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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. 

Growing shipper preference for longer-term contracts shows they believe the truckload market has hit bottom and are concerned about late-2024 capacity, analysts say. 

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.

Shipper-paid spot rates rose only marginally in December and are likely to stay close to the bottom established over the last six months, absent a sharp increase in demand.

US trucking employment shrank last year, and seasonal trends point to more cuts in 2024 amid weak freight demand.

With more than 160 facilities still on the auction block, a sizable amount of less-than-truckload capacity once provided by Yellow is up for grabs as the trucking market slows in early 2024.

Larger trucking employers may be reluctant to lay off workers ahead of what they hope will be an uptick in freight demand this coming spring or summer. 

The biggest trucking acquisition of 2023 gives Canada’s TFI an additional $1.8 billion in annual revenue and nearly 20 operating subsidiaries hauling oversized, heavy freight.

While the largest US trucking company increased its daily volume 4.6% this fall following Yellow’s summertime collapse, year-over-year comparisons reveal a soft market. 

Not all industry analysts believe a surge in demand is necessary for US truckload rates to rise in 2024, but some say capacity levels remain too high for a big move upward.

An attempt to buy and revive some version of Yellow was called “not viable” after a terminal auction raised $1.9 billion from 22 bidders.

Suspending the auction of its remaining leased properties may give defunct LTL provider Yellow time to work out difficulties with landlords over the leases of potentially valuable properties.

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 largest US freight broker expects more companies to follow Convoy and exit the market as demand remains weak and rates stay low. 

Freight forwarder Omni isn’t giving up on a merger with Forward and is moving to force completion of the deal despite Forward’s cold feet. 

With hundreds of terminals on the market, LTL trucking companies are setting their sights on Yellow’s sites and other properties as they expand and optimize networks to handle more freight.

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.

Less-than-truckload freight once hauled by Yellow is being “reallocated” among carriers, and rates are rising, but an underlying economic impetus for a surge in LTL demand is still missing.

US truckload shippers are showing more “sensitivity” to supply and service issues, supporting a new spot market pricing floor but not giving rates much lift, according to trucking and logistics executives.

The bidding process needs to be “revolutionized” to save shippers money, with more emphasis on strategic relationships, speakers said at the NITL Engage Conference.

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.

Less-than-truckload freight once hauled by Yellow is being redistributed among other carriers in waves as shippers shop for the best fit in price, capacity, technology and service.

A US bankruptcy court approved a $1.525 billion bid by Estes Express Lines to be the “stalking horse” that sets the floor price for Yellow’s terminals at auction, controlling their sale in November.

Cuts in oil production and increased fuel use globally are pushing up trucking fuel surcharges and, in turn, transportation costs for US shippers.

West Coast ports are bearing the brunt of a steep decline in US agriculture exports, as are carriers such as CMA CGM that pivoted to serving exporters amid weaker import demand.

While the country’s second-largest LTL provider gained shipments in August after the demise of Yellow, it sees no signs that overall freight demand is improving.

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.

ArcBest less-than-truckload (LTL) subsidiary ABF Freight is taking on additional volume and raising rates as a broad realignment of the US LTL sector gains speed.

Some logistics managers report longer transit times and delivery delays, as well as higher costs, as remaining LTL providers divide the freight once hauled by Yellow. 

A ‘stalking horse bid’ from Estes, a rival trucking company, would set a floor for any competing bids for the more than 160 properties owned by Yellow.

More than 60 buyers are said to be scrutinizing the terminals and assets of defunct LTL carrier Yellow as freight volumes rise at its former US trucking competitors.

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. 

No carrier was untouched by a 22.4% drop in containerized US imports through May, with 36 of the 40 largest lines registering year-over-year volume declines, according to the Journal of Commerce’s Top 40 Container Carriers by US Imports and Exports.

Yellow lost money in its last six months as shippers moved freight elsewhere and non-operating expenses, including debt payments and interest, consumed shrinking operating profits.

Shipment volume at the third-largest LTL carrier in the US jumped nearly 9% in July from a year ago and 3.2% from June as shippers moved freight away from rival carrier Yellow.

US truckload carrier executives say they don’t see any signs that freight demand will pick back up until the end of 2023.