Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026:
- Stay aware of your surroundings over Labor Day weekend.
- Get cash for referrals to this factoring service.
- Somebody was going to have to stop, and I stopped that day.” --Highway Angel Patrick Fluegel
Keep your head on a swivel: Labor Day weekend brings boost in cargo theft threat
With Labor Day looming Monday, Sept. 7, shippers and motor carriers across the United States should carefully review shipping schedules surrounding the long weekend, according to supply chain and risk management company Overhaul.
Holidays routinely alter operating hours at receiving facilities -- be sure to confirm hours of operation before departing with loads scheduled for Friday, Sept. 4, and Monday, Sept. 7.
Cargo thieves well know holiday weekends throw a wrench into those schedules, and that freight can sit unattended for extended periods. Trailers staged outside big-box receivers are prime targets for pilferage and straight theft with distribution center and warehouse operations compromised to varying extents -- reduced staffing, scaled back security.
It all gives criminals a larger window to operate, and can also delay discovery of losses, key to getting away the crime in many cases.
At once, it's deceptive tactics conducted over communications networks -- double brokering, fraudulent carrier identities, spoofed communication and falsified paperwork -- that tend to lead the ranking of the primary vectors for stealing freight today.
Extended holiday lead times can make these schemes harder to detect, too, with the gap between theft and discovery stretching across the entire three-day weekend.
As previously reported, industry-wide losses in the second quarter of 2026 more than doubled in value year over year, even as the number of incidents fell.
Overhaul’s recommendations for carriers, drivers, shippers:
- Stop only in well-lit, secured areas with trailer doors backed to a solid surface, if possible.
- Shippers are encouraged to confirm receivers hours of operation -- adjust schedules as needed to avoid unnecessary staging.
- Thoroughly vet all brokers, carriers and drivers, and document all necessary details for each shipment.
- Facilities should also ensure all security systems are functioning properly.
A few more tried-and-true best practices, among others related to operational security to help prevent theft:
- Don't stop after leaving a pickup location for long distances (at least 200 miles) to avoid being followed from a facility by a would-be thief.
- Only drop trailers in a secure, fenced yard, and do not drop trailers overnight.
- Don't unhook a trailer if it isn't necessary.
Find more in this story about recent-years' proliferation of targeted theft, and ways to prevent.
[Related: Cargo theft loss values skyrocket]
Freight factoring company offering incentives for referrals
Porter Freight Funding, a freight factoring and fuel card provider, is extending a customer referral program through Sept. 30, reinforcing what the company calls one of the strongest standing referral incentives in freight.
Under the program, existing Porter customers earn $300 for every new customer they refer who successfully funds their first invoice, a rate that applies at all times, with no expiration date and no promotional conditions attached.
Newly referred customers who fund their first invoice before Sept. 30 earn an additional $250, a limited-time enhancement layered on top of Porter's already-standing bonus structure.
The incentive program is open to referrals across dry van, reefer, flatbed and power-only carriers, and brokerages with at least one year of active experience, per underwriting approval, the company said.
"Our customers work hard for their money, and too often they're the ones waiting on it," said John Land, President of Porter Freight Funding. "This referral program isn't about a promotion with an expiration date. It's about rewarding the trust our customers place in us by sharing Porter with someone else who needs the same reliable partner they found in us. A $300 thank-you and a faster path to funding might seem small, but if it helps even one more trucking business stay on the road, it's worth doing every single day, not just for a limited time."
Referrals can be submitted through Porter's freight factoring referral program, and payouts are processed after the referred carrier funds its first invoice.
[Related: How owner-ops dodge shady brokers, ensuring freight's paid when due]
Truck driver’s quick actions to help fellow truck driver after crash recognized
Patrick Fluegel, a truck driver for Crosslin Trucking, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for his courageous rescue of a fellow truck driver trapped inside an overturned dump truck following a serious crash on I-65 in Tennessee.
The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. on July 6, just south of the Interstate 840 interchange near Franklin, Tennessee.
Patrick Fluegel
“Right before I got to 840, the white one -- something broke, or he blew a tire -- and it just shot off onto the right into the embankment,” Fluegel recalled. “It basically landed on its side.”
His reaction was immediate.
“My first initial thought was, ‘Oh, crap,'” he said. “I got on the brakes, pulled over, and as I was setting the brakes, I was unbuckling and opening the door all at the same time.”
Fluegel sprinted to the wrecked truck and found the driver conscious but suspended by his seat belt inside the overturned cab.
“He was hanging there by the seat belt, but he couldn’t get his seat belt off,” Fluegel said.
Unable to reach the driver through the top of the truck, Fluegel made a split-second decision. He kicked out a window, climbed inside the overturned cab, lifted the driver to relieve pressure on the seat belt, released the buckle and helped pull him safely from the wreckage.
After helping the injured driver to another motorist’s vehicle so he could sit down, Fluegel remained on-scene until the Tennessee Highway Patrol arrived.
Later that day, Fluegel learned the driver had survived but suffered multiple fractures to his pelvis and hip.
“It was my first instinct,” Fluegel said. “Somebody was going to have to stop, and I stopped that day.”
[Related: Unconscious pickup driver trapped, on fire: This trucker's role in his rescue]
