The Fleet Lead
The Fleet Lead podcast features journalists from EndeavorB2B's commercial vehicle brands, including FleetOwner, Fleet Maintenance, Bulk Transporter, and Trailer Body-Builders. It aims to help fleet managers, trucking professionals, and transportation industry leaders navigate the rapidly changing industry, covering topics like new technologies, efficiency, and regulatory shifts.
Episodes
Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of March 19.
- Another House bill mandating English proficiency just passed committee
- Stoughton Trailers successfully completed a 40-mph rear impact guard crash test
- Trailer manufacturer Hyundai Translead is bringing manufacturing to the U.S.
- In the storied Motive-Samsara legal battle, Samsara recently won $30 million
- Diesel prices shot up 21 cents and continue to rise
Autonomous trucking has real-world operations today—and the developers have bold plans for commercialization within the next two years. This week, the Fleet Lead's Jeremy Wolfe is hosting interviews with four of the industry's autonomous developers.
PlusAI is taking a software-first approach to autonomous trucking, supplying its virtual driver technology to several major OEMs, rather than operating its own fleet. Dr. Shawn Kerrigan...
A high-stakes trade dispute could reshape the North American trailer market.
U.S. manufacturers say low-priced imports from China, Mexico, and Canada are harming domestic production. Importers argue the industry’s struggles stem from the prolonged freight downturn, not unfair trade.
The U.S. International Trade Commission has ruled that domestic trailer builders have a case.
Timestamps:
- 1:11 - U.S. trailer makers claim unfai...
Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of March 12:
- California removed 13,000 non-domiciled CDLs.
- Pell Grants might pay for some workforce training
- Daimler producing new camera system for medium-duty, vocational trucks
- Harbinger Motors is launching a medium-duty cabover truck
- Diesel prices shot up by a whopping $0.96
Autonomous trucking has real-world operations today—and the developers have bold plans for commercialization within the next two years. This week, the Fleet Lead's Jeremy Wolfe is hosting interviews with four of the industry's autonomous developers.
Torc Robotics is integrating autonomous software into the Freightliner Cascadia, the most popular Class 8 truck in the U.S. for many years. The developer is also using generative AI to ...
Autonomous trucking has real-world operations today—and the developers have bold plans for commercialization within the next two years. This week, the Fleet Lead's Jeremy Wolfe is hosting interviews with four of the industry's autonomous developers.
Bot Auto operates its own autonomous truck fleet to pursue a transportation-as-a-service model, vying for the business of shippers and brokers. The company is focused on minimizing its ...
Autonomous trucking has real-world operations today—and the developers have bold plans for commercialization within the next two years. This week, the Fleet Lead's Jeremy Wolfe is hosting interviews with four of the industry's autonomous developers.
Kodiak AI is a public autonomous truck developer with a focus on OEM-agnostic upfitting and edge computing. It achieved some of the first major autonomous milestones in recent years und...
Here are the big stories from this week in trucking as of March 5:
- OEMs announced two new vocational trucks
- The Trump administration is changing independent contractor classification
- The Supreme Court is hearing arguments around broker liability
- Torc Robotics is moving autonomous hauls to Michigan
- Bot Auto is working with a broker for Texas hauls
- Diesel prices jumped 9 cents
Jim Mullen is replacing Jim Ward as president of the Truckload Carriers Association in early April. How will Mullen use his deep trucking industry experience—as a former mega-carrier executive, past FMCSA acting administrator, and leader in autonomous trucking and the Clean Freight Coalition—to guide the truckload sector through a massive regulatory shift?
FleetOwner's Josh Fisher sat down with Mullen at TCA's Truckload 2026 to dis...
Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of February 26:
- The Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs
- FMCSA is continuing its driver qualification crackdown
- Daimler revealed its next heavy-duty engine
- Spot rates increased over 2 cents
- Diesel prices jumped 10 cents
As EPA's new NOx standards creep nearer, Daimler Truck North America this month revealed its next generation of complaint heavy-duty engines. The Detroit-branded Gen 6 diesel engines will be available in 13-, 15-, and 16-liter options that meet the looming 35-milligram NOx limit, and will power future Freightliner and Western Star trucks.
In the historic Detroit Manufacturing Plant, FleetOwner's Josh Fisher talks with David Carson,...
The relocation of manufacturing back to the U.S. could be a boon for domestic freight. The pandemic recently spurred business interest in reshoring, but tariff volatility also paralyzed many investment decisions. Rosemary Coates, executive director of the Reshoring Institute, explains the current state of U.S. reshoring.
Timestamps:
- 00:42 - The Reshoring Institute's mission
- 04:00 - Global supply chain vulnerability
- 06:30 - Tar...
Here are the trucking industry's headlines this week, as of February 12:
- EPA finalizes removal of trucks’ greenhouse gas regulations
- FMCSA makes another attempt to tighten non-domiciled CDLs
- TCA's next president will be Jim Mullen
- In fuel, diesel prices rose by 1 cent
Modern work trucks have become very advanced, and OEMs' strategies to manage those trucks even more advanced. Ford Pro's Eric Rice, general manager of U.S. fleet sales, details the industry's latest trends: driver assistance, predictive maintenance, the technician shortage, and more.
Timestamps:
- 02:23 - Total cost of ownership
- 07:35 - Advanced safety tech
- 11:35 - The technician shortage
- 16:30 - Machine learning for actionable ...
Here are the trucking industry's headlines this week, as of February 5:
- The latest highway funding bill includes truck parking
- Five employees won a $52 million verdict against food distributor Sysco
- EPA is looking to further weaken DEF derates
- Heavy-duty equipment demand in January was very strong
- Spot rates made a record-high jump
- Diesel prices increased 6 cents
Erik Neandross, president of TRC’s Clean Transportation Solutions Group, previews ACT Expo 2026 in Las Vegas. As the industry pivots from clean fuel goals to "clean intelligence," Neandross shares an insider’s look at where OEM and fleet capital is actually flowing this year.
Timestamps:
- 2:00 - Shift to economic sustainability
- 9:53 - ACT Expo's focus on continuing education
- 13:40 - The rise of virtual drivers
- 20:06 - Software-...
Here are the headlines from this week in trucking, as of January 29:
- Werner acquired FirstFleet
- Gatik completed 60,000 autonomous medium-duty hauls
- Traton gave $25 million to PlusAI for autonomous truck development
- Diesel deleting no longer risks jail time
- FMCSA issued HOS exemptions to most states
- Eaton is spinning off its commercial vehicle business
- Diesel prices increased 9 cents
2025 had no shortage of regulatory changes for the trucking industry, vacillating between rapid crackdowns and sluggish rulemakings. David Heller, senior VP of Safety and Government Affairs for the Truckload Carriers Association, shares his outlook for the next year’s regulatory landscape—from English proficiency to CSA scores and beyond.
Catch this episode of The Fleet Lead podcast here or search for The Fleet Lead on your favorit...
Here are the headlines this week in trucking, as on January 22:
- California started enforcing English language proficiency requirements
- United States Postal Service launched a bidding website for last-mile delivery
- A judge blocked New York’s truck tolling surcharge
- Spot rates decreased for dry van and refrigerated
- Diesel prices jumped 7 cents
The first 2026 roundtable of the Fleet Lead podcast brings together editors from Fleet Owner and Bulk Transporter to analyze a commercial vehicle market currently transitioning from a stagnant 2025 toward a cautiously optimistic 2026.
Despite continued carrier bankruptcies and consolidations, there are signs that the market might turn later this year. FMCSA's continued crackdown on driver qualifications could help bring upward pres...
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