Blog
Daily articles by Luis Lopez on the freight industry, AI in logistics, and freight law and risk. Browse by topic: AI in Logistics · Freight Industry · Freight Law & Risk
Overweight Ticket Disputes: Who Pays When a Load Is Too Heavy
Luis Lopez explains overweight ticket disputes: gross vs axle weight, shipper-declared weights, VGM for export containers, and how contracts and scale tickets decide who pays.
Driver Touch vs No-Touch Freight: Luis Lopez on What Unloading Terms Really Mean
Luis Lopez breaks down what no touch, driver assist, live unload and lumper terms really mean, and how to write unloading terms on a tender so nobody argues at the dock.
Freight Data Ownership Disputes: What to Check in a Logistics Software Contract
Luis Lopez walks through what to check in a logistics software contract to avoid freight data ownership disputes, from AI training rights and export on termination to confidentiality and liability caps.
PRO Numbers, BOL Numbers and PO Numbers: The Reference Numbers That Track a Shipment
Luis Lopez explains what PRO numbers, BOL numbers and PO numbers are, who issues each one, and why mismatched reference numbers cause tracking and billing problems.
Top 10 Freight Mistakes E-Commerce Brands Make When They Start Shipping Pallets
Luis Lopez covers the ten most common freight mistakes e-commerce brands make when they move from parcel to pallet shipping, from freight class and packaging to accessorials, retailer routing guides and carrier liability.
Freight Rate Indexes Explained: How Spot and Contract Benchmarks Are Built
Luis Lopez explains how spot and contract freight rate indexes are built, why posted rates, sample bias and lag matter, and how shippers should actually use benchmarks.
AI for IFTA and Mileage Reporting: What Fleets Can Automate and What They Must Check
Luis Lopez explains what fleets can safely automate in IFTA and mileage reporting, from ELD-based jurisdiction miles to fuel receipt capture and gap detection, and which checks a person still has to make before every quarterly return.
AI Rate Negotiation Prep: Luis Lopez on Using AI Before You Pick Up the Phone
Luis Lopez walks brokers, carriers and shippers through using AI to prepare for freight rate negotiations, from lane history and walk-away numbers to talking points, and explains the risks of trusting the prep too much.
Top 10 Ways AI Is Changing Cross-Border Freight
Luis Lopez breaks down ten practical ways AI is changing cross-border freight between the US, Mexico and Canada, from document checks and border wait prediction to compliance screening, and where human review still has to stay in charge.
On-Device AI in Trucks: Why Some Freight AI Runs in the Cab Instead of the Cloud
Luis Lopez explains why some trucking AI runs on devices in the cab instead of the cloud, covering latency, connectivity gaps, privacy, dash cams and driver assistance, and the update and cost tradeoffs fleets should weigh.
Trailer and Container Seals Explained: What Shippers and Drivers Should Check
Luis Lopez explains trailer and container seals, from plastic, cable, and bolt seals to ISO 17712 high-security seals, and the checks shippers, drivers, and receivers should make at every handoff.
Fuel Surcharge Disputes: How Contract Language Decides What a Shipper Owes
Most fuel surcharge disputes trace back to loose contract language. Luis Lopez breaks down the base price, index, timing, mileage, accessorial, and rounding terms that decide what a shipper owes, and how to resolve disagreements with documentation.