A significant number of independent contractors who deliver and collect mail for the U.S. Postal Service lack security clearances, engage in unsafe driving practices or don’t possess required English skills, threatening mail integrity, public safety, finances and the brand’s reputation, according to an audit by the organization’s inspector general.
The Postal Service contracts with individuals or companies, who supply their own vehicles, to provide mail service for homes and businesses, primarily in rural and underserved areas. In fiscal year 2025, the Postal Service had more than 8,273 active delivery service contracts, which cost about $593 million. The outsourcing program was established as a cost-effective way to extend the Postal Service’s reach without sunk costs for vehicles and personnel.
Why It Matters: The Office of Inspector General said in a report this week that local and headquarters management of the contractor program needs to be improved, noting that inconsistent security screening and badging created risks for unauthorized access to Postal Service facilities, while poor processes for motor vehicle accident reporting and insufficient evaluation of English proficiency compromised safety and mail security. Sloppy management also resulted in unnecessary spending because some local administrators made extra trip payments totaling $1.9 million using the incorrect rate, primarily due to inadequate training and inconsistent guidance.
Recent oversight failures have led to significant mail security breaches involving contract mail carriers. In 2024, for example, a vendor who had not completed a mandatory background check, discarded deliverable mail in a dumpster. And multiple outsourced carriers took mail to their residences to sift through and destroy rather than completing their assigned routes
Security breakdowns
The Inspector General found widespread gaps in security during site visits. Only 35% of 69 outside mail carriers interviewed possessed a valid badge, which indicates they had passed a background check. In 14 cases, badges had expired as far back as 2021. Thirty-one persons did not possess a badge. More than 60% of the sample size had not been issued an electronic barcode, suggesting they had not passed or completed a background check.
Post office administrators didn’t ensure supplier compliance with the badge requirements because a large majority of them didn’t understand or follow the required security screening process, according to the report. One administrator told investigators he granted exceptions to several contract mail carriers to work without approved clearances because they had not been in the United States long enough to pass their security clearance.
Additionally, there is no system or controls in place to notify local officials when clearances and badges are approaching expiration, or had expired. Missing or expired badges hinder management’s ability to verify if someone is authorized to access Postal Service operational areas or permitted to deliver mail, the inspector general said.
Irregular badge use across multiple offices also undermined the accuracy of route-level performance checks. Data showed nearly 3,800 instances where a single contractor’s badge was used to scan mail on two or more delivery routes on the same day, suggesting that badges were shared. Owner-operators are supposed to use their own badge to scan only the mail assigned to their specific route.
Badge sharing violations even extended to Postal Service employees who logged into scanners used by vendors, resulting in 1.5 million pieces of mail scanned using unauthorized credentials. Worse, more 416,000 of those scans were completed using badges not tied to the local facility or even the region, indicating broader control deficiencies, the report said.
In comparison to the total volume — the USPS processes and delivers 361 million pieces per day — the affected mail is small.
Auditors called on the USPS to make sure local administrators verify all independent drivers have active security clearances and valid badges and terminate access to Postal Service facilities for contract mail carriers who were denied a security clearance. And the head of delivery operations should establish an automated process to notify post office managers when a supplier’s badge is approaching expiration and prompt administrative officials to either submit a renewal package for badge continuation or verify the badge is collected and returned after expiration.
Insufficient English-language proficiency
Language barriers also pose safety risks. Investigators found that some suppliers couldn’t speak English well enough to routinely respond to inquiries from Postal Service personnel and customers despite contract requirements. At two of 10 sites, some mail carriers could not answer simple questions such as: Do you have a current badge? What type of vehicle do you have?
“Beyond general miscommunication, limited English proficiency can impede a carrier’s ability to interpret traffic signs, navigate addresses, process official paperwork, handle emergencies, and effectively communicate with law enforcement or customers. When the Postal Service does not enforce adequate safety and security measures, the risk of vehicle accidents, employee injuries, and lost, damaged, or stolen mail increases significantly,” the inspector general stated.
The ability of drivers in the trucking industry to speak and understand English has become a top safety priority of the Trump administration. The Department of Transportation says more than 26,000 commercial drivers have already been placed out of service for failing English-language proficiency since the administration reinstated strict enforcement. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is now proposing to codify guidelines requiring that truck drivers who cannot sufficiently read or speak English, or understand highway traffic signs and signals, be forced to stop operating until they can demonstrate proficiency.
U.S. lawmakers have also debated whether drivers participating in rideshare applications that receive federal government contracts should be required to be proficient in English.
Upper management should direct post office administrators to assess contract carriers’ ability to understand and speak English during the preliminary screening process, the audit recommended. Active carriers suspected of lacking required English proficiency should be reevaluated and any individuals who fail to meet the standard should have their contract terminated.
In response, the USPS said it will send a memorandum to all local administrators by July 31, 2027,reiterating the standard for basic English competency as described in the contract.
Driver deficiencies
Investigators said they also discovered safety issues associated with the driving practices of some owner-operators.
Site visits uncovered vehicles with modifications, such as a brake and gas pedal installed on the front passenger side of the vehicle and a contract carrier unsafely delivering the mail while seated on the center console. The Postal Service doesn’t require mail carriers to sit directly behind the steering wheel or use a seat belt while delivering mail on rural routes, but those driving practices “could potentially endanger Postal Service personnel, contract mail carriers, and the public, while also exposing the Postal Service to reputational risk,” the report said.
Compounding that concern is the lack of tracking for motor vehicle accidents involving contract mail carriers. In 2024, the Postal Service initiated measures to monitor contractor accidents and fatality data, but those procedures only apply to larger trucking companies. In May, management issued a memo to all last-mile contractors outlining mandatory accident reporting requirements.
The USPS disagreed that vehicle modifications are unsafe. Management stated there is no data to substantiate the implication that vehicle modifications mentioned have any bearing on accident rates or employee safety. Additionally, management stated that Postal Service policy allows for right-hand conversion and provides guidance on the use of seat belts.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper articles by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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One of two fugitives charged after seven migrants died inside a freight container has surrendered, federal prosecutors announced. Karina Garcia, 37, appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Watters in Del Rio, Texas. Garcia surrendered Sunday at a Del Rio port of entry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She faces two federal counts that could bring a life sentence upon conviction.
Prosecutors contend Garcia played a key role in an operation spanning about three years. The group smuggled people from Mexico using cargo trains, the Aug. 19 release states. Smugglers allegedly charged each traveler, or their relatives, between $1,500 and $10,000. A federal grand jury indicted Garcia in July, according to the original announcement.
Seven people died inside freight container
Seven migrants from Mexico and Honduras died in a Conex shipping container during May, prosecutors contend. The indictment states smugglers moved them near Union Pacific tracks in Del Rio. The group allegedly cut a lock, loaded the people inside, and closed the door. That unit sat atop another container without ventilation or cooling, authorities reported.
Outside temperatures ranged from 88 to 92 degrees that afternoon, according to investigators. Union Pacific’s train then traveled east toward San Antonio along U.S. Highway 90. Smugglers reportedly opened the unit there, discovered passengers in peril, then fled. The train later went south to Laredo, where a yard worker found six bodies on May 10.
Authorities later discovered the seventh victim near tracks in San Antonio, the Justice Department reported. Four Mexican nationals and three Honduran nationals died, including a 14-year-old child. Investigators identified a message from at least one victim pleading for help. Prosecutors charged all 11 defendants with counts involving transportation resulting in death.
One defendant remains at large
Authorities arrested eight defendants during a multi-day operation across central and south Texas last month. Agents took Mayra Alejandra Huerta into federal custody in Del Rio on May 12. Seferino Huerta-Casillas remains the only indicted defendant still at large. Border Patrol intelligence, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Marshals led the search for Garcia.
The Justice Department did not announce another court date or describe Garcia’s precise alleged role in the operation. The release also did not identify every person who paid smugglers or traveled inside trains. Garcia is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Why It Matters
This case shows that rail and terminal security is not only about protecting cargo. Unauthorized access to a container can create serious safety, legal and human consequences. Broken seals, bolt cutters and unexplained equipment access should trigger immediate escalation before a train moves.
Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phil Brink.
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The post Texas woman surrenders in Union Pacific rail-container smuggling case that left 7 migrants dead appeared first on FreightWaves.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has granted a federal permit authorizing construction of the Louisiana International Terminal, a major Port of New Orleans development intended to expand the Lower Mississippi River gateway’s capacity for larger ships and growing cargo volumes.
Port NOLA announced the permit approval this week, calling it a key milestone for the proposed $1.8-billion greenfield terminal expected to have capacity of 2 million container units at full build-out. The project would be developed in partnership with Terminal Investment Limited, the terminal-operating arm of Geneva’s Mediterranean Shipping Co., and terminal operator Ports America, which are contributing more than $800 million toward development. The terminal has received $300 million in federal grants.
The Louisiana International Terminal is designed as a deepwater container facility with multimodal connections to interstate highways and the nation’s Class I rail network. Port NOLA said the project would provide market access across more than 30 states and strengthen Louisiana’s role in U.S. import and export supply chains.
Plans call for two berths accommodating two 16,000-container vessels, with water depth of 55 feet – among the deepest of U.S. ports. The port is targeting an opening in 2028 with initial annual capacity of 180,000-280,000 TEUs, with completion over a 25-year period.
The terminal is also intended to address a longstanding constraint on container operations upriver from the Gulf of Mexico. Port NOLA said ultra-large container vessels with capacities above 16,000 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) cannot pass beneath the Crescent City Connection bridge, limiting the ability of those ships to call at existing New Orleans terminals.
By locating farther downriver, the LIT would enable direct calls by larger vessels while preserving a Mississippi River location near Gulf shipping lanes. Port NOLA characterized the project as the only new greenfield container port currently being developed in the United States.
MSC is building an all-new container berth at the Port of Baltimore on the site of a former steel mill.
The project is expected to support Port NOLA’s strategy of retaining and attracting cargo that might otherwise move through competing U.S. gateways, while expanding the port’s ability to handle containerized imports and exports.
Gulf Coast traffic was roughly 5 million TEUs among the principal mainland gateways Houston, Mobile, New Orleans and Tampa in 2025. Houston reported 2025 throughput of 3.97 million TEUs.
The port has access to all six North American Class I railroads through the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad.
Port NOLA cited an economic-impact analysis finding that its existing cargo activities support more than $101 billion in nationwide economic value and more than 342,000 U.S. jobs, including more than 122,000 jobs in Louisiana.
Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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The post Green light for new U.S. port that will handle 2 million containers a year appeared first on FreightWaves.
For years, freight technology had been a solution looking for the industry to feel enough pain to adopt it. In 2021, the pain arrived.
The pandemic-era supply chain crisis did in eighteen months what a decade of sales pitches could not. It took every abstract argument for digital freight tools, real-time visibility, capacity matching, automation, and turned each one into an operational emergency that shippers, brokers, and carriers had to solve immediately. Container ships stacked up outside ports. Capacity vanished and then whipsawed. Rates detached from anything resembling normal. And the companies that had spent the founding years building the plumbing suddenly found the entire industry pounding on their door.
This is the chapter where freight tech stopped being a promising category and became essential infrastructure.
The inflection point
What changed in 2021 was not the technology. Much of it already existed, refined during the quieter founding years. What changed was demand, and demand changed all at once.
A shipper who had spent years treating real-time visibility as a nice-to-have now could not run the business without it, because “where is my freight” had become the difference between a stocked shelf and an empty one. A broker who had matched capacity by phone now needed to do it at a speed and volume that only software could deliver, because the market moved too fast for the old rhythm. Automation stopped being a cost-cutting luxury and became a survival tool, because there were not enough hands to process the volume manually and there was no time to hire them.
The crisis compressed the industry’s technology adoption curve violently. Tools that might have taken five years to reach mainstream acceptance reached it in one, because the alternative was failing to move freight in a market where moving freight was the only thing that mattered.
The sub-categories that exploded
Three areas in particular went from interesting to indispensable in this window, and the award’s nominee pool reflected the surge.
Digital freight matching, the software-driven pairing of loads and capacity, hit its moment. When capacity is scarce and rates are volatile, the ability to find the right truck fast is worth real money, and the platforms that could do it at scale saw adoption that would have been unthinkable in 2019.
Visibility platforms became the category’s marquee story. The capability that had been nascent in the founding years, actually knowing where freight was in real time, became table stakes. Shippers demanded it, and the companies that delivered it reliably at scale became some of the most valuable names in the space. Real-time visibility went, in the span of this window, from a differentiator to an expectation.
Automation tooling spread across every function. Document processing, appointment scheduling, track-and-trace, exception management, the unglamorous, high-volume tasks that consumed human hours the industry no longer had to spare, all became targets for software. If a task was repetitive and there were not enough people to do it, someone was building a tool to automate it, and the best of those tools made the list.
How the award changed with the market
The FreightTech 100’s own nominee pool tells the story of the acceleration years as clearly as any market report.
The volume climbed sharply. By the 2023 cycle, FreightWaves was receiving more than 1,500 nominations representing over 400 distinct companies, the largest nomination field the program had seen to that point, and FreightWaves described the process that year as the most competitive it had run. That surge was not an accident of marketing. It was the category itself expanding, more companies, more sub-categories, more capital, more legitimate contenders for a hundred spots that had not gotten any more numerous.
The variety climbed with the volume. The founding-class mix of established giants and a handful of venture-backed challengers gave way to a dense, diverse field spanning every function in the freight lifecycle. The stakes climbed too. A place on the FreightTech 100 in the acceleration years meant standing out in the most crowded and consequential moment the category had ever seen, which is exactly what made it worth standing out.
Through all of it, the structure that gave the award its credibility held. The wide field still got narrowed by a FreightWaves panel to the FreightTech 100, and the FreightTech 25 was still chosen from that hundred by a peer group of executives, investors, and academics through the same points-based vote. As the field grew more crowded and the stakes grew higher, that peer validation mattered more, not less, because distinguishing genuine impact from pandemic-era noise was harder than it had ever been, and the industry needed a signal it could trust.
The moment the category became permanent
There is a version of the pandemic freight tech story that treats the surge as a bubble, a temporary spike in demand that would deflate once the supply chain normalized. That version turned out to be wrong in an important way, and the distinction matters for understanding why the award’s field never shrank back.
Some individual companies did not survive the normalization. Valuations that made sense in the scarcity of 2021 did not hold when capacity returned, and the category went through a painful correction. But the underlying shift, the industry’s move from treating technology as optional to treating it as core, did not reverse. A shipper who learned during the crisis that real-time visibility was possible did not go back to accepting blindness once the crisis passed. A broker who automated document processing under duress did not re-hire the manual workflow when volumes calmed. The pandemic did not create temporary demand for freight tech. It permanently reset the baseline expectation of what a competent freight operation looks like.
That is why the acceleration years were an inflection point rather than a spike. They moved freight technology from the margin to the center of the industry and left it there.
The acceleration years proved what the founding class had only promised: that freight technology was not a side story to the freight industry but increasingly the thing determining which companies in it would thrive. The FreightTech 100 was there to mark it, and the companies that earned a place on those lists earned it in the hardest market the category had ever faced.
Nominations for the 2027 FreightTech 100 close August 31. Nominate your company here.
The post When the Supply Chain Broke, Freight Tech Answered: The 2021 to 2023 Acceleration Years appeared first on FreightWaves.
Container spot rates are splitting in two directions, but that’s most of the good news in ocean shipping.
Trans-Pacific lanes are climbing as Asia-U.S. West Coast prices jumped 9% to $7,422 per forty foot equivalent unit (FEU) in the most recent data from SONAR contributor Freightos (NASDAQ: CRGO), while Asia-U.S. East Coast prices rose 3% to a new high of $9,422 per FEU. Asia-Europe lanes, by contrast, are cooling off from their mid-July peaks as an early peak season unwinds ahead of schedule.
Behind the rate moves is a geopolitical backdrop that remains unresolved, and a carrier calculus that is shifting in spite of it.
The U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding signed 60 days ago to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and kick off negotiations to end the war expired Tuesday. With Iranian attacks continuing and the American blockade still in place, a reopening looks no closer than before the agreement was signed.
Even as published sources cite higher insurance premiums to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait guarding the southern end of the Red Sea, the higher fuel costs from the Hormuz closure are making diversions away from the Suez Canal route and around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope far more expensive than they were from late 2023 through the start of the war.
Even worse, the Houthis recently resumed attacks on merchant vessels as their simmering dispute with Saudi Arabia boiled over.
Despite the war and renewed Red Sea attacks, Maersk (OTC: AMKBY) and its Gemini partner Hapag-Lloyd, along with CMA CGM and Cosco, are determined to resume Red Sea transits. Where earlier threats triggered u-turns, changed market conditions including stubborn port congestion may be behind the new resolve. Maersk in its recent earnings call singled out congestion as a major new component of container dynamics, with growing demand deepening the headhaul/backhaul imbalance. A German labor strike is adding to the delays.
Asia-North Europe prices slipped to about $4,700 per FEU this week, down 20% and more than $1,000 per FEU since the July high, Freightos said, but still 60% higher than May. Asia-Mediterranean fell to about $5,000 per FEU, a 30% slide from its peak.
Bunker prices have climbed 15% since the ceasefire collapse, with some carriers raising emergency fuel surcharges by about $90 per FEU in mid-September. The Panama Canal Authority is also cutting daily transits and lowering Neopanamax draft to 48 feet this month and 47.5 feet in early September, with carriers announcing canal transit surcharges of $200-$1,000 per FEU starting mid-September.
Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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FR8 Solutions and 22 independent drivers have reached a settlement in a federal civil RICO lawsuit. The drivers accused the company of altering rate sheets and hiding revenue from hauled loads. On July 28, a Florida court dismissed the case with prejudice. The court filings do not disclose the settlement’s financial terms.
Plaintiffs and defendants filed a joint notice of settlement on July 27. They told the court they had resolved the matter and were finalizing their agreement. Judge Wendy Berger closed the case the following day. Her order allows either side 60 days to request a final order or reopen proceedings.
Drivers disputed the rates behind their pay
FR8 and the drivers worked under agreements that promised drivers 88% of each load’s linehaul rate. The complaint claims company records showed smaller rates than FR8 actually received. Drivers claimed FR8 supplied settlement statements and dispatch documents that understated the company’s revenue. The lawsuit says those documents reduced their percentage-based payment on individual loads.
One disputed shipment ran from Wood Dale, Illinois, to Gaffney, South Carolina. FR8’s system showed a $2,400 rate, while the complaint claims FR8 received $2,500. Another shipment ran from Del Rio, Texas, to Kansas City, Kansas. For that move, the drivers claim FR8 showed $8,000 but received $15,000.
The $7,000 difference represented $6,160 under the drivers claimed 88% formula. Drivers also identified Ascent On-Demand, Active On-Demand and Landstar in disputed transactions. They claimed another company operator revealed different rates during June 2023. FR8 then ended their contracts and locked them out of its mobile application, the lawsuit states.
Court rejected the defendants’ contract reading
FR8 and the individual defendants asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit. They argued the agreements set compensation through separately negotiated rates for each truckload. Judge William Young rejected that reading at the dismissal stage. He wrote that it could produce an absurd result.
Young allowed claims against FR8 and Kajdic to continue in a February order. The court also retained allegations involving messages that drivers described as threats. Kajdic argued Google Translate distorted messages originally written in Bosnian. Young made no final findings about the drivers’ factual claims.
FMCSA records list FR8 Solutions as an active interstate motor carrier. The Jacksonville, Florida, company reports 65 power units and 78 drivers. FR8 also reports 4.72 million vehicle miles during 2025. Its website markets brokerage, transportation and cross-border services. The site also advertises owner-operators can take home 88% of the agreed rate.
Why It Matters
Percentage-based driver pay requires accurate access to the underlying load rate. A disputed rate gap can become thousands of dollars on one shipment.
Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phil Brink.
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The post FR8 Solutions settles RICO case over alleged $7,000 trucking rate gap appeared first on FreightWaves.
In April, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company’s Prime Air service would be able to deliver a wide range of products by drone to 30 million people in various U.S. communities by the end of the year.
That promise is starting to bear fruit. On Wednesday, the retail and logistics behemoth said autonomous drone delivery in as little as 30 minutes would be available in nearly 500 communities by the end of 2026, up from the current 11 locations.
Amazon Prime Air currently operates in Tolleson, Arizona (Phoenix metro area); Ruskin, Florida (Tampa metro); Kansas City, Kansas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Detroit metro; Papillon, Nebraska (Omaha metro); Houston metro; Dallas metro; San Antonio and Waco, Texas.
Prime Air plans to launch soon in the Chicago; Syracuse, New York; Cleveland; Atlanta; and Boise, Idaho metro areas, with more communities to come later this year, the company said.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) previously said it would begin serving customers in the southside of Chicago from two fulfillment centers by early summer.
“Customers already turn to Amazon for fast Same- and Next-Day Delivery, and Prime Air provides them an even speedier option when they need it,” said David Carbon, vice president of Amazon Prime Air.
Experts say ultra-fast delivery is becoming a standard necessity for retailers. On Tuesday, Home Depot announced the nationwide rollout of express delivery for online orders fulfilled from local stories — the latest example of retailers trying to offer faster delivery options on the premise that it can convert browsers into buyers. Walmart is also rapidly growing same-day and three-hour delivery service.
(Why It Matters: Amazon is the largest U.S. retailer and a trend setter, especially for technology adoption. Using drones will keep vehicles off the road, reducing traffic and emissions.)
Globally, Amazon delivered more than 40% of items same day or overnight in the first half of the year versus the same period last year. And it expanded ultra-fast delivery service Amazon Now, which promises delivery in 30 minutes or less on thousands of everyday essentials, to 80 cities and towns across the United States and several major cities in Egypt. Amazon Now is available in nine countries and over 250 cities and towns, including Atlanta, Houston and Denver. Management says faster delivery speeds combined with a broad selection of products on the marketplace are driving consumers to make more purchases on the Amazon site.
For Amazon Now, Prime members pay a discounted delivery fee of $3.99 per order, while customers without a Prime membership pay $13.99.
Amazon and Home Depot, notably, are charging extra for ultra-fast delivery.
What drone delivery looks like
The MK30 drone used by Amazon has a payload of five pounds. More than 60% of the most frequently purchased items are eligible for drone delivery. Most orders arrive about 60 minutes after checkout, Amazon said.
Drone delivery is free for Prime members on orders of $50 or more. The delivery fee is $2.99 on orders less than $50. Customers without a Prime membership pay a $4.99 delivery fee.
Customers see drone delivery as an option in their checkout experience if it is available in their area. A satellite map of their property shows options for “delivery zones,” pre-identified using Amazon’s digital mapping and AI systems. The customer can then select one of the drop-off zones and will be reminded to keep the area clear, according to Amazon.
The drones cruise at about 73 mph and 200 to 300 feet high. Six vertical propellers provide lift, with staggered tandem wings supporting cruise flight. They can fly in light precipitation and winds faster than 20 mph. Parcels are stored in a shoebox-sized fuselage and dropped to the ground from about 13 feet up.
When a drone arrives at the selected delivery point with an order, it descends while cameras check to make sure there are no people, pets or vehicles in the way. The drone then drops the parcel from a safe height. Prime Air boxes have customized cushioning technology at the bottom to protect the item during delivery.
Certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, Prime Air uses a number of systems to ensure operational safety. A collision-avoidance system monitors the airspace and environment around the drone, similar to how a pilot would scan the flight area. Prime Air drones use onboard cameras and sensors for navigation, obstacle detection and delivery. There is no live camera feed monitored by a person. The onboard camera data is processed by the drone itself for safe navigation.
Amazon recently publicized its Prime Air drone service in Darlington, England — the first location outside the United States to offer unmanned air delivery.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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