Article Summary
Trucking news and briefs for Friday, July 10, 2026:
- State police turn attention to cargo theft, recover $11M in three months.
- Own a reefer trailer? Carrier Transicold looks to ease replacement costs.
- More electric truck charging available in California.
Indiana troopers stepping up cargo theft enforcement
State troopers in Indiana are being proactive in the fight against cargo theft and have recovered approximately a dozen loads of stolen cargo in recent months.
Indiana State Police noted that several of its Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division (CVED) troopers recently attended cargo theft training and are conducting successful investigations as a result.
In the approximately 12 truckloads recovered since April of this year in north-central, central and south-central Indiana, the estimated value of the recovered cargo is more than $11 million.
“The Troopers are using long standing and proven investigative techniques coupled with emerging technologies to identify, track, and successfully recover stolen cargo,” ISP said in a release. “Multiple local and federal law enforcement agencies have assisted in these investigations, and several suspects have been arrested or detained on criminal charges.”
ISP also highlighted several signs drivers and others in the transportation industry should be on the lookout for to detect potential cargo theft:
- Transportation fees which are well below industry standards
- Commercial vehicles marked with a carrier name different than what was expected
- Unprofessional/low quality/temporary or easily changeable vehicle markings
- Mismatched/changing carrier contact information (emails, phone numbers, contact persons)
- Requests for rerouting of cargo in-transit, and multiple incidents of load re-brokering
ISP encourages anyone who believes they are a victim of cargo theft, or who has information regarding cargo thefts, to contact local law enforcement or the nearest Indiana State Police Post to file a report.
Carrier Transicold launches new reefer unit replacement program
Owner-operators in the reefer business who own trailers equipped with Carrier Transicold reefer units have a new option to upgrade the unit without replacing the entire trailer.
Carrier Transicold this week announced Fleet Refresh, a new program that allows refrigerated fleets to replace aging transport refrigeration units (TRUs) on existing trailers, providing an alternative to full trailer replacement.
Rising trailer acquisition costs and extended lead times are prompting many reefer fleets to look for alternatives to traditional equipment replacement cycles, Carrier Transicold said. Its new Fleet Refresh program is designed for companies that want to extend the life of existing trailer assets while upgrading aging refrigeration equipment.
Because the program focuses on replacing the TRU, certain trailer-mounted components such as the fuel tank and light bar are not required, resulting in potentially lower acquisition cost compared to a standard new TRU installation.
Fleet Refresh is available across Carrier Transicold’s single- and multi-temperature trailer TRU models, including the X4 7500, X4 7700, Vector 8500, Vector 8700, Vector 8600MT and Vector 8800MT.
“Many fleets are extending trailer life cycles because of equipment costs and supply constraints, but they still need reliable refrigeration performance,” said Greg Turner, Trailer Product Manager, Truck Trailer Americas, Carrier Transicold. “Fleet Refresh gives customers access to the latest Carrier TRU technology and performance, along with Lynx Fleet telematics and BluEdge service coverage, without replacing a productive trailer.”
Older trailers naturally lose insulating efficiency over time, the company added, which means maintaining temperature performance can become more demanding on refrigeration equipment. Fleet Refresh pairs the new unit with Lynx Fleet telematics and BluEdge coverage, providing visibility into unit performance and access to a service plan to help maximize uptime.
Fleet Refresh TRUs are Lynx Fleet-ready, an added value for fleets whose removed units may predate Lynx Fleet-compatible hardware.
Fleet Refresh TRU installation and removal are performed by Carrier Transicold dealers and are available now.
WattEV opens new electric-truck charging station
WattEV's Fresno charging depot is the first of several in the network that will be used by Tesla Semis operating out of the Port of Oakland starting this year, WattEV said.WattEV
Heavy-duty electric charging infrastructure provider WattEV late last month celebrated the grand opening of its seventh heavy-duty electric truck charging depot in California, creating a key link between the ports of Oakland, Stockton and inland freight hubs in the northern San Joaquin Valley.
The Fresno WattEV charging depot is the first of four sites planned to enable zero-emission truck freight transport in Northern California. The Fresno depot is located on the busy Highway 99 corridor in Fresno, and is soon to be connected to depots at the Ports of Oakland and Stockton coming online later this year, WattEV said.
WattEV is scheduled to break ground this summer on an additional solar-powered charging depot directly across I-5 from Sacramento International Airport. Once completed, WattEV’s network of charging depots in Northern California will open zero-emission truck transport lanes between the Bay Area, Sacramento, the Central Valley, Nevada and beyond, linking to WattEV’s existing Southern California network of six depots, which is also expanding.
“We’re excited to see the Northern California portion of our network coming together just in time for the arrival of the Tesla trucks,” said Salim Youssefzadeh, CEO and co-founder of WattEV. “This project is a milestone for us. Northern California is now poised to benefit from the expansion of electrified freight hauling we’ve helped build up in Southern California. We’re excited about moving zero-emission freight through Fresno, which is within easy reach of both the Port of Oakland and our solar-powered Bakersfield depot, which is the gateway to our Southern California network.”
WattEV’s Fresno public charging depot features seven MCS megawatt chargers, enabling charging “dwell times” of 30 minutes or less, comparable to diesel refueling times, the company said. It also includes 15 single-cord 240kW CCS chargers,
The WattEV Fresno truck charging depot is aided by Pacific Gas & Electric’s Flex Connect program.
The Fresno site joins other six other WattEV charging depots at the Port of Long Beach, Bakersfield, San Bernardino, Gardena, Vernon and Oxnard.
