Mile Marker Daily

Good morning. It's Tuesday, April 28th — a busy day for freight market news and cross-border industry developments.

Spot rates reached an all-time high in the Truckstop.com system last week — the highest since tracking began in 2014 — with flatbed driving its 17th consecutive week of gains and FTR warning another record may follow before International Roadcheck. TFI International's Q1 results confirm a market still divided: LTL under pressure, truckload firming up. We also cover the Trump administration's conditional tariff relief offer for Canadian steel producers, a regulatory update for Canadian carriers using the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, and a federal court stay in the Humboldt Broncos deportation case.

Spot rates reach all-time high in Truckstop.com system

Total market broker-posted spot rates climbed to their highest level since Truckstop.com and FTR began tracking the combined market rate in 2014, during the week ending April 24. TheTrucker.com reports that flatbed rates rose for a 17th consecutive week, with load postings running 47% ahead of the same 2025 week, while dry van and refrigerated rates remained highly elevated despite modest week-over-week easing. FTR noted that even if rates moderate near-term, International Roadcheck — the annual roadside inspection event — is likely to push the market to another record in short order.

Trump offers tariff relief to Canadian steel producers — with a condition

What carriers hauling steel and auto parts cross-border had been watching for was confirmed last week by FreightWaves: the Trump administration has formalised a path for Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminium producers to qualify for reduced Section 232 tariffs, but only if they commit to building new primary production capacity inside the United States. The notice, published by the US Department of Commerce, targets companies already supplying US automotive and heavy-vehicle manufacturers — sectors that move significant volumes across the Canada-US corridor by truck. Carriers hauling steel, auto parts, and industrial freight should watch for volume shifts as producers weigh whether to accept the terms.

TFI International Q1: LTL still struggling, truckload turns a corner

LTL revenue before fuel surcharge at TFI International fell 3% year over year to $656 million in Q1 2026, with operating income declining to $31 million from $47 million and an adjusted operating ratio of 95.3% — though management called Q1 conditions unusually difficult due to early-quarter weather. FreightWaves reports that the truckload segment showed genuine improvement, with revenue before fuel surcharge rising to $673 million from $663 million and operating income up to $56 million from $49 million, with the operating ratio improving 100 basis points to 92.7. TFI's management expects 600 to 700 basis points of sequential LTL operating ratio improvement in Q2, though the company declined to provide full-year guidance given ongoing market and trade uncertainty.

Canada's Top 100 largest carriers: capacity in motion beneath stable rankings

Trimac climbs into the top five and 12 new fleets join the roster in Truck News's annual ranking of Canada's 100 largest carriers, but the more telling story is in the equipment data — several carriers reported smaller fleet counts even as others grew through acquisitions and expansion. Truck News reports that the list reflects a market in transition, with capacity actively redistributing across operators rather than growing or contracting uniformly across the sector.

Alberta leads launch of national trucking regulations hub

Interprovincial trade barriers — inconsistent rules on weights, dimensions, and permitting — continue to cost Canadian carriers time and money every time they operate outside their home province. A newly operational online platform, led by Alberta and now carrying regulatory data from every province and territory, is being positioned as a first step toward addressing that fragmentation, per Truck News. Long-term management of the hub is expected to transfer to the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) in fall 2026; carriers operating east-west routes or that have recently shifted away from cross-border lanes will find it immediately useful.

Canadian Diesel — National average approximately 209¢/L. Alberta: approximately 175–180¢/L. Ontario: approximately 200–205¢/L. Prices remain elevated by historical standards despite the partial relief.

US Diesel — $5.40/gal (EIA, week ending April 20). Updated figures were due from EIA this morning; verify before dispatch.

Spot Market — Total broker-posted rate at an all-time high in the Truckstop.com/FTR system as of the week ending April 24. Flatbed is the primary driver — 17 consecutive weekly gains. Load postings running 47% above the same 2025 week.

Rate data: Truckstop.com / FTR Transportation Intelligence. Diesel (Canada): Natural Resources Canada; federal excise tax suspension of 4¢/L on diesel (April 20 – September 7, 2026) is now reflected in pump prices. Diesel (US): U.S. Energy Information Administration.

FMCSA tightens identity verification for Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced April 27 that Medical Review Officers, Substance Abuse Professionals, third-party administrators, and employers must now complete additional identity verification steps when accessing the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse online database. Land Line has the breakdown of what the enhanced process requires — a change the FMCSA says is designed to reduce fraud and improve the accuracy of Clearinghouse records. Canadian carriers operating in the US are subject to Clearinghouse requirements for drivers in regulated positions and should ensure their designated employers and TPAs are compliant.

New York sues DOT over $73M funding cut, non-domiciled CDL fight goes to federal court

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals last week, making the state the second — after California — to take the non-domiciled commercial driver's licence (CDL) dispute to federal court rather than comply with the US Department of Transportation's (DOT) demands. FreightWaves broke the story and has followed it in depth: a federal audit found 107 of 200 sampled non-domiciled CDLs in New York violated federal law, a 53% failure rate across approximately 32,600 active licences. The outcome of this litigation will directly affect the available pool of cross-border-eligible drivers — a standing story with meaningful capacity implications for Canadian carriers operating on northeast US corridors.

Federal court stays deportation of Humboldt Broncos driver

A federal judge granted a temporary stay last Friday preventing the scheduled Monday deportation of Jaskirat Singh Sidhu — the Calgary trucker whose 2018 crash with a Humboldt Broncos team bus killed 16 people and injured 13. Truck News reports the stay, which could last between one and eight months, gives Sidhu's lawyers time to pursue a judicial review of the Canada Border Services Agency's (CBSA) decision to deny a request for a 17-month deferral on humanitarian grounds. The case is the first time a decision has come down in Sidhu's favour in the years-long legal proceeding.

Freightliner Cascadia gains new active safety features for 2027 model year

Cross Traffic Assist and Active Side Guard Assist 2.0 are coming to the Detroit Assurance safety suite on the 2027 Freightliner Cascadia, Transport Topics reports. The Cascadia is the dominant platform across North American long-haul fleets — Canadian carriers spec'ing new equipment should factor the enhanced side and cross-traffic detection into their safety program evaluations.

Tesla Full Self-Driving feature under intensified federal investigation

Autonomous vehicle technology is advancing rapidly toward higher automation levels, but federal regulators are increasing pressure on what already exists: Land Line reports that a federal investigation into Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature is ramping up, raising concerns about the safety of Level 2 systems that have been marketed as considerably more capable than regulators believe them to be. The increased scrutiny signals a tightening regulatory posture toward autonomous vehicle claims — relevant context for Canadian fleet managers tracking the AV space.

STG Logistics closes in on Chapter 11 exit

STG Logistics announced Monday it has reached a settlement with its minority lenders and completed a court-supervised marketing process, clearing the last major hurdles to a consensual exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Under the restructuring plan, lenders led by Fortress Investment Group and Invesco Senior Secured Management will take majority ownership in exchange for eliminating more than $1 billion in debt and injecting up to $150 million in fresh capital, per FreightWaves. STG entered a pre-packaged Chapter 11 agreement in January; operations across its intermodal, drayage, LTL, and warehousing services have continued without disruption throughout.

Metro Supply Chain extends US warehousing reach

Montreal-based Metro Supply Chain Group is acquiring select warehousing assets from BR Williams, adding capacity across manufacturing regions in the southern United States following a recent change in the company's ownership. Truck News reports the deal positions the Canadian third-party logistics provider to handle more integrated North American freight as shippers look for cross-border partners with assets on both sides of the border.

CargoNet Q1: fewer thefts, same losses, more organised criminals

Verisk CargoNet recorded 767 supply chain crime events across the United States and Canada in Q1 2026 — a 5.3% decrease from Q1 2025 — but estimated losses held essentially flat at $131.58 million, with confirmed theft reports rising 41 incidents year over year to 596 of the 767 total events. TheTrucker.com reports the data reflects a clear strategic shift by criminal networks: fewer incidents, but more sophisticated operations targeting higher-value shipments. Fleet managers and owner-operators should treat the declining incident count with caution — the criminal activity is concentrating, not retreating.

Canada's Top 100 largest carriers list is published once a year and it always tells you something about where the market actually is. The 2026 edition is worth the time: Trimac's climb into the top five reflects genuine operational growth, and the 12 new fleets added to the list signal continued entry at the fleet-building level — but the real story is in the capacity data beneath the rankings, where equipment counts are shifting in ways that will affect shipper options and lane coverage. Read the full list and analysis at Truck News.

Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks posted a combined 34% year-over-year decline in Q1 2026 sales, according to Transport Topics, as parent company Volvo Group cut plant output by 25% to 30% — a manufacturing pullback that will ripple through used equipment availability and fleet replacement timelines across the North American market.