Spotlight disclosed. Outgo will be integrated within DAT One, the company’ s carrier-facing platform, with any loads that have been approved for factoring services noted by a blue checkmark. Carriers can use the tool to get paid no longer than four hours after issuing an invoice, even if their payment terms with brokers are 30 days or longer. Freight factoring is a financial service in which carriers sell their unpaid invoices to a third party that advances them the cash they are owed, generally in exchange for a single-digit percentage of the invoice amount. The acquisition helps round out DAT’ s offerings, which include a rate benchmarking platform for a large swathe of the truckload market. DAT, the largest load board for truckload freight in North America, has offered factoring services to its carrier customers since 2007 via external partnerships, most recently with OTR Solutions.

MARAD changes leadership

Former Maersk executive Stephen Carmel has been tapped by the Trump administration to serve as head of the US Maritime Administration( MARAD) after Brent Sadler’ s nomination for the post was pulled. No reason was given for the switch, but Sadler, a retired US

Navy Captain initially nominated in March to head MARAD, said on social media he supports Carmel. The White House announced on May 6 that it would nominate Carmel as MARAD administrator. Carmel is currently president of US Marine Management, a Norfolk, Virginia-based maritime services provider to commercial and military fleets. Until September 2023, he served as senior vice president at Maersk Line Limited, the shipping line’ s US-flag subsidiary. The MARAD administrator role has been vacant since January, when Ann Phillips resigned. MARAD, part of the US Department of Transportation, is responsible for US waterways, as well as supporting the US Maritime Service and US Merchant Marine. Carmel’ s nomination comes amid a push by the Trump administration to revitalize US shipbuilding, with a planned set of fees targeting Chinese-built ships due to come into force in October. The revenue from those fees is meant to be channeled into a trust fund supporting US maritime activity.

UK, EU mend trade relations

The trade deal between the UK and the European Union is being hailed by business groups and the logistics industry as a positive step toward re-

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ducing border frictions that have been in place since Britain formally left the EU in 2020. But even as the ink dries on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, business leaders are urging both sides to ensure the streamlined cross-border measures agreed to are implemented in full.“ It is now down to government to work out the most practical solutions,” Steve Parker, director-general of the British International Freight Association( BIFA), said in a statement.“ We hope that the announcement will significantly simplify border processes and consequently contribute to increased volumes of goods traded between the UK and the EU,” he added. A statement from the UK’ s Port of Dover, which handles one-third of all UK-EU trade volume, said it will be working with the governments of the UK, France and the European Commission“ to implement this deal effectively and maximize shared prosperity [ on ] either side of the English Channel.” Strained relationships between London and Brussels have plagued trade negotiations over the past five years around complex issues including tariffs, regulations, fishing rights and the movement of people. But the agreement has left the industry optimistic that barriers to trade have been removed.

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