New York City has elected a socialist mayor in Zohran Mamdani, and already millions have heard about how the biggest company in trucking will now boycott the city thanks to his disastrous policies.
Only, that's not true.
You might have seen some viral posts stating that Swift Transportation will no longer go to New York City.
"We've instructed our dispatchers to reject loads to any of the Five Burroughs," a quote attributed to "Company Spokesman Joe Barron," said in a viral social media post seen by 3.5 million. "We don't see a way to continue doing business in the Big Apple."
Those posts attribute Swift abandoning NYC to a plan from Mamdani "to increase revenue across the city by quadrupling the cost of tolls, licensing, permits, and inspections of all commercial vehicles."
"He's going to put a lot of the independent truckers out of business," Mr. Barron is said to have concluded.
Overdrive set out to confirm this story and set something of a fact-checking speed record: The very image shared in the viral post says, "nothing on this page is real."
We traced the post back to its original appearance online, on a Facebook page called "America's Last Line of Defense" which posts a disclaimer on every single image. The Facebook page's description says it's a "network of trollery and propaganda for cash" as well as: "Nothing on this page is real."
Indeed the entire quote and story seem fabricated.
There's no indication "Joe Barron" works at Swift, has ever given quotes representing the company, or is a real person. The America's Last Line of Defense page frequently attributes made-up quotes to someone called Joe Barron, who is sometimes head of a fictitious Fortune 500 consulting firm.
Swift did not respond to Overdrive requests for comment, but the company rarely puts out press, with its last public statements about the corporate dividend and Q3 earnings results.
Mamdani's policy platforms on small business and revenue don't mention trucking, tolls, or inspections. He's not even sworn in until January 1, 2026.
Plus, the entirety of NYC already prohibits 53-foot trailers, though that's not enforced. NYC does have a very truck-unfriendly idling reporting system, but Mamdani doesn't appear to have commented on it. Mamdani does, however, support congestion pricing, which lays significant cost on motor carriers in lower Manhattan.
Overdrive reached out to the Trucking Association of New York to ask if it had any statement on Mamdani's victory or any insight into how his agenda would impact trucking and heard the following:
"TANY congratulates Mayor-elect Mamdani and we look forward to working with his administration on a number of issues that are important to our membership," said Kendra Hems, TANY president. "We remain committed to working collaboratively with city officials to support transportation policies that improve the safe and efficient movement of goods to benefit residents, businesses and the broader economy."
It's not the first time we've seen the notion of a trucking boycott of NYC fall apart under minimum of scrutiny.
In February of 2024, a few viral posts stated that truckers would boycott the city after President Donald Trump got fined $355 million by the state of New York for misrepresenting his net worth in business dealings. Trump even endorsed that boycott, but empty shelves never materialized.
With some exceptions, OTR haulers drop their goods at Hunt's Point in the Bronx or a delivery point outside Manhattan proper; goods are reloaded onto smaller straight trucks that actually deliver into Manhattan.
[Related: Trump endorses trucker's 'boycott' of NYC -- but what's really going on?]
