Top 25 LTL Trucking Companies

A 6% reduction in overall freight helped depress LTL revenue in 2023, the top 40 carrier rankings show, despite a gain in shipments many carriers enjoyed after Yellow’s collapse.

The partnership takes advantage of growing demand that is encouraging more cross-border LTL shipping between the US and Mexico.

The freight hauled by the largest LTL trucking company in the US will become more global under a reorganization of FedEx’s varied domestic and international networks.

The second-largest US less-than-truckload provider is building terminals, parking lots and freight density as competitors vie for real estate and customers.

The South Carolina-based company has nearly doubled the number of doors at a Kentucky service center, the latest in a series of expansions planned in the US LTL sector.

The second-largest US less-than-truckload carrier plans to increase its terminal capacity alongside freight demand, CEO Marty Freeman told the Journal of Commerce.

Building on recent market openings, the point-to-point, long-haul LTL carrier is launching its largest growth push since a 2021 restructuring.

Trucking companies such as Averitt are seeking more diversified freight and deeper connections to customers through transloading. 

With an amended merger agreement, months of contentious litigation are behind the companies, clearing the way for their combined forwarding and LTL operations. 

The move by the largest US logistics provider to use a standardized electronic bill of lading accelerates digitization in the less-than-truckload sector. 

US less-than-truckload pricing is moderating as waves of disruption caused by Yellow’s bankruptcy recede, fuel prices fall and demand remains soft. 

Large LTL carriers were the biggest winners from Yellow’s shutdown, but smaller regional carriers are making significant volume gains as well, according to SJ Consulting Group.

The second-largest US LTL provider saw daily shipments increase less than 1% year over year in November, signaling continued softness in underlying LTL demand as the post-Yellow market settles.

An auction of Yellow’s 174 owned terminals is scheduled for Tuesday, with winning bids to be disclosed on Friday while a separate battle continues over 149 leased terminals.

Large LTL trucking providers are raising tariff rates 5% to 8% on average, but the LTL PPI slowed its growth to under 1% in October.

The expedited less-than-truckload provider has asked a Delaware court to let it kill the controversial deal that has caused its share price to plummet and raised the ire of activist investors.

The apparent change of heart from Forward management comes as Forward activist investors opposed to the $150 million deal try to oust the company’s chief executive.

The fourth-largest US less-than-truckload carrier said it had restored many of its core systems by Sunday, while continuing to pick up and deliver freight despite a week of disruption.

Saia and XPO are the latest LTL carriers to report volume gains in August, a month when trucking employment dropped more than 2% following Yellow’s shutdown.

Omni’s international and US forwarding customers are expected to send more freight to Forward Air’s expedited less-than-truckload network in the US. 

Flexible transactional pricing is helping ArcBest LTL subsidiary ABF Freight increase shipment volumes and attract new shippers despite reduced demand from core customers. 

Data from analysts and carriers shows less-than-truckload providers are staying disciplined when it comes to pricing despite a freight recession and softer US economy.

Several US shippers tell the Journal of Commerce they are getting rate concessions from their less-than-truckload carriers, but the price cuts are far from universal and may depend on how shippers bid.

Less-than-truckload (LTL) pricing may moderate in 2023 after two gangbuster years for carriers, but shippers shouldn’t expect a rapid retreat after broad-based gains.

Shippers are still tendering approximately the same number of shipments, but they’re shipping less freight per shipment, the head of expedited LTL carrier Forward Air says.

Primarily an industrial transportation sector, the LTL business is moving into retail and is also becoming more involved in transloading at US port cities. 

An expedited linehaul service using team drivers will cut transit times connecting Pitt Ohio’s eastern territory with California within three days. 

The promise of economic improvement in the second half of this year and 2024 has LTL trucking companies adding terminals, doors, and services despite the current slowdown.

Less-than-truckload rates are rising despite economic headwinds as accessorials, general rate increases, and a trend toward higher freight rate classes support a high pricing floor.

The acquisition of competitor Land Air Express expands Forward Air’s nationwide ground airport-to-airport network and capacity, Forward’s CEO says.

The largest US point-to-point LTL carrier is speeding service from Southern California to Chicago, reducing the transit time to one to three business days as demand for velocity remains high.

US shippers will find LTL savings in 2023, but the biggest savings will go to those who can accurately forecast demand and fit freight to carrier networks, according to BlueGrace Logistics.

LTL shipments at Old Dominion Freight Line fell about 3 percent year over year in August, following a more seasonal pattern than August 2021 when shipments jumped 17 percent.

The gap between truckload and LTL grows wider as LTL carriers maintain pricing discipline and focus on network density to drive revenue and profit growth.

Pittsburgh-based Pitt Ohio is filling a gap in its regional map by acquiring Teal’s Express, a New York-based less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier.

Less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation is more than it used to be, and that’s leading to acquisition and expansion in a US trucking sector that is slowly becoming more international in its focus.

The less-than-truckload industry is positioned to ride through a rocky soft patch in the economy and even a short recession with higher pricing, carrier executives at the SMC3 Connections conference said.

Long-haul LTL carrier Roadrunner is cutting transit times in 66 lanes and adding more direct routes and truck drivers as freight demand from its shippers remains strong, company executives say.

Pall-Ex Group, a franchise network of more than 700 truckers hauling palletized freight across Europe, wants to set up shop in the US and is looking for a beachhead in the LTL market.

Demand for LTL capacity is rising even faster than carriers can add terminals and doors, pushing rates higher still.