Schneider's Weak Q4

Happy Friday. With Schneider National posting a weak Q4 earnings report, how will they respond in 2026?

Plus:

• AGX Freight Suspends Operations

• Gatik Goes Fully Driverless

• Werner Buys FirstFleet

🤔

Question of the Day:

Gatik has completed __,000 driverless orders without incident since mid-2025.

TOP LANE MOVERS POWERED BY TRIUMPH

🍳 What's Cookin' In Freight

😔 AGX Freight Suspends Operations. Florida-based AGX Freight Group has indefinitely suspended operations, citing a dispute with a senior secured lender that blocked access to working capital. President Mike Williams said the company “is not in default” and that the issue is “not liquidity — it is accessibility.” All operations are expected to cease by Jan. 31. Fraud risks followed quickly: Dale Prax, Founder of FreightValidate, warned that scammers began impersonating AGX within 24 hours, urging carriers to reject AGX-related loads and verify all communications.

🤖 Gatik Goes Fully Driverless. Gatik became the first U.S. company to operate fully driverless trucks at a commercial scale, running daily freight deliveries with no driver or safety observer on public roads. The company has logged 60,000 driverless orders without incident since mid-2025 and secured more than $600 million in contracted revenue from Fortune 50 retailers. CEO Gautam Narang said autonomous trucking “is no longer a promise. It’s a business,” as Gatik operates 24/7 routes across Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas and prepares to expand further.

🤝 Werner Buys FirstFleet. Werner Enterprises acquired FirstFleet for $282.8 million in an all-cash deal, adding about 2,400 tractors and 11 properties. The acquisition lifts Werner’s dedicated fleet to nearly 7,400 trucks and boosts dedicated revenue by roughly 50%. CEO Derek Leathers called the timing “ideal,” citing FirstFleet’s four decades of profitable growth and $615 million in annual revenue. Co-owner Paul Wilson said the deal strengthens long-term customer value.

Together With Rapido

Rapido is a top nearshore staffing company providing logistics and supply chain talent to companies in the United States. Based in Guadalajara, Mexico, Rapido offers a unique combination of cost savings and access to a skilled workforce, making it an attractive option for American logistics businesses.See what makes nearshoring to Mexico an attractive option for scaling a logistics company and how partnering with Rapido Solutions Group simplifies the whole process.

Schneider’s Earnings Show Where Freight Tightened...and Where It Didn’t

Schneider National’s fourth-quarter earnings captured the freight market’s late-2025 dynamic in real time.

Capacity tightened. Costs rose faster than revenue. Visibility into 2026 stayed limited.

The market reacted accordingly.

Schneider National reported adjusted earnings of $0.13 per share, missing expectations, and issued 2026 guidance below consensus. Shares fell 16% in after-hours trading.

Management said “softer than expected market conditions” in November gave way to “material tightening in December” as severe Midwest weather restricted capacity. Spot rates and tender rejections surged late in the quarter.

But the benefit did not stick.

A jump in purchased transportation costs, weather-related expenses, and “heightened healthcare costs” erased the late-quarter revenue lift.

Inside the business, tightening showed up unevenly:

• Truckload revenue rose 9% year over year, while revenue per truck per week declined

• Dedicated revenue increased following the Cowan Systems acquisition, but onboarding costs pressured margins

• Intermodal loads improved modestly, though revenue per load fell

A Conservative Setup for 2026

Schneider’s full-year 2026 adjusted earnings outlook of $0.70 to $1.00 per share reflects that caution.

Management acknowledged “some conservatism” in the forecast, which assumes normal seasonality after January.

Leadership continuity supports that posture. Jim Filter will succeed Mark Rourke on July 1.

Filter said Schneider is “well positioned for significant growth” while emphasizing execution, technology, and multimodal expansion.

Covenant's Next Phase of Discipline

That same reset is underway at Covenant Logistics Group.

The carrier posted a fourth-quarter net loss tied to impairment charges and higher insurance costs.

Chairman and CEO David Parker said results were “in line with our expectations,” while CFO Tripp Grant said the company is exiting unprofitable freight and rebalancing its fleet.

Rail Earnings Add Context

• Canadian Pacific Kansas City posted modest volume growth and record operating efficiency, with CEO Keith Creel citing disciplined execution and cost control.

• Norfolk Southern reported intermodal volume declines tied to heightened competition, even as CEO Mark George said the railroad “controlled the controllables” on costs and safety.

The Bottom Line

Late-2025 tightening created pressure, not momentum. Earnings season shows carriers entering 2026 focused on cost discipline, selective freight, and execution.

While at the same time, not counting on demand to reset the market.

Together With Highway

Highway blocked 10+ million fraudulent attempts last year. But the biggest risk wasn’t fake carriers or sloppy phishing. It was legitimate identities being taken over and exploited from inside trusted workflows.

The 2025 Freight Fraud Index breaks down what Highway is seeing across brokers and carriers, including where fraud is actually coming from, who’s most at risk, and how to prepare for 2026.

This report is built from real fraud data — not surveys or anecdotes — and is designed to help ops, compliance, and leadership teams act quickly.

 🌎 Around The Freight Web

🚔 Cocaine Seizure. The Ohio State Highway Patrol seized $6.3 million in cocaine during a commercial vehicle inspection on I-70.

❄️ Snow Possible in Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay could see rare snow flurries late Saturday into Sunday (10–20% chance). The last snowfall there occurred on January 19, 1977.

👨‍💼 FMCSA Stance Holds. FMCSA defended restrictions on foreign commercial drivers despite opposition from multiple states.

🧠 Trust Engine. Brokers value customer service, but only 1 in 4 feel confident in their post-delivery experience. This piece explores how accounting teams quietly shape trust after the freight moves.

⚖️ Broker Liability Support. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer is backing C.H. Robinson before their broker liability case at the Supreme Court on March 4.

🎣 THE FREIGHT CAVIAR CORNER

• FreightCaviar Podcast: We sat down with Garrett Allen, Founder of SearchCarriers.com, to discuss building a carrier discovery and investigation tool and what’s coming next for the platform. Catch the episode on YouTube,Spotify,orApple Podcasts.

• Now Hiring:Western Reserve Logistics Groupis looking for a remote Logistics Account Manager.

FREIGHT HUMOR