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Transportation

SNCF’s fifth generation of TGV enters passenger service

Transportation via Railway Gazette
Quick Read

The first Alstom Avelia Horizon trainsets — now branded TGV Nouvelle Génération by national operator SNCF Voyageurs — began carrying passengers on November 6. Jérémie Anne reports from onboard the first service from Paris to Marseille. The passenger launch of the 320 km/h trainsets took place in the presence of Minister for Transport Philippe Tabarot, SNCF Group Chairman & CEO Jean Castex and Alstom Chairman & CEO Martin Sion. An initial six trainsets have entered revenue service, operating between Paris Lyon and Marseille St-Charles. A Paris – Nice return service will be added at the end of November, and services to the Alps are to follow in 2027. TGV of the future Alstom said the Avelia Horizon represents the most significant evolution in its very high speed train architecture since the TGV Duplex which entered service in 1996. The TGV of the future project to design a fifth generation of French high speed train was launched in 2016, when Alstom entered into an innovation partnership with SNCF Voyageurs. Alstom’s focus was offering higher capacity within existing train length and width, along with lower energy consumption, optimised maintenance costs and the flexibility to tailor the technical configuration, capacity, interior layout and passenger facilities to the operational, regulatory and market requirements of different customers. The project was developed by SNCF as TGV M, with the operator saying the M stood for the French words for modernity, mobility, modularity, management, better and partnership. It subsequently became TGV Inoui, and now TGV Nouvelle Génération. Speaking at the launch, David Goérès, TGV M project manager at SNCF Voyageurs, said 2 000 staff from Alstom and SNCF Voyageurs are working on the project, with 11 Alstom industrial sites in France involved in manufacturing, including Belfort and La Rochelle. Nearly 400 innovations in a 10-year project Avelia Horizon features nearly 400 innovations for which patent applications have been filed. The reduced weight, improved aerodynamics and more efficient traction systems have contributed to an overall 20% reduction in energy consumption, and a 32% reduction in energy consumption per passenger-km at maximum capacity. Energy storage units behind the power cars can keep safety and passenger comfort systems running if the power supply is lost in an emergency, and provide enough traction power to reach a station to avoid leaving passengers stranded in the countryside. SNCF Voyageurs is spending €300m to adapt its maintenance facilities for the new fleet, in particular the Technicentre Sud-Est Européen where the first trainsets are maintained. The trainsets for French domestic services have nine articulated aluminium double-deck coaches and two power cars equipped for 1.5 kV DC and 25 kV 50 Hz electrification systems. The power cars are shorter than those of the Euroduplex, creating room for an additional passenger coach within the same train length, and the cab has been completely redesigned, with a European driver’s desk and a single combined traction/brake controller. The trainsets are fitted with Hitachi dual ERTMS/TVM signalling systems as well as KVB. The trainsets are 202 m long with 573 seats in first and standard classes. A high-density configuration proposed for Ouigo services could carry 740 passengers. Every seat has USB and mains power sockets, an individual reading light and wi-fi. There are passenger information screens on the doors and in each saloon. Luggage areas and toilets have been redesigned, and there are cycle spaces. Coach 3 has a mobile platform to enable wheelchair users to reach the lower deck independently. Predictive maintenance systems, a reduction in the number of components and improved access aim to increase fleet availability and reduce maintenance costs by more than 30% compared with the previous generation of high speed train, with a scalable digital architecture designed to allow new technologies to be integrated throughout its operating life. SNCF Voyageurs orders In 2018 SNCF Voyageurs placed a €2.7bn order for an initial 100 trainsets for use on French domestic services from Paris Lyon. Entry into services had originally been envisaged for 2023-24, ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games. In 2022 a €590m order was placed for a further 15 sets for the Paris – Milano route to Italy and planned Italian domestic services on the Torino – Napoli and Torino – Venezia routes, with entry into service expected in 2028. A €1.4bn order for a further 30 trainsets for use by Eurostar was placed in October 2025, and these sets, branded Celestia, are due to enter service in May 2031. A further 15 quad-voltage trainsets were ordered by SNCF Voyageurs in January 2026 for France – Brussels services, with entry into service expected in 2029. All 160 trainsets are being financed from SNCF Voyageurs’ own funds, representing an investment of €4bn. Similar trainsets have been ordered by Morocco’s national railway ONCF, and 12 have been ordered by French open access start-up Velvet. By relying on a train design already selected by SNCF, Proxima hopes to avoid the testing and certification complexity of bespoke rolling stock programmes. ‘The entry into service of the new-generation TGV is a new demonstration of Alstom’s global leadership in high speed rail’, Alstom CEO Martin Sion said . ‘As the first train to enter service based on our Avelia Horizon platform, it builds on 45 years of experience and operational knowledge gained around the world. It is also the result of many years of close co-operation with SNCF and of the contribution of thousands of people across Alstom, our partners and our wider industrial ecosystem.’ See also SNCF confirms TGV of the Future order Rolling stock: Olympic deadline governs TGV M rollout SNCF unveils TGV-M livery Brakes and HVAC ordered for next-generation TGV First TGV M unveiled by Alstom and SNCF

The first Alstom Avelia Horizon trainsets — now branded TGV Nouvelle Génération by national operator SNCF Voyageurs — began carrying passengers on November 6. Jérémie Anne reports from onboard the first service from Paris to Marseille.

The passenger launch of the 320 km/h trainsets took place in the presence of Minister for Transport Philippe Tabarot, SNCF Group Chairman & CEO Jean Castex and Alstom Chairman & CEO Martin Sion.

An initial six trainsets have entered revenue service, operating between Paris Lyon and Marseille St-Charles. A Paris – Nice return service will be added at the end of November, and services to the Alps are to follow in 2027.

TGV of the future

Alstom said the Avelia Horizon represents the most significant evolution in its very high speed train architecture since the TGV Duplex which entered service in 1996.

The TGV of the future project to design a fifth generation of French high speed train was launched in 2016, when Alstom entered into an innovation partnership with SNCF Voyageurs.

Alstom’s focus was offering higher capacity within existing train length and width, along with lower energy consumption, optimised maintenance costs and the flexibility to tailor the technical configuration, capacity, interior layout and passenger facilities to the operational, regulatory and market requirements of different customers.

The project was developed by SNCF as TGV M, with the operator saying the M stood for the French words for modernity, mobility, modularity, management, better and partnership. It subsequently became TGV Inoui, and now TGV Nouvelle Génération.

Speaking at the launch, David Goérès, TGV M project manager at SNCF Voyageurs, said 2 000 staff from Alstom and SNCF Voyageurs are working on the project, with 11 Alstom industrial sites in France involved in manufacturing, including Belfort and La Rochelle.

Nearly 400 innovations in a 10-year project

Avelia Horizon features nearly 400 innovations for which patent applications have been filed.

The reduced weight, improved aerodynamics and more efficient traction systems have contributed to an overall 20% reduction in energy consumption, and a 32% reduction in energy consumption per passenger-km at maximum capacity.

Energy storage units behind the power cars can keep safety and passenger comfort systems running if the power supply is lost in an emergency, and provide enough traction power to reach a station to avoid leaving passengers stranded in the countryside.

SNCF Voyageurs is spending €300m to adapt its maintenance facilities for the new fleet, in particular the Technicentre Sud-Est Européen where the first trainsets are maintained.

The trainsets for French domestic services have nine articulated aluminium double-deck coaches and two power cars equipped for 1.5 kV DC and 25 kV 50 Hz electrification systems.

The power cars are shorter than those of the Euroduplex, creating room for an additional passenger coach within the same train length, and the cab has been completely redesigned, with a European driver’s desk and a single combined traction/brake controller. The trainsets are fitted with Hitachi dual ERTMS/TVM signalling systems as well as KVB.

The trainsets are 202 m long with 573 seats in first and standard classes. A high-density configuration proposed for Ouigo services could carry 740 passengers.

Every seat has USB and mains power sockets, an individual reading light and wi-fi. There are passenger information screens on the doors and in each saloon. Luggage areas and toilets have been redesigned, and there are cycle spaces.

Coach 3 has a mobile platform to enable wheelchair users to reach the lower deck independently.

Predictive maintenance systems, a reduction in the number of components and improved access aim to increase fleet availability and reduce maintenance costs by more than 30% compared with the previous generation of high speed train, with a scalable digital architecture designed to allow new technologies to be integrated throughout its operating life.

SNCF Voyageurs orders

In 2018 SNCF Voyageurs placed a €2.7bn order for an initial 100 trainsets for use on French domestic services from Paris Lyon. Entry into services had originally been envisaged for 2023-24, ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games.

In 2022 a €590m order was placed for a further 15 sets for the Paris – Milano route to Italy and planned Italian domestic services on the Torino – Napoli and Torino – Venezia routes, with entry into service expected in 2028.

A €1.4bn order for a further 30 trainsets for use by Eurostar was placed in October 2025, and these sets, branded Celestia, are due to enter service in May 2031.

A further 15 quad-voltage trainsets were ordered by SNCF Voyageurs in January 2026 for France – Brussels services, with entry into service expected in 2029.

All 160 trainsets are being financed from SNCF Voyageurs’ own funds, representing an investment of €4bn.

Similar trainsets have been ordered by Morocco’s national railway ONCF, and 12 have been ordered by French open access start-up Velvet. By relying on a train design already selected by SNCF, Proxima hopes to avoid the testing and certification complexity of bespoke rolling stock programmes.

‘The entry into service of the new-generation TGV is a new demonstration of Alstom’s global leadership in high speed rail’, Alstom CEO Martin Sion said . ‘As the first train to enter service based on our Avelia Horizon platform, it builds on 45 years of experience and operational knowledge gained around the world. It is also the result of many years of close co-operation with SNCF and of the contribution of thousands of people across Alstom, our partners and our wider industrial ecosystem.’

See also

  • SNCF confirms TGV of the Future order
  • Rolling stock: Olympic deadline governs TGV M rollout
  • SNCF unveils TGV-M livery
  • Brakes and HVAC ordered for next-generation TGV
  • First TGV M unveiled by Alstom and SNCF

Source: Railway Gazette

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Transportation

Big carriers keep FMCSA’s crackdown alive, Fuller says

FRISCO, Texas — Small carriers and brokers waiting for Washington to ease up on trucking enforcement should not expect relief from the next administration, FreightWaves founder and CEO Craig Fuller said Nov. 2, because the industry’s largest fleets now want the crackdown. Fuller gave the industry keynote at Optym’s Convergence 2026 conference. He tied together the federal push against non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses, a Supreme Court ruling that opened brokers to negligent-hiring suits, and a $604 million jury verdict against C.H. Robinson. Together, he said, they mark the most transformative period in trucking since deregulation in 1980. For brokers and small carriers, he argued, that means fewer cheap trucks to hire and more liability for the ones they do. Fuller said he is frequently asked whether a change in administration would ease restrictions, let more new operators into the industry, or end enforcement. “And I will say no,” he said. “Follow the money.” The largest motor carriers, along with the American Trucking Associations and the Truckload Carriers Association, have concluded that tighter standards for hiring drivers are “desperately needed” and “the only way that they will survive,” Fuller said. That support, he argued, holds whichever party wins. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0'); }); Fuller has tracked the non-domiciled CDL issue for more than a year. In a November 2025 debate with Ken Adamo, he said the federal interim rule on non-domiciled CDLs could remove 5% to 7% of drivers from the market. Lower standards sent drivers to small fleets For years, Fuller said, ATA argued that trucking faced a driver shortage, and much of the trucking legislation in Congress over the last decade cited it, including funding for driver schools. By lowering the barriers to entry, Fuller said, ATA and its members were “creating an environment that would result in their own demise.” Executives of his father’s generation expected new drivers to go to work for large fleets, he said, because they never pictured freight brokers becoming a primary channel for freight. Many of those drivers went to small operators that found their loads through brokers. Fuller traced the shift to the long-haul market. Owning a long-haul truckload carrier was one of the most profitable businesses in the country through the 1980s and 1990s, he said, until railroads won much of that freight with intermodal service. Brokers went from handling 6% of freight in the early 2000s to “probably in excess of 30%” today, Fuller said, as shippers’ procurement departments took over transportation buying and mandated bids. “The brokers are effectively the day traders in our industry,” he said. That access to loads changed how downturns end. Small carriers washed out in large numbers during the 2008 financial crisis, Fuller said, but they largely survived the Great Freight Recession that began in 2022. “The most deadly thing to happen to a trucking company is to run out of freight, run out of miles,” Fuller said. A carrier that covers its variable costs per mile, he said, can keep operating “for five to ten years without filing bankruptcy.” window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot3', [[728, 90], [468, 60], [320, 50], [300, 100]], 'div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'); }); Non-domiciled CDLs and the long downturn FreightWaves spent much of the downturn trying to explain how so many carriers stayed open, Fuller said. “We kept looking at the data and saying, where, how are they staying in business? It made no sense.” His answer is drivers holding non-domiciled CDLs and operators working outside the rules, often at lower pay. “We now know that’s probably the primary reason that this market suffered,” Fuller said. Steve Troyer, president of California Midwest Xpress, told FreightWaves in December that brokered freight moving more than 500 miles had routinely paid 25 to 75 cents a mile below his company’s operating costs for much of the prior three and a half years. Freight analysts have pinned the downturn on carriers that entered during the pandemic freight boom. In September 2024, FTR’s Avery Vise told DC Velocity the market still had “something on the order of 95,000 more for-hire carriers” than before the pandemic. When the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stayed FMCSA’s interim rule in November 2025, the majority wrote that, by the agency’s own data, non-domiciled CDL holders were “approximately 5 percent of all CDL holders but only about 0.2 percent of fatal crashes.” One judge dissented, arguing the five crashes behind that figure were not an exhaustive count. FMCSA’s final rule, published in February, took effect March 16. Crash rates and broker liability Fuller described trucking as suffering from “a security crisis, a safety crisis, and an economic crisis.” At least one major freight theft makes FreightWaves’ daily show every day, he said. On safety, his point was that crash rates climbed even as the largest carriers spent more on training than ever and ran the safest equipment the industry has had. Adding to the data challenges, the FMCSA does not track crash data by CDL category. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot4', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668086344-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1709668086344-0'); }); FMCSA’s Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2022, the latest edition of that report, shows large trucks involved in fatal crashes rising from 1.22 per 100 million vehicle miles in 2010 to 1.76 in 2022. NHTSA’s newer Traffic Safety Facts 2024 shows that rate has since eased to 1.58, with 5,340 people killed in crashes involving large trucks in 2024. Brokers, which Fuller said FMCSA oversees only lightly, now face their own compliance problem. On May 14, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that a state negligent-hiring claim against a broker falls under the safety exception of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act. Brokers had argued the law’s preemption of state rules on their services blocked those suits. Before the decision, Fuller said on FreightWaves TV that a loss would be “an extinction event for a lot of freight brokers.” He said the call drew “a lot of heat.” Large brokers he spoke with after the ruling expected it to push smaller rivals out of business, Fuller said. Then, in July, a Dallas County jury returned the $604 million verdict in Lipe v. Lupus Superior, finding C.H. Robinson 23% responsible for a 2021 crash in Mississippi that killed three people. “It was an oh my god moment for them,” he said. C.H. Robinson has said the carrier held a Satisfactory FMCSA rating when it was selected and after a federal review of the crash. Fuller singled out the jury’s finding that the driver was effectively a C.H. Robinson employee, a theory the plaintiffs built on his use of the company’s app. The court confirmed the verdict in October, and Overdrive reported interest brings it to about $711 million, with the borrowed-employee finding leaving the broker exposed to nearly all of it. FMCSA’s own Safety Measurement System site warns that readers “should not draw conclusions about a carrier’s overall safety condition simply based on the data displayed in this system.” It treats any carrier without an Unsatisfactory rating or an FMCSA order to stop operating as authorized to run. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot5', [[728, 90], [468, 60], [320, 50], [300, 100]], 'div-gpt-ad-1665767778941-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1665767778941-0'); }); “So now, when you’re a freight broker, you’re hiring capacity, you’re on your own,” Fuller said. “The federal government is not going to help determine that aspect. You’ve got to do it yourself.” Brokers are already adjusting. By late May, C.H. Robinson had begun moving carriers to non-certified status based on their safety scores, though the company has not publicly tied the change to the decision. Shippers and warehouses named in suits The liability is spreading past brokers, Fuller said. He pointed to the suit over the crash that injured Dalilah Coleman, the girl President Donald Trump recognized in his State of the Union address. The amended complaint names Unilever and warehouse operator United States Cold Storage alongside C.H. Robinson, alleging they failed to verify the carrier that picked up the load. Fuller said he would bet at least 20% to 30% of loads leave a warehouse without anyone checking that the truck at the dock belongs to the assigned carrier. “It’s been a security problem, and now we have a litigation problem,” he said. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot6', [[728, 90], [468, 60], [320, 50], [300, 100]], 'div-gpt-ad-1665767872042-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1665767872042-0'); }); But the extent of broker liability is still being tested. In a concurrence joined by Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that brokers “should be able to successfully defend against state tort suits if the brokers have acted reasonably.” C.H. Robinson has said it will appeal the Dallas verdict, and its May 14 statement on the ruling reports one serious accident claim for every 500 million miles driven on its customers’ loads. Looking ahead, those same shippers may revert to having more large asset based carriers in future bids due to these liability issues. A shipper that tenders a load to a carrier that hired its own driver and met the standards is in the strongest position, Fuller said. “And so my final prediction is that the asset carriers are going to win this round.” Why it matters: Brokers and shippers heading into 2027 truckload bids have to price two costs at once: liability for the carriers they pick, and fewer cheap carriers to pick from. For asset based carriers, this crackdown presents an opportunity to regain lost market share or push for higher rates. The post Big carriers keep FMCSA’s crackdown alive, Fuller says appeared first on FreightWaves.

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Compromised communications linked to 40% of stolen loads in Highway fraud report

A legitimate trucking company can have established operating authority, verified credentials and years of transportation history. But those records cannot guarantee that the person requesting freight actually controls the business. Criminals exploit trusted carrier identities to obtain shipments without immediately raising suspicion. Highway’s latest fraud findings document how compromised communications and ownership changes create opportunities for cargo theft. Highway’s third-quarter Freight Fraud Index reveals how criminals targeted established carrier accounts between July and September 2026. Ownership change reports increased 111.4% from the previous quarter but rose 12.4% year over year. Meanwhile, fraudulent and spoofed calls blocked by the company increased 90.3% year over year. These findings highlight growing identity-related concerns across the freight network. Despite these warning signs, Highway received fewer stolen load reports than during the previous quarter. The company recorded 184 incidents, representing a 28.1% quarterly decline. However, that figure remained 8.2% higher than the same period last year. Highway cautions that its findings reflect activity within its network, not nationwide cargo theft totals. In written comments to FreightWaves, Highway attributed part of the decline to stronger verification procedures within its network. The company highlighted increased adoption of authenticated rate confirmations and additional identity checks before releasing shipment information. Those measures aim to prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing freight through compromised carrier accounts. However, Highway cautioned against crediting any single measure for the entire decline. Highway emphasized that brokers must verify the individual accessing shipment information, not just the carrier. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0'); }); Criminals accessed carrier email accounts and used familiar addresses to request sensitive shipment information. Brokers encountered messages that appeared to originate from trusted transportation partners. Highway attributed 40.2% of its third-quarter stolen load reports to compromised communications. Unlike the second-quarter statistic covering fraud vectors, this figure measures the share of reported stolen shipments involving compromised communications. The report identifies emailed rate confirmations as another vulnerability when criminals compromise carrier accounts. Unauthorized individuals can access shipment details through those inboxes. The risk extends beyond onboarding because criminals can gain access after brokers approve legitimate carriers. Its findings reinforce previous warnings about evolving freight fraud tactics. Highway documented cases involving carriers that accepted legitimate shipments before stealing the freight themselves. Direct theft incidents declined 16% quarterly, but their share of reported stolen loads increased from 31.3% to 36.4%. The company previously examined the shift toward direct cargo theft involving established carrier identities. Some operators collected multiple loads within several days before brokers discovered the missing freight. In its response to FreightWaves, Highway explained why these incidents present a particularly difficult verification challenge. The carriers involved may have established operating histories, legitimate equipment and trusted relationships with brokers. Their pickups can appear routine, making suspicious activity difficult to identify before the theft occurs. Unlike some other fraud methods, direct theft may offer fewer warning signs before a shipment disappears. Real credentials, different people Highway received 518 carrier ownership change reports during the third quarter. Its findings describe how criminals exploit established motor carrier authorities to obtain freight under recognizable company identities. A recent federal cargo theft case involving more than $12 million illustrates the potential consequences. Prosecutors allege conspirators took control of established trucking companies and impersonated previous owners to secure freight shipments. Alyssa Fleury serves as director of operations at PEI, a freight brokerage based in Griffin, Georgia. She described the challenges brokers face when established carrier credentials no longer reflect who controls the business. Her team has encountered unauthorized carrier substitutions, suspicious communications and trucking companies operating under familiar authorities. Those situations require additional verification beyond the carrier’s operating history. Fleury emphasized that legitimate credentials alone cannot establish who will actually transport the freight. “A carrier can look great on paper, with established authority and a clean history,” Fleury wrote. However, she cautioned that the individuals currently operating under that authority might differ from its previous owners. Her brokerage sometimes hires one carrier only to discover another trucking company arriving for pickup. Those discrepancies trigger additional checks of operating authority, insurance coverage and the relationship between the businesses. The distinction requires brokers to verify both the authorized contact and the company physically transporting the freight. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot3', [[728, 90], [468, 60], [320, 50], [300, 100]], 'div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'); }); Highway reported that some buyers offered sellers money to falsely confirm that carrier ownership had not changed. These statements could conceal transfers involving established trucking authorities. Meanwhile, thefts associated with sold authorities declined from 21.1% to 7.1% of reported incidents. Highway says its ownership verification checks contributed to that decline. Another finding raises questions about carrier identity verification and screening under legitimate trucking authorities. Highway reported that 87% of direct theft events involved carriers with a particular identity verification history. Those carriers had at least one Highway user whose records included a non-domiciled or limited-term CDL designation. The company measured this association across reported direct theft events during the preceding 90 days. Asked how frequently the same verification history appears across its overall carrier network, Highway did not provide a percentage. The company confirmed that its Q3 Index lacks the network-wide comparison necessary to evaluate the finding. Without that baseline, the 87% figure cannot establish whether flagged histories occur disproportionately among carriers involved in direct theft. The association also does not establish that flagged users transported or stole the shipments. Highway estimates that targeted non-domiciled and limited-term CDL screening reduces available carrier capacity by approximately 7%. The calculation assumes brokers configure restrictions for higher-risk states and a defined historical review period. The company recommends evaluating these settings against individual transportation networks. Its report does not quantify how many thefts the screening measures prevented. FMCSA’s non-domiciled CDL rule took effect March 16, 2026. It limits eligibility for foreign-domiciled applicants to H-2A, H-2B and E-2 immigration classifications. Those licensing restrictions are separate from Highway’s fraud findings. The report does not establish that non-domiciled CDL holders are more likely to commit cargo theft. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot4', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668086344-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1709668086344-0'); }); Thousands of shared identities and vehicle records Highway identified 22,020 vehicle identification numbers appearing on insurance certificates for multiple carriers. Among those records, 975 appeared across at least three authorities. Another 104 connected to five or more trucking businesses. One VIN appeared on certificates involving 15 different companies. The report also identified 5,336 identity documents associated with multiple Highway user accounts. Of those, 746 connected to more than one carrier authority. Highway cautions that shared records do not automatically indicate fraudulent activity. Equipment leasing, affiliated businesses and clerical errors can produce legitimate overlaps. Geographically, California remained the leading pickup location for stolen loads reported to Highway. The state accounted for nearly half of the company’s third-quarter incidents. New Jersey ranked second, followed by Texas. General merchandise, electronics and bulk commodities represented the most frequently targeted freight categories. Highway identified Colombia, India and the Philippines as the leading recorded origins of blocked foreign sign-in attempts. Its systems flag suspicious access originating outside a user’s home country. However, criminals can disguise their internet connection locations through technical methods. The recorded country therefore does not necessarily identify where an individual physically operated. Highway also blocked 670,230 fraudulent inbound emails during the quarter. That figure represented a 10.6% increase compared with the previous year. Unauthorized FMCSA contact changes reached 15,491, climbing 12.7% from the second quarter. These indicators demonstrate the volume of suspicious activity the company’s systems encountered. Highway expects holiday shipping demand to create additional opportunities for cargo thieves during the fourth quarter. Tighter capacity could increase pressure on brokers to bypass established verification procedures. The company recommends confirming authorized carrier contacts, checking driver information and documenting exceptions before releasing shipments. Its findings emphasize maintaining those safeguards during urgent bookings, including nights and weekends. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot5', [[728, 90], [468, 60], [320, 50], [300, 100]], 'div-gpt-ad-1665767778941-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1665767778941-0'); }); Why it matters Legitimate operating authorities and established carrier relationships cannot independently establish who controls a shipment. Freight brokers must verify the individuals requesting freight before granting access to sensitive information or releasing cargo. CFCO In my opinion, Highway’s findings reinforce a critical lesson: Fraud prevention cannot stop at carrier onboarding. The Certified Fraud Compliance Officer (CFCO) program teaches transportation professionals to verify identities, investigate suspicious activity and make consistent decisions. Technology can identify warning signs, but trained employees must know how to respond. The most expensive mistake is often the one your team was never trained to recognize. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd.push(function() { var gptSlot = googletag.defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot6', [[728, 90], [468, 60], [320, 50], [300, 100]], 'div-gpt-ad-1665767872042-0').defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps.banner1).addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); setInterval(function() { if (!document.hidden) { googletag.pubads().refresh([gptSlot]); } }, 60000); }); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1665767872042-0'); }); Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phil Brink. CBP seizes 1,000-plus pounds of meth in produce truck at Texas border – FreightWaves $500,000 SIG Sauer shipment stolen in fictitious pickup, two arrested in California – FreightWaves Stolen shoes on eBay lead police to $1 million in missing BNSF train cargo – FreightWaves The post Compromised communications linked to 40% of stolen loads in Highway fraud report appeared first on FreightWaves.

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