LTL

Freight is flowing more quickly through LTL terminals nationwide — a sign, carriers hope, of a steadier economic recovery.

The shift toward greater use of dimensional pricing in U.S. transportation is gaining momentum. UPS plans to start using dimensional weight to price ground shipments starting Dec. 29, a few days before FedEx Ground makes the shift Jan. 1.

The U.S. freight economy is humming in June. Rising industrial demand is colliding with tight truckload capacity, sending spot market truck rates rising.

Available truck capacity will increase this year for the first time since 2007, though not by much, ACT Research predicts

Canada’s largest trucking operator, TransForce, will purchase U.S. trucking company Transport America for $310 million, including the assumption of $150 million in debt held by the Eagan, Minnesota-based carrier, the companies said today.

After five years of economic growth, less-than-truckload carriers are making progress toward rebuilding their profitability, a review of LTL carrier operating ratios shows.

Strong freight demand in April and May pushed tonnage, rates and yield higher than expected at Old Dominion Freight Line, the fifth-largest U.S. less-than-truckload carrier.

U.S. shippers haven’t been this optimistic about volume growth in the coming 12 months since The Hurt Locker won the Academy Award for Best Picture and an Icelandic volcano disrupted flights to and from Europe.

The first quarter was warmer for trucking than you might think — at least financially.

April showered less-than-truckload carriers with freight, as shippers responded to a surge in consumer spending in March and increased industrial demand.

Ten years after its launch, online shipping marketplace uShip is pursuing both commercial freight and consumer shipments, expanding an innovative LTL spot market and partnering with eBay.

Old Dominion Freight Line is the latest less-than-truckload carrier to raise its tariff rates this year, as trucking costs rise across the board.

Federal investigators are trying to piece together the last days of a FedEx truck driver for clues as to why he crossed a highway median and struck a tour bus, killing 10 people.

The 50 largest U.S. trucking companies raised their combined revenue 5.5 percent last year to $106.6 billion, but expanded at a slower pace than in 2012.

Federal authorities are investigating why a FedEx Freight truck crossed an Interstate highway median and crashed into a charter bus, killing 10 people.

Shippers moved more freight and spent more to do so in March and the first quarter, despite weather-related supply chain disruptions, Cass Information Systems finds.

Canada's largest trucking operator, holding company TransForce, completed its acquisition of Vitran, increasing its LTL market share in Canada and raising its North American profile.

Revenue rose 3.9 percent at the 25 largest U.S. less-than-truckload carriers in 2013, hitting to $29.5 billion in 2013, as the segment continued its long, slow recovery from a disastrous 2009, when the LTL group lost nearly 25 percent of its revenue.

The less-than-truckload industry is finally close to recovering revenue lost in the Great Recession, with the biggest LTL carriers already matching pre-recession sales.

New software could help trucking companies enforce truck driver detention policies and collect fines from shippers that keep drivers waiting beyond agreed limits.

ABF Freight will raise its general less-than-truckload and charges on average 5.4 percent, starting March 24.

A proposed rule that would require truck and bus drivers to replace paper logbooks with electronic devices is “on the street” and available for review online...

UPS will raise its less-than-truckload general base rates an average of 4.4 percent March 31...

Roadrunner Transportation Systems is expanding its international logistics business by acquiring Unitrans International, a non-asset logistics provider, for $55.5 million.

Truckload carriers kept more of their drivers on payroll in the fourth quarter, but driver turnover at large truckload carriers remains high, according to the American Trucking Associations.

The FMCSA is close to publishing its much anticipated proposed rulemaking that would require all heavy truck drivers to use electronic devices to complete their daily and weekly logs.

Tonnage is growing by double digits for Old Dominion Freight Line, rising 11.7 percent year-over-year in February after climbing 10.1 percent in January.

The JOC For-Hire Trucking Employment Index was flat in February as winter storms chilled trucking industry hiring plans. However, the February reading of 96.1 was still the highest for the trucking employment index since June 2008.

FedEx Freight will raise its general base rates an average of 3.9 percent March 31, as shippers and trucking companies anticipate higher volumes and tighter capacity this spring.

The $4.87 billion less-than-truckload operator scraped through a tumultuous 2013 and promises to focus on improving fundamental processes at YRC Freight in 2014.

Roadrunner, one of the fastest growing large trucking companies, is expanding its truckload business faster thanks to acquisitions, including its purchase of Rich Logistics.

With a refinancing deal and Teamsters contract that give YRC Worldwide a five-year reprieve, CEO James Welch will focus all efforts at improving “execution” at troubled YRC Freight and on serving shippers better.

YRC Worldwide, the second largest LTL trucker, has five more years to recover from more than $3 billion in losses thanks to a $1.1 billion refinancing package and a decade of Teamsters concessions.

The average spot market rate for a dry-van tractor-trailer hit $1.97 per mile in the first week of February, as shippers struggled with freight backlogs caused by severe winter storms.

Using pallet-sized, battery-powered, temperature-controlled containers, Averitt Express is changing its refrigerated less-than-truckload delivery model.

With a 22 percent leap in profit in 2013, Old Dominion Freight Line will continue its long-term expansion, building out its network to handle increased volumes of freight in 2014.

Roadrunner Transportation Services extended its streak of rapid profit growth for the 14th consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The frigid winds of January, which brought snow, ice and unusually cold temperatures to a large swathe of the United States, could have a longer lasting chilling effect on the economy and overshadow the first quarter.

Truck shipments, which have grown much more slowly than tonnage in recent years, should pick up in 2014, rising 2.3 and 2.7 percent, according to ATA's chief economist.

Less-than-truckload carrier Saia rolls into 2014 with stronger revenue and profit, thanks to shipping demand that continued to increase in January, despite disruptions caused by winter storms.