Werner Q3 Profit Warning, $30M Meth Bust at Laredo, & Fuel Prices Top Trucking Concerns | The Morning Minute

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We kick things off with a stark profit warning from Werner Enterprises that underscores the brutal cost pressures squeezing carriers in the early stages of the market recovery.

The Omaha-based truckload giant cut its third quarter adjusted earnings per share guidance to just 15 to 16 cents on Monday, drastically missing Wall Street's consensus estimate of 36 cents. Werner flagged 18 cents in cumulative cost headwinds from elevated diesel fuel prices, higher driver recruitment and retention expenses, and a reserve adjustment for prior insurance claims. The company forecast revenue of $946 million to $951 million for the period, only slightly below analysts' expectations. While carriers like Werner are finally raising rates for the first time following a nearly four-year downturn, profitability is still being heavily compressed by early upcycle cost inflation. Werner will report full third quarter results on October 27th after the market closes, and shares were down 1.1 percent on Monday following the announcement. Meanwhile, a massive drug seizure at the border is highlighting the serious risks facing commercial freight operations along the U.S.-Mexico corridor. US. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered nearly $30.4 million in suspected methamphetamine inside a commercial salt shipment on October 12th at Laredo's World Trade Bridge. Officers recovered nearly 3,400 pounds of suspected meth from an international tractor trailer. They found 76 bags containing the suspected narcotics inside a trailer that looked like it was carrying salt. Authorities subsequently released the driver and equipment, while federal investigators continued examining the case. Officials have not publicly established whether the driver or trucking company knew about the concealed drugs. Homeland Security has taken over the investigation. Finally, fuel prices have roared back as the trucking industry's top concern, according to a new survey from the American Transportation Research Institute. The issue was number one in responses submitted by drivers and number two for carriers, finishing in the top slot overall in ATRI's annual critical concerns survey. Fuel prices didn't even crack the top 10 in the prior two years, but 2026 marks the fourth time in the 22 years of the survey that fuel prices were the number one overall concern. The carriers rating is particularly notable because it undercuts the idea that fuel surcharges are able to effectively move the cost of fuel onto the shipper with little impact on the carrier. The highest average weekly retail diesel price reported by the Energy Information Administration this year was $6.29 on September 22, which was also the highest in the data series history.