The Ship Show
Good morning, and welcome to The Ship Show!
Football returns tomorrow night, provided we use the word “football” generously.
The Panthers and Cardinals will open the NFL preseason in the Hall of Fame Game, where both teams will bravely determine which backup quarterback can hand the ball off most convincingly.
The NFL preseason and Whose Line Is It Anyway have a couple things in common: everything is made up and the points don’t matter.
The starters will spend most of the night wearing headsets and answering questions about how excited they are, which is also what employees do when they’re forced to attend a company retreat.
The coaches will contribute by saying they “saw some good things” but still “have plenty to clean up,” the official NFL language for refusing to explain anything.
Preseason football exists primarily to test how desperate we’ve become.
Still, we’ll take it. This is the tiny complimentary bread basket before the actual season arrives, and we haven’t eaten since February.
– Greyson Harris
The Headlines
States Sue Trump Administration Over Tariffs, Again
Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration Monday over its latest round of tariffs, arguing that the White House has responded to losing at the Supreme Court by finding a different section of federal law and trying the same thing again.
The administration imposed tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on imports from 59 countries and the European Union last month, claiming those governments had failed to adequately prevent goods produced with forced labor from entering their markets.
The sequel no one asked for
The new tariffs cover countries responsible for roughly 99% of U.S. imports, which is a remarkably broad way to target a supposedly specific problem.
The new duties took effect just as temporary worldwide tariffs expired July 24, ensuring that importers had almost no opportunity to experience life without a fresh layer of federal uncertainty baked into their costs.
“After losing at the Supreme Court, the administration is once again trying to illegally raise taxes on families and businesses with a new round of tariffs,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
Previously, on Tariff Court
Trump initially imposed sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, arguing that America’s longstanding trade deficit qualified as a national emergency.
That law gives presidents broad authority during emergencies, but the Supreme Court ruled in February that it does not include the power to place tariffs on nearly everything entering the country.
That decision forced the government to refund importers that had already paid the duties, which was presumably not the revenue-generating outcome the administration had envisioned.
After the ruling, the White House imposed temporary 10% tariffs on imports worldwide. Those duties were allowed to remain in place until midnight July 24, giving officials time to locate another legal loophole foundation before the tariff machine briefly lost power.
Conveniently, they found one in Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Guess we’re not gonna let this go, huh?
Section 301 allows the president to impose tariffs and other sanctions against countries found to engage in unfair trade practices. Trump used the law to levy major duties on China during his first term, and those tariffs survived court challenges.
This time, the White House argues that countries failing to prevent the importation of goods made with forced labor are engaging in unreasonable practices that burden American commerce.
“The United States is using its lawful authority to obtain the elimination of unreasonable acts, policies, and practices that burden U.S. commerce,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said.
Desai added that Section 301 has proven to be a legally durable tool, which has become an increasingly important product feature for administration tariff policies.
Get ready to argue over wording
The states claim the forced-labor justification is little more than a pretext for restoring the import taxes struck down earlier this year.
The administration says the new tariffs address a legitimate trade problem and rest on legal authority that has already held up in court.
So the dispute now comes down to whether this is a meaningfully different policy or the same policy submitted again with a revised cover page.
Either way, importers can once again enjoy waiting for a federal judge to explain what their landed costs are supposed to be.
Trucking Crackdown Starts to Show Results
You can run, but you can’t hide.
A new progress report from the Trucking Association Executives Council says regulators removed nearly 10,000 CDL schools from the federal training registry, investigated 704 high-risk carriers, and placed more than 27,000 drivers out of service for English-language violations over the past year.
365 days of enforcement
The broader enforcement push has produced plenty of other large numbers:
- 430 carriers voluntarily ceasing operations
- 60 to 70 carriers shut down
- 3,200 visa revocations tied to cabotage enforcement
- 76 noncompliant ELD platforms removed from the federal registry
The report also points to $217 million in new federal investments related to highway safety and CDL integrity. Meanwhile, federal officials have withheld $273 million in highway funding from states that failed to comply with updated requirements.
Stress test
Some of the most aggressive changes involve non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses, which are generally issued to drivers whose permanent residence is outside the state or country where the license is granted.
TAEC says new federal eligibility and verification rules will eventually make more than 194,000 existing non-domiciled CDL holders ineligible, representing roughly 97% of the current total. The report says thousands of licenses have already been revoked in certain states.
Federal regulators have also audited all 50 states’ CDL programs and non-domiciled licensing practices. At least 20 states have enacted or proposed legislation addressing CDL integrity, English proficiency, cargo theft, and driver qualifications, while others have updated enforcement policies to match federal rules.
The crackdown follows years of concern that gaps in training and licensing systems allowed drivers to obtain credentials without receiving adequate instruction.
TAEC’s argument is straightforward: A school should have to prove it can train commercial drivers before being allowed to train commercial drivers, an administrative breakthrough decades in the making.
Outnumbered
Despite the enforcement progress, TAEC says the agency responsible for overseeing commercial trucking remains dramatically understaffed.
The report compares FMCSA with the Federal Aviation Administration:
- The FAA has approximately 46,000 employees overseeing 1.725 million entities.
- FMCSA has 1,118 employees overseeing nearly 8 million entities.
- That equals one FAA employee per 37.5 entities, compared with one FMCSA employee per 7,155.
Those workloads make it difficult to investigate risky carriers, maintain accurate safety data, and identify problems before crashes or fraud occur. Even the most dedicated federal employee cannot personally supervise 7,155 trucking entities.
I want solutions, not problems
TAEC has endorsed a 10-part FMCSA modernization proposal developed by the Truckload Carriers Association.
Among its recommendations:
- Increase FMCSA staffing and dedicated funding
- Replace fragmented registration systems with one vetted portal
- Require new carriers to prove safety readiness before receiving full authority
- Create continuously updated “fit or unfit” safety ratings
- Provide employers with real-time CDL status alerts
- Improve crash-data collection and public reporting
The broader goal is to stop relying solely on enforcement after an unsafe operator enters the market. TAEC wants a system capable of identifying fraud and safety risks before companies receive authority, drivers receive licenses, or questionable technology appears on an approved registry.
Transportation Trends
Rail traffic keeps climbing: U.S. rail traffic rose 2.5% year over year for the week ending July 25, with intermodal volume up 3.5% and carloads increasing 1.4%, according to the Association of American Railroads. Petroleum products and metals led the gains, while coal and chemicals slipped slightly. Through the first 29 weeks of 2026, combined U.S. rail volume was up 3.3%, while total North American traffic remained 2.9% ahead of last year.
Air cargo demand outpaces trade growth: Global air cargo demand rose 8.5% year over year in June, driven by high-value technology products, urgent shipments, and recovering Middle East networks, according to IATA. North American carriers led all regions with 13.1% growth, while international cargo traffic increased 9.6%. Capacity expanded at a slower 4.4% pace, keeping demand growth well ahead of the 5.2% increase in global trade.
Texas ports keep setting records: Port Houston handled a record 2.23 million TEUs in the first half of 2026, with June container volume rising 18% year over year as loaded imports surged. The Port of Corpus Christi also posted its strongest first half ever, moving 110.3 million tons, up 7.7% from the previous record. Growth was driven by crude oil, refined products, LNG, and agricultural shipments.
Diesel Benchmark Climbs for Fourth Straight Week
Diesel prices continued climbing at the pump this week, even as futures markets moved sharply in the opposite direction.
The DOE/EIA‘s weekly retail diesel benchmark rose 3.5 cents to $5.348 per gallon. The price has now increased for four consecutive weeks, gaining a combined 77 cents during that stretch.
But wholesale markets are already reacting to reports that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz may be near.
Ultra-low sulfur diesel futures on the CME fell 3.68%, 2.09%, and 5.93% over the three trading sessions ending Monday as traders embraced any indication that the strait’s closure could soon end. That followed a 5.28% increase the previous day, adding another abrupt swing to a market that has been exceptionally volatile since the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran in early March.
The selloff pushed Monday’s ULSD settlement to $3.8772 per gallon, its lowest level since July 13 and well below the $4.3416 settlement recorded July 23.
Other News
Infantino Withdraws FIFA Investment Proposal After Backlash
Like a referee jogging solemnly toward the VAR monitor, FIFA President Gianni Infantino reviewed the situation last week and discovered that, upon further inspection, nearly everyone hated his decision.
Infantino officially withdrew a proposal to sell private investors a 20% stake in a new company controlling the commercial business surrounding the World Cup and FIFA’s other major tournaments.
The reversal came after three days of condemnation, boycott threats, internal resignations, and the sort of workplace rebellion usually reserved for Industrial Revolution-era textile factories.
You know what makes sports better? Private equity!
The proposal centered on a new subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, which sounds like an extremely ambitious youth soccer camp.
Under the plan, FIFA would have transferred its primary money-making operations into the subsidiary, including broadcasting, sponsorships, ticketing, licensing, hospitality, and tournament delivery.
JPMorgan valued the enterprise at around $20 billion, while outside investors could have purchased up to 20% for roughly $4.2 billion. FIFA would have retained majority ownership and control over competition-related decisions.
The investors, presumably, would have simply handed over several billion dollars and then developed no opinions whatsoever about schedules, tournament formats, broadcasting opportunities, or the number of matches available for monetization.
The proceeds would have funded a major expansion of FIFA’s development payments. Each of FIFA’s 211 member associations could have received up to $40 million during the 2027-30 cycle:
- $20 million through regular FIFA Forward development funding.
- Another one-time $20 million for associations agreeing to participate in the private-investment plan.
Associations that rejected the arrangement would instead receive a far smaller funding increase under FIFA’s existing program.
FIFA described this as a democratic choice. Critics described it as literally the worst thing ever.
United, for once
The proposal managed to accomplish something the sport has struggled with for decades: getting major football organizations to agree on something.
Concacaf, representing North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, said it learned about the plan through media reports and criticized the lack of consultation. Its 41 member associations later rejected the proposal, questioning why FIFA needed private equity after what Concacaf called the most profitable World Cup in history.
UEFA went several steps further. Europe’s governing body and all 55 of its member associations threatened to withdraw their national teams from every FIFA competition while the proposal remained alive. UEFA argued that once private investors owned part of FIFA’s tournaments, decisions involving schedules, formats, and future competitions would inevitably face pressure to maximize shareholder returns.
The Asian Football Confederation also said it had not been consulted. By Friday, it had joined Concacaf and UEFA in declaring that the proposal lacked the broad support necessary to proceed.
Fake news
Infantino initially refused to retreat.
On Friday morning, FIFA released a statement declaring that “nobody is selling football” and blaming “erroneous reporting in the media” for much of the controversy.
Unfortunately for Infantino, the media’s allegedly erroneous reporting was soon joined by several people working inside FIFA.
- Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino and former Goldman Sachs banker, resigned in protest, criticizing the proposal as “a bad deal for football,” arguing that FIFA already possessed billions in reserves, carried no debt, and had generated roughly $15 billion during the four-year cycle connected to the recently completed World Cup.
- Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, said he had learned about the plan through news reports, and other senior officials reportedly had similar experiences.
- FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour accused Infantino of deceiving staff by developing the proposal without transparency, calling it “the project of one person” and effectively invited Infantino to dismiss him, saying he would at least sleep well afterward.
When your chief operating officer publicly announces that losing his job would be preferable to supporting your plan, the shareholder presentation has probably encountered some headwinds.
After review, the call has been overturned
By Friday evening, the plan was dead.
Infantino acknowledged that FFE had created divisions that were no longer compatible with its stated purpose. “Our purpose has always been, and will always be, to unite and improve,” he said. “As a result, this proposal will not proceed.”
The withdrawal ended the immediate threat of a European boycott, but it did little to quiet questions about Infantino’s leadership.
- FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström subsequently described the episode in an internal message as a “sad and reproachable series of events.”
- Five European national associations, including England’s FA, have formally withdrawn their support for Infantino’s reelection campaign.
Infantino announced earlier this year that he intends to seek another term in March 2027, which would allow him to remain in charge through 2031.
Myspace Is Not Done With Us Yet
Myspace Is Not Done With Us Yet
Finally, a place to post that blurry bathroom selfie you took with a flash powerful enough to illuminate the Eastern seaboard.
Myspace’s current owners say they intend to relaunch the once-popular social media platform, giving millennials another opportunity to communicate exclusively through cryptic My Chemical Romance lyrics and the strategic rearrangement of friendships.
Myspace will be our space once again
Chris and Tim Vanderhook, whose company acquired Myspace with Justin Timberlake in 2011, confirmed their plans in director Tommy Avallone’s new documentary, Myspace. They did not say when, how, or whether Tom has been contacted for emergency friendship duties.
“We’re just waiting for the right time to do it,” Tim Vanderhook said.
Myspace has technically been waiting for the right time since approximately 2008.
Gather ’round, children
For those of you born after the release of Shrek 2, listen up. Your millennial elders have a tale from the old internet, when phones flipped shut and posting online required sitting down at the family computer.
Founded in 2003, Myspace became the internet’s largest social network by allowing users to build profiles that looked like someone had given a teenager control of a casino billboard.
Every time someone visited your page, a song automatically began playing at full volume. This was not considered a bug. It was how we communicated.
Instead of telling someone you were upset, you changed your song to “Misery Business” and waited for them to understand what they had done.
And if that’s too subtle for you, Myspace also included the Top 8, allowing users to publicly rank their closest friends and completely annihilate entire social circles in seconds.
At its peak in 2006, Myspace was the most-visited website in the United States, ahead of Google. You read that correctly.
We had access to nearly all human knowledge and chose instead to see whether Kayla had removed Brittany from her Top 8.
Reboot of a reboot
News Corp. acquired Myspace’s parent company, Intermix Media, for approximately $580 million in 2005, viewing the rapidly growing network as a foundation for its internet business.
Facebook eventually overtook it, and Myspace began a long decline involving redesigns, executive changes, and the gradual realization that everyone had already left.
By 2011, News Corp. was ready to unload Myspace for a reported $35 million, a modest retreat from the $580 million it had paid six years earlier. The buyer was Specific Media, run by the Vanderhook brothers, with Justin Timberlake joining as an investor and creative partner.
The new owners redesigned it around music and entertainment in 2013. You may remember this relaunch from the complete absence of anyone talking about it.
The Vanderhooks later said advertisers fled for Facebook almost immediately and estimated they lost more than $150 million trying to revive the site. Still, they insist they’re willing to try again if the next version fails.
The people yearn for Myspace
Maybe this is wishful millennial thinking, but a comeback isn’t completely absurd.
Modern social media feeds are packed with ads, influencers, recommended videos, and strangers. One recent study found that only 18% of the first posts people saw came from someone they actually knew.
That leaves room for a platform centered on personal profiles, actual friends, and more control over what appears on screen.
Of course, nostalgia is doing a lot of work here. People may not miss Myspace so much as they miss being 16 and having no bills.
But it’s never too early to prepare. Start ranking your friends now.
Memes of the Week
KCH Corner
Book Our Loads on Highway's TFX
We’re now posting freight on the Trusted Freight Exchange (TFX), a secure, Highway-powered network made for verified carriers like you.
It’s built right into Highway, free to use, and designed to connect you with quality freight fast.
Every KCH load on TFX is:
- Verified: posted by trusted shippers and brokers.
- Ready to roll: book it instantly and get moving.
With TFX, you skip the back-and-forth and get straight to hauling.
Truck parking sucks. Let's fix that.
The U.S. has 23 million truck parking spots. You should be able to find one without feeling like you’re on a wild goose chase.
We’re teaming up with Truck Parking Club to make that happen.
Use code KCH25 for $25 off your next reservation.
Less wandering. More rest.
