FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller calls the truck driver shortage a “myth” in a recent piece of self-promotion, but his assertion collapses under the weight of facts and data. Fuller claims the mythical shortage is an ATA fabrication—a narrative perpetuated for our convenience. Of course, we’re not alone in reporting this issue. Driver shortages are global in scope, with growing vacancies felt across the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and documented in IRU’s 2022 Global Driver Shortage Report: In Europe, driver shortages jumped by 42% from 2020 to 2021, with vacant driver positions reaching 71,000 in Romania, 80,000 in both Poland and Germany, and 100,000 in the UK. In Mexico, shortages rose by 30% to reach 54,000, while in China, they increased by 140%, reaching 1.8 million.

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The man accused of setting fire to a California warehouse likened himself to Luigi Mangione after allegedly lighting multiple fires in the name of anti-capitalism. The warehouse, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles and owned by the consumer goods company Kimberly-Clark Corp, was set ablaze last Tuesday. Twenty employees were inside the facility when the fire was set, but no one was harmed. Abdulkarim is an employee of NFI Industries — a third-party distributor for Kimberly-Clark Corp. He is accused of intentionally starting multiple fires at the 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse. In California, aggravated arson is applicable to a crime when the damage from the fire exceeds $10.1 million, and carries a penalty of ten years to life. Based on initial estimates, the paper products were worth $500 million and the building was worth $150 million.