LTL

The less-than-truckload industry confronted a sizable speed bump last year, as slower economic growth in 2012 hobbled expansion and throttled back steady post-recession gains in annual revenue that the nation’s largest LTL carriers won in 2010 and 2011.

TransForce has indirectly disposed of 500,000 common shares of Vitran Corporation, representing 3.05 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares of Vitran.

A.R.T. Logistics has launched a twice-monthly less-than-truckload service connecting Europe to Ulan Bator in Mongolia.

YRC Freight has mailed a proposal for a new set of network improvements to Teamsters union leadership.

The 10 less-than-truckload carriers with more than $1 billion in annual revenue increased combined sales 4.3 percent in 2012 to $23.2 billion.

The nation's 25 largest less-than-truckload motor carriers increased revenue 4.5 percent in 2012, a marked deceleration from 12 percent sales growth in 2011 and a 9.2 percent gain in 2010.

TransForce reported profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $36.1 million, falling 13 percent from $41.7 million in the same quarter in the previous year.

YRC Freight has completed its agreement with Clean Energy Fuels to purchase four liquefied natural gas trucks that will serve the Port of Long Beach and other surrounding areas.

Third-party logistics provider OIA Global has launched OIA Day-Definite, a new service for less-than-truckload shipments across the U.S.

Old Dominion Freight Line has promoted Sam Faucette to serve as the company’s vice president of safety and compliance.

The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 2.9 percent in January, after increasing 2.4 percent in December 2012.

Panther Expedited Services has appointed R. Louis Schneeberger as president and CEO and Edward R. Wadel as chief operating officer.

Dependable Companies' return to trucking acquisitions to bolster transportation growth signals increasing confidence in the economic recovery.

Less-than-truckload carrier UPS Freight says it will expand its full truckload business in 2013 as changing shipping patterns and tight capacity at traditional truckload operators spur intermodal and intramodal shift.

This year could be an “inflection point” for trucking and truck pricing, particularly if the economy gains speed just as new driver work rules constrain truckload capacity later in 2013, investment research analysts from Stephens said in an interview.

Vitran Corporation has reached an agreement to divest its supply chain operation division to Legacy Supply Chain for $97 million, subject to certain working capital adjustments.

As one of three increasingly profitable YRC regional carriers, New Penn is contributing to its parent company’s revival.

Close attention to detail such as shipment mix and safety costs helped deliver a $24.1 million annual operating profit for YRC Worldwide, the trucking operator's first full-year operating profit since 2006.

Trucking company YRC Worldwide reported an operating profit in 2012 of $24.1 million, including a $9.7 million gain on asset disposals, which was an increase of $162.3 million year-over-year.

Trucking giant Old Dominion Freight Line reported its profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $39.5 million, compared with $39.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Trucking and logistics company Roadrunner Transportation reported that its profit in the fourth quarter of 2012 increased 38.8 percent year-over-year to $9.5 million from $6.9 million.

CK Commercial Vehicle Research’s first quarter of 2013 Fleet Sentiment Report, which surveyed U.S. 64 fleet operators, showed “positive signs” for medium and heavy duty commercial truck and trailer purchases.

Old Dominion Freight Line has opened its Santa Maria Service Center in California.

Old Dominion Freight Line today moved its service center in Toledo, Ohio, to an expanded 48-door facility with more yard space and a larger dock.

Shippers seeking lower LTL costs need to start not by seeking lower rates but by sharing “cleaner” shipping data, speakers told the SMC3 Jump Start 2013 Conference on Jan. 21.

Truck driver staffing firm TransForce has acquired Superior Driver Source and Superior Driver Source of the Carolinas. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Trucking company Saia today reported income in the fourth quarter of 2012 was $5.4 million, shooting up 118.6 percent from $2.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

North American trucking company TransForce has acquired about 1.8 million common shares of less-than-truckload operator Vitran Corp., representing 10.75 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares of Vitran.

The trucking industry may be rolling toward a "pricing renaissance" of its own, as rising operating costs and tight capacity push truck rates higher.

Shippers seeking reduced less-than-truckload shipping costs need to start not with lower rates but “cleaner” data.

FedEx has named Henry J. Maier as president and CEO of FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of FedEx that provides ground small-package delivery services.

Trucking and logistics company Roadrunner Transportation Systems today announced it will expand its less-than-truckload outbound service center in Philadelphia, which opened in June 2012.

The Teamsters union and ABF Freight System are back at the bargaining table. Negotiations on a new multiyear contract resumed Jan. 8 and will continue through next week, the union said in a notice published on its Web site.

YRC Freight today named Darren Hawkins senior vice president of sales and marketing, effective Jan. 14.