LTL

ABF Freight System, the less-than-truckload subsidiary of Arkansas Best, returned to profitability in 2013 and expects, with sister company Panther Expedited, to meet stronger demand in 2014.

YRC Worldwide will get an additional two weeks to pay or refinance $69.4 million in long-term debt as it closes a $300 million debt-for-equity swap.

Shippers that were complacent about reports of tightening truck capacity in 2013 could be in for a shock this year, especially if weaknesses in transportation networks exposed by this winter’s severe storms are taken as a warning sign.

Less-than-truckload carrier UPS Freight increased revenue 5.3 percent in 2013 and 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter, thanks to volume and price gains.

YRC Worldwide is racing to clear the last hurdles to securing $1.15 billion in refinancing before a February debt deadline.

With its new Teamsters contract in hand, YRC Worldwide launched a $300 million debt-for-equity exchange today, the next step in a major debt reduction and refinancing program.

When YRC Worldwide’s Teamsters employees approved a five-year contract Jan. 26, they gave the struggling company more than just concessions needed to refinance $1.36 billion in debt and avoid bankruptcy. They gave the $4.9 billion trucking operator the chance to break free of a cycle of short-term crises and “reset” its business.

YRC Worldwide’s Teamsters employees approved a five-year contract by a wide margin this weekend, giving the struggling trucking operator concessions needed to refinance $1.36 billion in debt.

This weekend, about 26,000 YRC Teamsters will visit union halls across the country to vote on the second proposed contract aimed at extending wage and pension benefit concessions. Their vote will determine whether YRC Worldwide has a shot at refinancing $1.36 billion in long-term debt.

Last year may not have been a boom year for the U.S. economy in general, but in terms of truck tonnage, 2013 was anything but a bust.

Despite the noise from winter storms, holiday backlogs and an early Chinese New Year, there are signs that higher manufacturing activity is boosting freight demand and transport revenue, speakers say at SMC3's JumpStart 2014 conference.

The Teamsters union and YRC Worldwide reached a tentative contract agreement Friday that must be reviewed by local union leaders before being put to a vote.

Trucking and logistics giant Con-way expects fourth-quarter earnings to be flat with year-ago results, citing problems at less-than-truckload carrier Con-way Freight and Menlo Worldwide Logistics.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters wants YRC Worldwide to offer “meaningful improvements” in any contract proposal that replaces the one defeated by rank-and-file members last week.

YRC Worldwide said it will revise its failed contract proposal, rather than put the proposal to a second vote. The company is in discussions with Teamsters union leaders.

Shippers that detain drivers at loading or unloading docks or terminals could become targets of federal truck safety regulators.

YRC Worldwide CEO James Welch urged employees “to stay focused on providing the best possible customer service” as the company works “diligently to explore all options available” after YRC Teamsters rejected the company’s contract proposal.

UPS Freight Teamsters approved a new five-year contract last weekend that raises wages but gives the LTL carrier some flexibility to subcontract line-haul work.

If it hopes to survive as a company, YRC Worldwide needs to act quickly after Teamsters employees rejected extended wage and benefit concessions the trucking operator’s lenders made a prerequisite for refinancing $1.36 billion in debt.

YRC Teamsters decisively rejected proposed concessions, casting the company's ability to refinance $1.4 billion in debt before it comes due into doubt.

With technology seeming to increase in sophistication by the month, logistics companies are poised to play an even more bigger role in the shipment of goods in North America and worldwide. This will prompt third-party logistics providers to work out new — and improved — relationships with companies that own freight-moving assets.

YRC Worldwide and creditors led by Credit Suisse reached an agreement to refinance $1.15 billion in long-term debt due in 2014 and 2015, if the trucking giant's Teamsters employees agree to extend wage and benefit cuts.

A long-awaited rule on a CSA-based safety fitness rating system for trucking companies is one of many trucking regulations slowly moving through the federal pipeline.

The deadline is drawing near for a Teamster vote that could decide the fate of $4.9 billion trucking operator YRC Worldwide by deciding whether to extend wage and benefit cuts an additional four years through 2019.

Roadrunner Transportation Systems has promoted Brian van Helden to the role of chief operating officer.

TransForce today agreed to acquire Vitran for approximately $136 million, including $29 million in debt.

A bidding war is on for the Canadian trucking business of Vitran, as TransForce counters an offer from Manitoulin Transport. The contest for Vitran is part of a larger battle to consolidate trucking operations in Canada being waged by companies such as TransForce and Manitoulin.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ union members at UPS Freight are set to vote next month on the less-than-truckload unit’s amended five-year contract proposal.

Old Dominion Freight Line’s new facility in Salina, Kan., may not be its largest, but the 18-door terminal is part of something bigger — a prolonged network expansion that is extending the less-than-truckload carrier’s reach coast-to-coast.

James Welch has his work cut out for him. Over the next month, the CEO of YRC Worldwide and president of YRC Freight must convince 26,000 Teamsters to extend wage and benefits cuts they agreed to in 2010 another four years. Welch also needs to get them onboard with new concessions, including greater use of subcontractors and utility workers.

YRC Worldwide is seeking more than an extension of current concessions in its proposal to Teamster employees.

Canadian trucking operator Manitoulin Transport will acquire Toronto-based less-than-truckload company Vitran for $128 million, including $29 million in debt, the companies said Dec. 9.

YRC Worldwide’s Teamsters employees will decide whether to extend wage concessions until March 2019, helping the trucking giant to refinance its debt and avoid bankruptcy.

Stronger than expected demand pushed up tonnage and revenue at Old Dominion Freight Line in October and November, raising hopes for a quicker-paced fourth quarter recovery.

YRC Worldwide is turning to Wall Street for help reducing its massive debt as it works to achieve new long-term agreements with its Teamsters and lenders.

Teamster leaders will meet next week to review a contract proposal from YRC Worldwide and decide whether to submit it to the membership for a vote.

Canadian trucking operator Manitoulin Transport continued its acquisition-based expansion, purchasing Smooth Freight of Brandon, Manitoba.

A reorganization designed to reduce freight handling, speed shipments and save YRC Freight millions of dollars did just the opposite this summer. Instead, manpower shortages led to higher costs and delayed shipments, driving customers away from the long-haul less-than-truckload carrier and turning a third quarter 2012 operating profit into a $9.7 million loss a year later.

It’s far from a surge of optimism, but shippers’ expectations on how much freight they move via land, sea and air in the coming months is the second highest in the past six quarters.

YRC Worldwide fell back into the red in the third quarter after a poorly executed network reorganization hurt service.