Top 50 Trucking Companies

Trucking companies need plans to keep their drivers healthy, financially whole, and on the road amid the coronavirus outbreak. They need plans for when they get sick, too.

The 50 largest US trucking operators in the United States saw revenue growth throttle back considerably in 2019, but 2020 is shaping up to be even worse.

US trucking companies are preparing to brake hard once the current surge of essential freight fades. The loss of demand and capacity will complicate the eventual recovery.

Demand for essential goods and medical supplies is drawing truck capacity even as business shutdowns dry up other sources of freight, a trend that could result in displaced capacity.

Truck drivers can both drive and work beyond regulatory limits if they’re hauling essential goods during the COVID-19 pandemic, and shippers need to do whatever they can to make that easier.

Truck capacity is being tightened in drive-thru-sized bites as restaurant and rest stop closings delay drivers.

As COVID-19 response unfolds, restricted business operating hours, potential closures could complicate deliveries, solidifying a soft trucking market.

Truck demand and spot rates are rising as consumers stockpile goods amid the spread of the coronavirus, but truckers worry about potential loss of work due to quarantines.

Shippers with an eye on instability in US markets are considering innovative contract terms, including the use of volume guarantees and flexible rates.

The coronavirus outbreak will amplify pricing and capacity swings in US trucking this year, and logistics experts warn that will mean a price shock for shippers.

Spot truck rates out of Los Angeles are weaker than usual, thanks in part to the coronavirus that has interrupted freight flows from China. Will restocking spark a pricing whiplash this spring?

Truck tonnage increased for the second straight month in January, but a weak manufacturing sector and high inventories are keeping a lid on freight demand.

A survey of delivery drivers projects that missed deliveries and time wasted due to outdated and incorrect maps and navigation aids results in $2.5 billion in added costs.

Amid weak intermodal volumes in 2019, the JOC Domestic Intermodal Savings Index shows spot and contract savings are lower than historical averages, although the year closed stronger for shipper savings on the spot market.

Truck volumes have flattened, not collapsed, a trucking analyst tells SMC3’s Jumpstart 2020 Conference. Truck capacity hit its peak in Q4 2019, and is expected to contract this year.

An increase in housing permits and starts will help rebuild US truck volumes this spring, putting increased demand on truck capacity and spot pricing, according to Bobby Holland, vice president and director of freight data solutions at US Bank.

Year-to-date declines in metal, chemical, and forest product shipments will depress future truck volumes, creating an overhang that will affect pricing, a transportation economist says.

Canadian forwarder Manitoulin adds to its US holdings, expanding its global logistics network.

The retail and restaurant businesses are growing and generating freight, but they’re being reshaped in ways that will challenge their transportation partners.

Heartland Express has acquired truckload carrier Millis Transfer and the Millis driving school for $150 million, the second major acquisition the Iowa carrier has made in two years.

One of the few positive indicators in trucking is the ATA Tonnage Index, which rose 7.3 percent in July year over year -- a signal that some don’t believe the industry is in turmoil.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has proposed updates to the hours-of-service regulations covering the trucking industry to increase flexibility and safety on US highways.

The largest domestic truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers reported double-digit percentage revenue gains in 2018 thanks to strong US economic growth and the tightest trucking market on record.

Fleet bankruptcies show some capacity is coming out of the market, but it’s unclear whether that will make any significant dent in the oversupply of trucks available in the spot trade.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services believes the intermodal market has hit rock bottom, expressing confidence that shippers will move excess inventory in the second half of 2019, though volume will still be less than last year.

A large share of US-bound Mexican freight is shoved through an increasingly tight funnel of truck lanes vulnerable to freight surges, migration crises, and trade disputes.

A sharp decline in shipper spending and freight volumes causes some to sound the recession alarm, but others still see slower growth, not steep decline, amid tariff threats.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services has received a license to be a non-vessel operating common carrier and ocean freight forwarder to take greater control of the transportation of its containers and chassis from China.

BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, and CSX say domestic intermodal contract rates have risen by upper single-digit percentages in the first quarter, but some non-asset intermodal marketing companies tell quite a different story.

An infusion of trucks and tractors from bankrupt NEMF would help Estes stretch its service offerings further beyond LTL and deeper into flatbed and dedicated truckload markets.

The 50 largest US trucking operators grabbed a larger share of the market, while smaller carriers raised the bar in terms of revenue growth last year thanks to the strongest freight market since the 2009 recession.

The 2019 regulatory schedule isn’t clear, but what is clear is that there will be many more hours of debate over truck driver hours of service.

Even with a US recovery in its 10th year, the transportation and warehouse sectors continue to register strong monthly job growth.

The Manitoulin Group of Companies acquired the book of business of one company and partnered with its parent company to broaden its coverage in northwest Canada.

US freight volumes are still growing. Equally significant, the international political climate that affected imports, exports, and trade flows in 2018 could do so again in 2019.

Regionally, the Midwest and Northeast are hot spot truckload markets in late November, as freight moves off coasts and inland to distribution centers, stores, and consumers. Shippers appear to be making more use of contract capacity, however, which is a sign capacity overall is less tight.

Shippers plagued by capacity shortages need to eliminate inefficiencies and wasted time to effectively create capacity now out of reach.

However, forecasters warn shippers that they are merely making an educated guess regarding rates, given the factors that could change; so, a sound strategy would include paying close attention to spot markets in the next six months.

Abilene Motor Express, based in Richmond, Virginia, operates about 450 trucks with most of its business in the dry van and refrigerated space.

Higher construction spending and manufacturing output generate the type of heavy industrial freight handled by Daseke through its network of subsidiary trucking companies.