Final-mile warehouse operator Link Logistics announced the acquisition of four terminals in the metropolitan areas of Dallas, Fort Worth, Texas, and Atlanta. The purchase of the Gateway Infill Growth Portfolio from Oxford Properties Group adds 697,276 square feet in two markets where it already has a large presence.
“Our acquisition strategy is focused on expanding Link Logistics’ portfolio in infill-focused locations that are supported by strong long-term demand drivers,” said Andrew Goodman, senior managing director of investments at Link Logistics. “This portfolio reflects our continued conviction in Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta and adds well-located distribution assets in markets where we have achieved meaningful scale.”
Locations in Irving and Grand Prairie, Texas, represent nearly 400,000 square feet of the acquired portfolio. A location in Suwanee, Georgia, has 249,000 square feet of space. The deal also included a smaller site in Farmers Branch, Texas.
Link Logistics now operates over 34 million square feet of space in the Dallas-Fort Worth market and more than 38 million square feet in the Atlanta area. In total, the company operates roughly 3,000 properties with 500 million square feet across North America.
“Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta continue to see strong logistics demand as population growth and business investment support durable industrial fundamentals,” said Laura Hyde, managing director of Investments at Link Logistics.
JLL (NYSE: JLL) represented Oxford in the transaction.
Why it matters? Link Logistics’ acquisition of properties in Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta enhances final-mile efficiency and expands access to scaled distribution assets for supply chain operators. This investment reflects durable industrial real estate fundamentals driven by continuous population and business growth in key regional logistics corridors.
More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:
- Truckload carriers: Capacity exodus growing, not slowing
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- FedEx Freight expands CTO’s role to cover commercial strategy following CCO ouster
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A truck driver has been arrested after police said he intentionally drove a tractor-trailer through the front of an Aldi grocery store in East Nashville, causing more than $250,000 in damage.
The crash occurred shortly after midnight Thursday at the Aldi, where 34-year-old Kristofer Scruggs was scheduled to make a delivery, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department told WSMV and other media outlets.
The grocery store was closed and no employees or customers were inside at the time. Scruggs was not injured.
Scruggs was arrested and charged with felony vandalism involving more than $250,000 in damage. His bond was set at $35,000, according to local reports citing his arrest affidavit.
Police said Scruggs acknowledged deliberately driving the tractor-trailer into the store. According to MNPD, Scruggs told investigators that the thought had come to him to crash into the Aldi where he was supposed to make the delivery.
Surveillance video reportedly shows the tractor-trailer entering the parking lot and remaining there for several minutes before returning to Gallatin Avenue. The truck then accelerated back into the parking lot and struck the front of the grocery store.
The impact sent the tractor through the storefront and into the store, while the trailer became lodged in the entrance. The truck was carrying groceries intended for delivery to Aldi.
Police said Scruggs showed no signs of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Officers also reported that Scruggs denied having suicidal or homicidal thoughts.
Authorities estimated damage involving the store and truck at more than $250,000. No injuries were reported.
Aldi said it was assessing the damage and cooperating with investigators. The investigation remains ongoing.
Why it matters: The unusual incident turned a routine grocery delivery into a major property-loss event, severely damaging a retail location while highlighting the potential consequences when an 80,000-pound-class commercial vehicle is deliberately misused.
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Mexican customs authorities have lifted a ban on empty commercial trucks entering Mexico through the border crossing in Eagle Pass, Texas.
The ban ended a five-day disruption that stranded hundreds of tractors across the border in the Mexican city of Piedras Negras that forced carriers to scramble to reposition equipment.
Mexico’s National Customs Agency, known as ANAM, reinstated empty-truck crossings from Eagle Pass into Piedras Negras on Monday after imposing the restriction Sept. 9.
The restriction allowed trucks carrying freight to enter Mexico but prohibited empty trailers and tractors operating without trailers from crossing southbound through Piedras Negras. The local customs administration initially said the measure would remain in effect until further notice, according to Periodico La Voz.
By Monday, nearly 700 tractors were reportedly stranded in Eagle Pass without a way to return to Mexico, according to Elías Tarín, president of the Consejo Binacional de Transportistas, according to news outlet Zocalo.
Tarín said the types of permits held by affected Mexican carriers prevented them from simply sending the tractors to another crossing, such as Del Rio, Texas, to return to Mexico, The restriction also caused commercial traffic at the Eagle Pass international bridges to plummet.
Patricia Mancha, international bridge director for the city of Eagle Pass, told the City Council on Monday that commercial traffic had dropped from approximately 1,000 trucks per day to between 300 and 400.
According to WorldCity data, Eagle Pass ranked as the nation’s 10th-largest border crossing in 2025 by trade volume in March and handled $3.77 billion in total trade.
The top commodities imported into Eagle Pass, Texas from Mexico via commercial trucks include commercial delivery trucks, passenger cars, beer, motor vehicle parts, and household appliances like refrigerators, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
On Sept. 8, the day before the restriction took effect, 996 tractor-trailers crossed the city’s international bridges, according to Mancha.
The Piedras Negras-Eagle Pass gateway normally handles about 1,000 commercial vehicles daily, including loaded trucks, empty trailers and tractors operating without trailers.
The disruption also created costs for manufacturers and transportation companies that rely on the crossing.
Alejandro Ruiz Rueda, president of the regional export manufacturing association INDEX, estimated the restriction could have caused logistics losses of as much as $1 million per day.
ANAM has not publicly provided a detailed explanation for why Piedras Negras was targeted by the restriction.
The decision drew concern from transportation companies and customs brokers because empty equipment is a critical part of the cross-border freight cycle. After Mexican trucks deliver international freight into the U.S. border region, tractors and trailers often must return empty to Mexico to pick up another shipment.
CANACAR, Mexico’s national trucking association, warned during the restriction that carriers were facing additional costs, equipment accumulation and uncertainty over their operations.
Industry pressure precedes reversal
The restriction was lifted after transportation industry representatives met Monday with Mexican and U.S. officials to discuss its effects.
Tarín said representatives met with ANAM, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Mexican Consulate to explain the risks and consequences of continuing the restriction. Later that day, Piedras Negras customs officials issued a notice saying empty commercial vehicles could once again cross from the United States into Mexico.
The reversal also headed off a possible demonstration by truckers.
Transporters had discussed blocking access to the Piedras Negras commercial crossing Monday to protest the restriction. The planned demonstration was called off after customs authorities restored empty-truck movements.
ANAM’s reopening notice restored normal movements of empty cargo vehicles from Eagle Pass into Piedras Negras on Monday.
Separately, Mexico’s Tax Administration Service and ANAM said this week that an electrical problem affecting government servers caused intermittent outages in the country’s DODA customs-clearance document system Sept. on Monday and Tuesday. Officials said the system was fully restored by 11 a.m. Tuesday and was operating normally as of Wednesday.
That computer outage was separate from the Piedras Negras empty-truck restriction.
Why it matters: Cross-border trucking depends on the rapid repositioning of tractors and trailers, and the restrictions on empty equipment disrupted subsequent loads while loaded trucks remained free to cross the bridge connecting Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras.
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The truckload capacity correction is still in the “early innings,” carrier executives said at an investor conference this week.
A regulatory crackdown launched a year ago compounded the impact of prolonged economic weakness, which had already forced numerous small and midsize fleets out of the industry. The recent surge in diesel fuel prices has further plagued small operators, many of whom don’t have recovery mechanisms in place. Also, the Supreme Court’s broker liability ruling adds another gating factor on capacity, requiring both brokers and shippers to more carefully select their transportation partners.
“There was no standard for entry-level driver training,” Jim Filter, Schneider National (NYSE: SNDR) President and CEO, said at Morgan Stanley’s Annual Laguna Conference.
He pointed to the thousands of drivers who joined the industry during the previous upcycle, noting that many acquired their authority unlawfully and lacked proper training. The entry point for this group has been narrowed, with the forced closure of sham driver schools. The capacity that is entering the market is being scrutinized more heavily than in the past as shippers and brokers are less likely to tender loads to new motor carriers without safety ratings. Further, strict oversight of ELD providers is keeping drivers from skirting hours-of-service rules.
These actions are continuing to remove the drivers that “were not playing by the same rules as everybody else,” Filter said.
Executives from Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) echoed the impacts the changes are having on carrier selection. They believe that the industry’s capacity crunch may only be in the second or third inning, noting the screws have further tightened following the broker liability (Montgomery) ruling.
Werner’s management team cited a recent Texas Supreme Court ruling involving Home Depot (NYSE: HD). In that case, the retailer was dismissed as a defendant in a liability suit over a fatal accident that occurred while Werner was transporting its cargo. Ultimately, the court determined that Home Depot met its legal obligation simply by hiring a reputable carrier.
Filter said Schneider’s brokerage unit has culled its approved carrier list to just 14,000 from 60,000 at the peak. The company initially started removing operators a couple of years ago in efforts to thwart cargo theft.
“I can tell you that there aren’t 100,000 carriers out there that I think any of us would be able to look at and say, 100,000 carriers are safe and should be out there on the road,” Filter said.
While the dust is still settling after the Montgomery decision, he believes a large segment of carriers won’t be able to qualify for liability insurance, or the costs will become prohibitive.
Werner said the capacity shakeup has created an opportunity to convert private fleets into dedicated customers as obstacles to asset ownership have intensified.
Driver availability issues have resurfaced and private fleets don’t have dedicated teams to recruit and train. Many private fleets expanded during the pandemic and are now facing their biggest replacement cycle ever amid a high-cost equipment environment. Also, they have seen insurance costs continue to rise and now have to contemplate self-insurance as a means of managing liability risk.
Capacity, not demand, the bigger hurdle to growth?
Schneider is seeing stable demand with some pockets of strength. Minibid activity has continued as shippers “want to make sure that they are going to be protected in their most important season.” However, Schneider said demand is not the biggest hurdle to growth—it’s capacity.
“Well, with the amount of supply that has exited, it has created enough demand for our services,” Filter said. “We don’t necessarily need more demand.”
Werner said demand among its mostly discount-retail and food-and-beverage customer base has remained steady from the second quarter to the third quarter. It is seeing elevated minibid activity in its one-way segment and interest for its dedicated services has spiked.
Werner’s outlook calls for a 10% to 13% year-over-year increase in one-way rate per total mile during the third quarter. The metric was 10% higher y/y in the second quarter, with fleet utilization improving 16% y/y.
The dedicated fleet (80% of its TL network) is forecast to capture a 3% to 5% y/y increase in revenue per truck per week for full-year 2026. The metric was up 5% y/y in the second quarter, and 8% higher, excluding FirstFleet, which it acquired in January. The dedicated segment has been achieving low- to mid-single-digit contractual rate increases in recent months.
Werner cited the potential for “strong” contract rate increases in the upcoming 2027 bid season, which gets underway in the next 30 to 60 days. It will enter contract negotiations during peak season when supply tightness will be amplified.
Why it matters? Carrier options are dwindling as strict regulatory enforcement and soaring fuel prices constrict capacity. Consequently, shippers are navigating rising transportation costs, increased reliance on dedicated fleets and heightened competition to secure capacity for peak season.
More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden:
- J.B. Hunt flags Q3 cost pressures, shares sink 12%
- FedEx Freight expands CTO’s role to cover commercial strategy following CCO ouster
- Cass: TL rates jump 11% in August, freight shipments turn positive
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