, FedEx Freight's first earnings as a standalone company, and more in today's newsletter.
Freight brokers are measuring their inboxes wrong. Most inbound email is monitoring, not work. And the longtail categories that look like noise are costing real margin. Here's how to audit what's actually in your inbox, and why it matters in 2026's margin-first market.
A two-year investigation uncovers a drug smuggling operation using fire extinguishers to transport narcotics across the border.
A drug trafficking ring that allegedly packed fentanyl and other drugs into fire extinguishers concealed in scrap metal loads has been put to a stop. This elaborate scheme was brought to light after a two-year investigation dubbed Operation "Smoke Jumpers."
How it Worked:
Carin Trucking, a San Diego-based trucking company, has been spotlighted at the center of this alleged cross-border drug smuggling operation.
The ring consisted of six semi-trucks that regularly crossed the border, making deliveries to the Los Angeles area.
The affidavit supporting the search warrant details a meticulous process. Truck drivers would cross the US-Mexico border, their vehicles filled with what appeared to be scrap metal. Concealed within this cargo were the fire extinguishers filled with drugs. Once safely across, these trucks would journey to Los Angeles. Here, couriers awaited to collect the disguised extinguishers, now ready for further distribution within the vast urban area.
Big Haul: Thirteen seizures totaling 680,992 fentanyl pills, 3 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 17 kilograms of heroin, and 10,418 pills containing methamphetamine.
Arrests: 9 have been caught, one was already in custody, and seven are on the run in Mexico.
"The indictment alleges two narcotics conspiracies and 12 drug possession offenses, each of which carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a potential life sentence. Count 15, which alleges a money laundering conspiracy, carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison."
Source: United States Attorney's Office Central District of California
Bad carriers are gaming the weigh station system. Plus, C.H. Robinson's own engineer goes scorched earth on Reddit, the Ghost Truck Act gets roasted, and more in today's newsletter.
Plus, STG's path out of bankruptcy, Wyoming's "Truck Around and Find Out" operation, what "phantom capacity" means for Mexico lanes, and more in today's newsletter.
Plus, a cabless autonomous truck just raised $24M, non-domiciled CDLs rules need clarifying, CSX posts a 26% profit jump while watching the UP-NS merger closely, and more in today's newsletter.
Plus, USPS gives non-domiciled CDL carriers an 11-day deadline, the spot-to-contract spread starts squeezing 3PLs, Knight-Swift trims its Q1 guide but stays bullish, and more.
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