It’s WTF Wednesday on Do You Even Freight?, and today’s episode covers the kind of transportation stories that make you ask whether the industry has officially lost its mind.

Shimmi, Kevin and John break down a bizarre I-80 incident involving a barefoot, axe-wielding man who allegedly targeted two semis, plus a Waymo robotaxi that contacted police after detecting a firearm inside the autonomous vehicle.

The conversation then shifts to the bigger issue facing transportation professionals right now: When the Math Stops Working: The Mental Toll of Today’s Economy.

Drivers, owner-operators, fleet owners, brokers, dispatchers, tow operators, mechanics, safety professionals and small business owners are all dealing with rising costs, tighter margins and financial pressure that doesn’t stop when the workday ends.

The crew discusses how financial anxiety, business stress, higher operating costs and economic uncertainty can affect mental health, decision-making, burnout and even transportation safety.

Also in today’s episode: National Freight Weather, trucking and transportation updates, Freight Dictionary, Hot Load, Red Flag and the latest from Kiss This Media.

Topics include: trucking news, freight news, transportation industry, truck drivers, owner-operators, fleet owners, trucking economy, diesel prices, freight rates, financial stress, mental health in trucking, small business stress, autonomous vehicles, Waymo, trucking safety, I-80 trucking incident, logistics, supply chain, freight transportation, Driver Appreciation Week and WTF Wednesday.

Do You Even Freight? delivers real conversations about trucking, freight, logistics, transportation news and the issues affecting the people who keep the supply chain moving.

Presented by Kiss This Media.

Diesel prices are climbing while freight rates remain painfully low, and carriers are asking a very real question: how long can you keep running a truck when the numbers no longer work?

On this episode of Do You Even Freight?, Shimmi, Kevin and John break down the pressure facing owner-operators and small carriers as higher diesel costs collide with weak load-board rates, rising operating expenses and growing talk of parking trucks rather than hauling freight at a loss.

We also cover the latest trucking and transportation news, including a DEA seizure of more than 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a cabbage freight shipment in South Texas, the latest developments in Pink Cheetah Express v. TQL, and the legal battle between California and FMCSA over non-domiciled CDLs and federal highway funding.

Plus, we get into the bigger questions facing freight right now: Are fuel surcharges actually reaching carriers? When does parking a truck make more sense than taking cheap freight? What happens to capacity if more carriers refuse unprofitable loads? And could sustained diesel prices eventually push transportation costs higher across the broader supply chain?

In this episode:

• Diesel prices and trucking operating costs
• Low freight rates and load-board pricing
• Owner-operator and small carrier profitability
• Trucking capacity and carriers parking equipment
• Fuel surcharges and freight economics
• Methamphetamine discovered in a commercial freight shipment
• Pink Cheetah Express v. TQL
• California vs. FMCSA
• Non-domiciled CDL regulations
• Trucking and transportation industry news

Do You Even Freight? brings trucking news, freight industry conversation, regulatory updates and the issues transportation professionals are actually talking about.

Presented by Kiss This Media.

What happens to trucking, freight and the supply chain when the world suddenly stops?

On this episode of Do You Even Freight?, we mark the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001 by looking at an often-overlooked part of the story: how 9/11 affected transportation then — and what a world-stopping event could do to today's freight network.

We look back at the immediate impact on U.S. airspace, air cargo, trucking, border crossings, ports and just-in-time supply chains, along with the transportation security changes that followed. Then we bring the question into 2026: What happens today if airspace closes, borders tighten, ports restrict movement or critical infrastructure is disrupted?

With GPS, ELDs, telematics, electronic dispatch, automated warehouses, digital freight systems and autonomous trucks now woven into transportation, is the modern supply chain more resilient than it was in 2001 — or has being more connected made it more vulnerable?

Also on the show:

• Sparhawk Trucking is shutting down after nearly 50 years in business. Once generating close to $50 million in annual revenue and operating around 200 trucks, the carrier is now being liquidated after bankruptcy, mounting debt, questionable equipment deals and an unsuccessful search for a buyer. We ask: How does a trucking company doing tens of millions in revenue get to the point where nobody wants to buy it?

• Transportation industry news
• Weather and freight impacts
• Regulatory news with John
• Word of the Day
• Kevin's Hot Load
• John's Red Flag
• Community Corner

Do You Even Freight? covers trucking news, freight, logistics, transportation regulation, supply chain issues and the stories affecting the people who keep freight moving.

Freight talk without the filter.

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