Media Brands

For owner-operators

For trucking professionals

For contractors

For dealers and distributors

For news on clean trucking

For landscapers

Data Solutions

Identifying active trucking fleets

Construction market intelligence

Ag equipment valuation data

Heavy equipment data & analytics

Motor carrier risk assessment

Specs, VIN decoding and values

Precision targeting at scale

Learn more about Fusable

Chris Williams

Jun 30, 2020

Submitted by Chris Williams

2005 pete

Cover Image Crop

How owner-ops dodge shady brokers, ensuring freight's paid when due

More than 500 owner-operators completed Overdrive's survey probing freight frauds and broker vetting, nonpayment issues and bond claims. Strategies to weed out bottom-dollar brokers and guard against fraudulent actors seeking "free" freight movement emerge.

The annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree was held last weekend, July 9-11 at the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott, Iowa.

Walcott draws 48K attendees: Full Super Truck Beauty Contest results

The shaded area on the left shows negative margins, while the overall graph, put together by Ken Adamo with DAT data, shows a 13.45% margin for brokers. That's down about a couple percentag points down since last June in a sign of a tightening market.

Broker margins took a beating in June: DAT data

Oberman Logistics owner Wes Oberman's personal truck is this Kenworth T680 -- purchased to replace a lower-fuel-mileage 2020 389 that powered his maiden voyage in trucking as an owner-operator. He's getting 10 mpg now, and providing a reliable home for leased owners. As of July 2026, the fleet's up to 14 trucks and set up for further growth.

Small Fleet Champ Wes Oberman harnesses AI coding, builds custom TMS

FMCSA's recent warning on MC number sales hasn't ended the grey market trade just yet.

$75K for your authority? Underground MC number sales network uncovered

How carrier vetting changed, before and after big SCOTUS ruling

More episodes »