Transportation Business Resources

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Malcolm Harris sits at a wood table with a Macbook and a microphone in front of him. There is a wood wall behind him with a large screen and several scale model semitrucks hung up. On the screen is text: FreightWaves, What the Truck?

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MALCOLM HARRIS: And now we're going to transition and go to the source, because I wanted you guys to hear again from the one and only joining me. He is one of the third Isley Brothers that I was told. Chris Isley, he is the risk control specialist at Travelers. Chris, are you one of the Isley Brothers, or was I fed bad information, sir?

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Chris Isley sits in a home office, a lit-up window and a table with a printer on it behind him.

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CHRIS ISLEY: Well, I have three brothers, but we don't sing very well.

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MALCOLM HARRIS: Well, it's OK. It's all right. I think you're going to make it up to our audience today, man. How are you doing? Thank you so much for being here for your first time on the show on What the Truck?!?

CHRIS ISLEY: Glad to be here.

MALCOLM HARRIS: I'm glad you're here. Yes, sir. Happy to. Happy to. So you've been in this industry for quite a while, right? And what kind of work have you done over the years? Tell myself as well as our audience a little bit about yourself, Chris.

CHRIS ISLEY: OK. Sure, I was a safety director in a trucking company for about 20 years, overseeing compliance, driver training, load securement. Before that, I was with North Carolina DOT. I was an inspector and a trainer for North Carolina. I inspected loads and verified permits, weights and safety compliance. For the past 10 years, I've been with Travelers, providing heavy equipment protection and conducting risk control surveys in companies.

I'm one of nine national transportation specialists for Travelers across the United States, and our job is to help fleets improve their safety programs, reduce risk and prevent accidents. We work alongside our clients, sharing practical guidance and real-world experience to support the safety efforts, develop their people and help prevent crashes.

MALCOLM HARRIS: Well, that explains why you were definitely the resident expert. I was putting the dots together, and that makes sense, and specifically on today's topic, heavy equipment transportation. So just happy to have you on. And with that, can you start us off with the basics? What does this look like here for this topic we're talking about today?

CHRIS ISLEY: Well, sure. Heavy equipment transportation typically involves flatbeds and lowboy trailers designed for oversized loads or overweight loads. These require compliance with specific FMCSA regulations for load securement. In the simplest terms, it means load securement needs to be in place to prevent cargo from shifting, falling or rolling during transport.

To make sure that compliance terms are met, DOT inspectors are conducted at weigh stations -- I should say inspections are conducted at weigh stations or on roadsides to verify load securement, permits and weight compliance. And keep in mind that oversize load operations can be restricted to specific times, routes, and may require pilot cars or escorts for the vehicles.

MALCOLM HARRIS: That's super helpful. Now, can you walk us through what actually goes into securing these loads and these shipments safely?

CHRIS ISLEY: Of course. So many heavy equipment designers design equipment with tie-downs or anchor points that would help to secure the loads. And some specific pieces of equipment, like excavators, would need buckets and booms tied down separately. Or wheeled or tracked equipment must be blocked or locked to prevent movement. So obviously, size matters on that part.

Equipment under 10,000 pounds requires fewer tie-downs points. Whereas, 10,000 pounds or more you must follow additional securement standards. But the general rule of thumb and best practice is to use more securement than is necessary or required. And that is just the best rule of thumb on that part. If you have more than you need, if something might be damaged or bad, then you'll still be OK.

MALCOLM HARRIS: It's definitely one of those be safer or sorry situations because nobody wants to see a bulldozer when it comes to something falling off or a flatbed absolutely not being secured and going off on the highway. So that makes a lot of sense, and I appreciate you explaining that to our audience that just may not be aware. These are shipments and loads that are going at a very high speed. So thank you. And with that, when we see these massive loads going down the highway, let's just say these just oversized, whether it's a mobile home, bridge beams, those wind turbine blades, what kind of planning and coordination goes in these types of moves?

CHRIS ISLEY: Absolutely, a really good question. Moving oversized or overweight loads isn't as simple as loading up a truck and hitting the road. There's a whole process behind it. First off, permits are required. Some carriers use blanket permits. These permits are issued per state. Each state has their own blanket permit guidelines. For example, North Carolina can offer a blanket permit for up to 90,000 pounds, while South Carolina and Georgia can issue a blanket permit up to 100,000 pounds

Blanket permits are only good in the state that issues it. They may also have other restrictions on permits that must be followed. But when something really pushes the limits or a large load, then they have to, like wind turbines, as you mentioned, or large bridge beams, they'll need a single-trip permit specified to that one move to cover height, length and weight.

Then there are escorts or pilot cars, which are licensed by each state. These are the cars you see running ahead of or behind those large loads. Their job is to help with route navigation, traffic control and height clearance. They make sure that power lines and overpasses isn't too low for the load. Also, oversized moves have to follow a permitted route set by each state's department of transportation. These routes are carefully chosen to make sure that each truck can safely clear bridges, turns and narrow roadways without damaging infrastructure. So what looks like a slow, wide load on the highway is actually a carefully planned operation involving permits, escorts and a lot of coordination with state agencies.

MALCOLM HARRIS: Most definitely, and people just don't understand because people just see it and just think, I'm guessing, just the right permits and having an escort, it's just a small piece of the puzzle. But it's actually larger pieces of the puzzle, to your point that you just mentioned, correct?

CHRIS ISLEY: Yes, it is. You have to have all those things in place and everything work together.

MALCOLM HARRIS: Absolutely. Well, Chris--

CHRIS ISLEY: Moving big loads.

MALCOLM HARRIS: Go ahead. Go ahead.

CHRIS ISLEY: Moving big loads are much more than just logistics. It requires risk management and safety. At Travelers, we take a hands-on approach to heavy equipment protection. We conduct risk control surveys to look at things like driver training, how loads are secured, whether operators are following the federal and state guidelines. I mentioned that I'm only one of nine risk control specialists, and we try to help prevent loss before it happens, both in terms of property damage and more importantly, save lives. We work directly with our customers to educate and provide risk management advice.

When it comes to moving oversize loads, overweight loads, there's a lot more happening behind the scenes than most people realize. Every move is carefully coordinated and involves permits, route planning, escorts to keep our highways safe and infrastructure protected. But it doesn't stop there. At the end of the day, our goal is simply we want drivers to get home safely and equipment to get moved where it needs to go without incident. In the end, it's a partnership between the carriers, the regulators, insurance companies all working together to make sure that the biggest loads move safely and responsibly across the country.

MALCOLM HARRIS: Chris, I could not say it better myself. Thank you so much for being here. Any last words for our audience today listening or any messages that you weren't able to convey that you'd like to share, as well as information for yourself and for your team, where to find you with Travelers?

CHRIS ISLEY: You bet. It was great being here today. Our Travelers teams are available through their account consultants or our specialists. They can all reach out, if you're insured by Travelers, to your account consultants. And they can locate us. And we'll be glad to help any companies that we can, answer questions or hopefully give them the guidance they need to do this successfully.

MALCOLM HARRIS: Mr. Chris Isley, again, risk control specialist at Travelers Transportation. Chris, thank you so much, man. Appreciate it.

CHRIS ISLEY: Yes, sir. Thank you.

MALCOLM HARRIS: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Again, Chris was absolutely awesome. And Travelers, we have a great partnership with them. And I love to be able to interview folks that come on specifically from them because the knowledge factor and what they know in terms of just protections, whether it's cargo security, whether it's just actually having permits and other things established when it comes to the clients and customers. And super excited to have that partnership with them.

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Text on left: What the Truck? DESCARTES MACROPOINT, THE CORE PROBLEM, DAN CICERCHI, HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF, AI ENHANCED THEFT, BROKER LIABILITY, CRAIG LEINAUER, THE PROBLEM WITH THE ATA. DESCARTES MacroPoint. Headlines scroll in progress: the boards in order to move the puck. Hong Kong salvage team pulls sections of cargo jet from sea -- Salvage experts have retrieved the tail section, one engine, landing gear and the flight data recorder from the AirACT freighter aircraft that skidded off the runway at Hong Long International Airport last Sunday, the airport said.

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MALCOLM HARRIS: Now, Craig, I don't know how you're going to be able to follow up on this, Mr. Leinauer? But I'm speaking to you right now. What is going on, sir? How are you?

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Text: FUTURE & AUTOMATION is on left at top. Craig Leinauer on the left is highlighted. Text with umbrella logo on top left: Travelers.

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CRAIG LEINAUER: Oh, everything's going great, and it's great to be back. And yeah, it's a lot of Craigs on the show today, right? That was pretty impressive.

MALCOLM HARRIS: It was pretty impressive. And I think you're going to have an even more impressive feat here on What the Truck? I'm so happy you're back, first of all. I know you're no stranger to the show, but it is your debut with me here. So I appreciate you for being on the show. And you look great today, man.

CRAIG LEINAUER: Yeah.

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Scroll text at bottom: Borderlands Mexico: New customs regulation could slow cross-border trade -- Mexico's customs system is about to undergo a major procedural change -- a shift that could reverberate through factories, carriers and warehouses on both sides of the border. Starting Dec. 9, importers will be required to electronically submit a Spanish text (MVE) -- known in English as the Electronic Declaration of Value -- through Mexico's Spanish text (VUCEM) portal before their goods can clear customs into the country.

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Well, thanks. You look great too.

MALCOLM HARRIS: I appreciate it.

CRAIG LEINAUER: I'm thrilled to be here. Thrilled to be here.

MALCOLM HARRIS: Glad you are here, man. A little sweater weather never did anybody any good. So we'll try to bundle up today. And obviously, I want to talk about, you're looking at transportation claims all day long, and you're noticing that certain trends in broker liability are beginning to stand out. Can you top line the trends for us exactly?

CRAIG LEINAUER: Yeah. The biggest trend, without question, is the contractual assumption of liability by freight brokers. And you have to remember that brokers, by the nature of what they do, aren't really supposed to be liable for lost or damaged cargo. It's the motor carrier who's supposed to be, right?

And that's because the freight broker doesn't actually handle the freight. They serve as an intermediary. They arrange for the transportation between the shipper and the trucking company. But what happens is contract terms make the broker fully liable or can make the broker fully liable, I should say, for damage to cargo, as if they were a trucker.

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Text: CRAIG LEINAUER, INLAND MARINE CORPORATE CLAIM, TRAVELERS

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And by the way, the standard of liability for a trucker is strict liability for cargo loss, subject to some defenses that they have and also the ability to limit liability to less than the actual value of the load that's being carried. So what we're seeing is increasingly, brokers are executing very one-sided contracts that make them strictly liable for freight damage or loss without any defenses or liability limitations which typically are afforded a motor carrier. So then when things go bad, the broker faces huge, huge catastrophic losses.

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Headline scroll text at bottom: Truckload capacity is falling faster than demand -- The national Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI) -- which means truckload demand -- hit an all-time low for the month of October last week, registering a value of 9,311. This places the index roughly 19% lower than last year and 15% below 2023 for the same period.

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MALCOLM HARRIS: That's not good. That's not good at all. Now, what else is trending aside from contractual assumption of risk? What else is out there?

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Headline scroll text at bottom: The growing problem of CDL Mills: compromising highway safety -- The trucking industry faces a critical safety crisis that has largely gone unnoticed by the American public. Each year, approximately 100,000 truck crashes occur on U.S. highways, resulting in roughly 5,000 fatalities annually. These alarming statistics point to serious flaws in the system that qualifies individuals to operate commercial vehicles weighing up to 80,000 pounds on our nation's roads.

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CRAIG LEINAUER: Yeah. So the other thing we're all hearing about, of course, is the increase in sophisticated cargo theft claims. And with artificial intelligence, I have to tell you that this is just getting even more sophisticated.

And so here's what we're seeing happening. The U.S. DOT assigns motor carriage numbers, motor carrier numbers, MC numbers, to all transportation firms who operate commercial vehicles. And these, of course, are crucial for the government to track compliance with safety standards and that kind of thing.

But what we're seeing is criminals now getting a hold of old or outdated MC numbers to present themselves as legit companies with an established operating history.

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Text on left at top: Mike Beckwith. Text on left: Broker Liability is highlighted.

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And this tricks freight brokers into hiring them because it looks to the freight broker like this company has years of operating history. And so this deception will allow that thief to fly under the radar until it's really too late.

So for example, I just recently saw a freight broker who was unknowingly working with a trucking company that had been sold to a new criminal owner.

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Text: CRAIG LEINAUER, INLAND MARINE CORPORATE CLAIM, TRAVELERS

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The DOT had already revoked the authority, but the new buyer had quickly restored it, and this was allowing it to obtain shipments from freight brokers. So multiple freight brokers were sending freight to this trucking company, who in turn was stealing the shipments and never delivering them.

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Headline scrolling text at bottom: Shaquille O'Neal's $180,000 Range Rover stolen in suspected transport scam -- NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal is missing one of his prized rides -- a custom 2025 Land Range Rover valued at $180,000 -- after it was stolen while being transported from Georgia to Louisiana, according to the New York Post.

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MALCOLM HARRIS: I see, I see. Now, you mentioned AI in this previous segment. But really talk to us because it's making sophisticated theft even more sophisticated.

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Text on left at top: The Automation Horizon. Text highlighted on left: AI Enhanced Theft.

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Can you explain this exactly to us and the listeners as well?

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Headline scrolling text at bottom: Short line CEO joins STB rail advisory council -- The Surface Transportation Board continues to strengthen an advisory panel of railroads and shippers. Ryan Ratledge, president and chief executive of short line operator Pinsly Railroad Co., has been appointed to the rail regulator's Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council (RSTAC) for a three-year term as the small railroad representative.

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CRAIG LEINAUER: Yeah. So this is the latest tool, AI, that thieves are using to commit fraud basically. And so what's happening is AI and advanced technology allows you to create counterfeit documents, and these documents look so realistic that really nobody thinks to question them.

So for example, scan bills of lading or shipping paperwork can be altered with AI to look very virtually flawless. And then what's happening is even big retail shippers are being fooled because the paperwork looks so legitimate. So we've seen thieves providing freight brokers with tech-altered documents, suggesting that the original load was delivered intact and then turning around and collecting freight charges in addition to stealing the cargo.

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Headline scrolling text at bottom: Trump halts Canada trade talks over Ontario's Reagan ad -- President Donald Trump abruptly suspended trade negotiations with Canada on Thursday after Ontario's provincial government aired a TV ad in U.S. markets featuring former President Ronald Reagan saying that tariffs "hurt every American worker."

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MALCOLM HARRIS: Now, talk to us a little bit about this cluster theft kind of theme. Because it's not only highly organized, but it's a pretty darn smart way to get around this. Talk to us about cluster theft specifically, if you don't mind, Craig.

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Headline scrolling text at bottom: How Many Lives Will It Take? The Non-Domiciled CDL Issue Is Boiling Over -- It should've just been another Tuesday. But in the early hours on I-10 in California, three lives were lost -- violently, unnecessarily -- when a big rig, reportedly driven by an unauthorized immigrant under the influence, plowed into traffic. The impact was immediate. So was the outrage.

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CRAIG LEINAUER: No. And it's amazing. Really, we hadn't seen any -- this type of scam, this cluster theft scam we hadn't seen really until two years ago. And so I'll explain to you what it is. And then basically, this is how it works. It's basically, it involves thieves who have knowledge of the shipment origin and destination procedures. Shipping procedures.

So here's what they do. They pick up a full load. The original paperwork is scanned and altered to reflect a new piece count, weight and sometimes even a new trailer or a seal number. And then these modified documents using AI reflect what's left in the trailer after a part of the shipment has been removed, stolen. So they pick up, for example, 10 pallets, but the documents are now altered to show that they only picked up eight.

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Text: CRAIG LEINAUER INLAND MARINE CORPORATE CLAIM, TRAVELERS

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So then what happens is this shorted load, along with the altered paperwork, are in turn presented for delivery, usually at a large, very busy regional distribution center, who accepts the load as complete because the quantity unloaded matches the modified documents.

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Headline scrolling text at bottom: U.S. container ports putting pandemic in the rearview -- Container ports in the United States continues to record an impressive recovery from the pandemic despite current headwinds, August data from the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association shows.

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Then, and this is where it gets crazy, the shorted shipment isn't discovered until an accounting and inventory reconciliation happens. And this can take sometimes weeks or months.

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Headline scrolling text at bottom: How direct-to-patient deliveries are shaping pharma -- As direct-to-patient deliveries of temperature-sensitive medications rise, the pharmaceutical industry is racing to protect drug integrity from factory to front door. Biologics, vaccines and other sensitive therapies now dominate demand, and any lapse in the cold chain can compromise effectiveness and cost companies millions.

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And it's in this delay, this is the clever part. It's in this delay that the thieves exploit the delay to short as many of these loads as possible before the theme gets discovered. So hence we call it a cluster theft. It's really a whole bunch of thefts happening.

And then what's even crazier is many times, the company's automated ordering system will replenish missing inventory, sort of fueling the theft before the theft is detected, and this perpetuates the loss. So a cluster theft scam like this can run undetected for a long time. I've seen them run, in one instance, as long as eight to 10 months, involving dozens of shipments. I've seen them up to 60 shipments and resulting in seven-figure multimillion-dollar losses.

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Headline scrolling text at bottom: ArcBest headlines latest buyers of Yellow terminals -- Handlers of defunct Yellow Corp.'s estate have asked a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware to approve the sale of four terminals for $6.1 million. ABF Freight parent ArcBest is listed as a buyer of a small location in Alabama. The other buyers appear to be real estate investors.

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MALCOLM HARRIS: That is insane. And I'm sure when it comes to these efforts, the ROI has to be extremely lucrative for these thieves and these heists that are happening. This is absolutely nuts. Now, normally, at this point of the show, right, we oftentimes like to tell brokers, you can do this to protect yourself when it comes to this topic. What would you say to all the brokers out there, to issue a kind of a level of protection?

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Headline scrolling text at bottom: TQL scores win in Pink Cheetah transparency suit, pink Cheetah appeals -- in a ruling that tempers but doesn't extinguish the flames of the trucking industry's transparency debate, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., dismissed Pink Cheetah Express LLC's lawsuit against Total Quality Logistics (TQL) on September 12, 2025.

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CRAIG LEINAUER: Yeah. So I mean, I don't want to oversimplify it. But basically, what it comes down to is this. You need to pay attention at the front end. You need to understand the distribution centers are busy, and they rely on automation. And criminals have learned to exploit this automation.

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Text: CRAIG LEINAUER, INLAND MARINE CORPORATE CLAIM, TRAVELERS

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And you can't always assume that the paperwork is legit. So one thing that a broker can do to protect itself is to require the shipper to send the origin paperwork to the recipient, get the original paperwork directly from the shipper. And then if everyone shares the same origin paperwork, and then a carrier shows up with a different set of documents, then that exposes a potential problem.

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Headline scrolling text at bottom: Truckload segment at Marten again a plus 100% OR in third quarter -- Marten Transport's Truckload segment, which provided a little less than 48% of its earnings in the third quarter, had a negative operating ratio (OR) during the period for the third time in the last five quarters, though the company overall remained profitable.

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And then also, listen, be aware, as a freight broker, of the contract that you're entering into. Specifically, you should know when you were agreeing to be liable like a trucking company. These one-sided contracts can mean millions and millions of dollars in losses to you.

MALCOLM HARRIS: Right.

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Text on left at top: The Capacity Crisis. Text highlighted on left: How to Protect Yourself.

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Now, I know that we are almost out of time on this segment, so I want you to just give us everything in a nutshell. What is the biggest message that you want listeners to take away from today off of this segment, Craig?

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Headline scrolling text at bottom: The ATA has damaged the economics of trucking, while compromising public safety -- The American trucking industry is facing unprecedented challenges, marked by a deepening economic crisis and deteriorating highway safety standards. While supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic brought attention to the transportation sector, the narrative surrounding these issues has been largely mischaracterized, particularly regarding the nature and extent of the purported truck driver shortage in America.

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CRAIG LEINAUER: Yeah. If I had to sum it up, I would say broker liability, as many folks know, is a compound complex problem, right? So not only are thieves evolving faster than the industry by mixing old tricks with advanced technology like AI, but brokers are also getting caught in the middle and getting pushed into liability by one-sided contracts.

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Text: CRAIG LEINAUER, INLAND MARINE CORPORATE CLAIM, TRAVELERS

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MALCOLM HARRIS: Definitely, definitely. Again, Craig Leinauer with Travelers. Craig, thank you so much, man. I cannot wait to see you back on this show. Make sure that it's not so late next time, and we can't go this amount of time without it. So I'm going to have to see you really soon.

CRAIG LEINAUER: Absolutely, great to be here. Thank you for having me.

MALCOLM HARRIS: Hey. Thank you so much, Craig. Again, Craig with Travelers.