Here are the headlines from this week in trucking:

C.H. Robinson acquired RXO Freight for $5.8 billion

C.H. Robinson is acquiring rival freight brokerage RXO in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at nearly $6 billion. The combination of two of the freight industry’s largest asset-light brokers will create an enterprise worth around $25 billion and is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

Schneider is growing its number of driver instructors

Schneider, No. 7 on the FleetOwner 500: For-Hire, said that it expanded its driver instructor positions by 26% to boost its training capacity. The instructors will help move new hires from onboarding to behind-the-wheel training. Schneider did not disclose how many new instructors a 26% boost entails, but said 90% of its current instructors were promoted from driver roles.

What’s going on with federal diesel taxes?

The White House issued an executive order that hopes to lower the cost of diesel for truck fleets. The executive order, titled “Emergency Tax Relief on Diesel Fuel,” directs the Treasury to defer federal diesel fuel taxes and penalties, and directs the IRS to remove the penalty for using red dye diesel fuel for on-highway transportation. Red diesel is normally tax-exempt fuel meant only for certain off-highway transportation, such as farm tractors.

However, the order might not do very much after all. The federal diesel tax is only 24.4 cents per gallon, much less than the average state tax of 36 cents per gallon. The federal tax deferral also means carriers will pay that tax later unless an act of Congress intervenes. 

State diesel taxes remain in effect in most of the nation. As of this writing, the states that have suspended their diesel taxes include Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, and Utah.

States that have paused their enforcement of red diesel include Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Autonomous developers are receiving a long-term waiver for their warning beacons

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) approved a five-year exemption that allows autonomous trucks to use high-visibility warning beacons mounted to the truck cab instead of the usual external reflective warning triangles.

DOT issued the first warning beacon waiver in October 2025 as a temporary three-month waiver. DOT then extended that short-term waiver multiple times. DOT last issued the three-month waiver on July 10 this year, and it was set to expire later this week.

Waabi has its first operation with Volvo Autonomous Solutions

The Volvo VNL Autonomous powered by the Waabi Driver is finally hitting public roads. The Waabi VNL Autonomous is running along the Dallas-Houston corridor in Texas, providing autonomous LTL and truckload services through the freight network Warp. The truck currently has a safety observer in the driver’s seat.

Kodiak also launched a new autonomous freight operation in Texas

Kodiak AI now has an autonomous freight operation with Charger USA. Kodiak’s autonomous driving system will move refrigerated and dry freight across a 435-mile lane between Charger’s terminals in Dallas and Laredo.

The companies completed their first delivery on September 8 but only just announced the collaboration on October 8. The trucks in this lane currently have a safety driver behind the wheel.

Spot market rates rose across the board

Spot market rates rose by 3 cents last week to $3.27 per mile, according to FTR Transportation Intelligence. Dry van rates increased almost 8 cents, refrigerated rates increased 5 cents, and flatbed rates rose 3 cents.

In fuel, the price of diesel fell by 18 cents

The national average on-highway diesel price fell by 18 cents to $6.20 per gallon, according to weekly data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), or $6.28 per gallon according to the latest data from AAA. The Iran War continues.

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