LTL

The less-than-truckload industry is reaching its technology inflection point, which it will need to capture rising demand from shippers seeking operators that are easy to do business with.

A US court ruling that declared Rhode Island’s truck-only tolls unconstitutional will save tens of millions of dollars in operating and shipping costs yearly for truckers and their customers.

US for-hire truck tonnage jumped 2.8 percent in August from July, according to the American Trucking Associations, as consumers and the US economy remained resilient despite inflation.

The US producer price indexes (PPIs) for trucking dropped in August as contract pricing cooled and fuel prices and surcharges came down.

MyCarrier has created automation partnerships with 15 less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers and will handle more than $1 billion in shipper freight spend, factors that induced venture firms to invest $22 million in the company.

The average manufacturing shipping volume rose 1 percent in August year over year, while other industries saw their truck shipments drop 4.6 percent, according to FourKites.

LTL shipments at Old Dominion Freight Line fell about 3 percent year over year in August, following a more seasonal pattern than August 2021 when shipments jumped 17 percent.

The incoming CEO of XPO Logistics is intent on adding capacity in the form of terminals, trailers, and drivers to meet long-term demand for less-than-truckload services.

The American Trucking Associations reports truck tonnage levels were still high in July, running counter to reports that trucking demand is weakening ahead of the fourth quarter.

It is “highly probable” US shippers will recover at least some of last year’s truckload rate hikes, as the Cass Freight Index shows a sequential drop in truckload linehaul costs.

Declines in the producer price indexes for various sectors of trucking reflect falling fuel surcharge revenue and lower rates in new contracts, but don’t point to a large-scale pricing rollback.

Some of the largest US less-than-truckload carriers, including FedEx Freight, are adding terminals and doors to their networks as LTL freight demand defies the threat of economic recession.

Strong trucking demand beyond the truckload spot market is to keep pressure on truck pricing, and will do so into 2023, speakers at a JOC webcast said Wednesday.

The US trucking market is reinventing itself after a significant spot market correction, with larger contract carriers expecting steady freight demand through 2022 despite economic fears.

The gap between truckload and LTL grows wider as LTL carriers maintain pricing discipline and focus on network density to drive revenue and profit growth.

A shift of freight to contract trucking providers and rising fuel prices boosted shipper spending on trucking across the US in the second quarter, even though volumes fluctuated by region.

A 2.4 percent drop in the long-haul truckload producer price index for June shows contract truckload rates are softening, but prices shippers pay for LTL and specialized trucking continue to rise.

The Cass Freight Index shows volatility in shipment volumes, rates, and modal mix with the US economy in a “soft patch” in June.

The US economy likely contracted in the second quarter, but analysts see signs of growing freight activity ahead.

For-hire US trucking companies have added more than 62,000 real jobs since April, a record number for the period fueled by continuing strong contract freight demand.

Pittsburgh-based Pitt Ohio is filling a gap in its regional map by acquiring Teal’s Express, a New York-based less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier.

Less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation is more than it used to be, and that’s leading to acquisition and expansion in a US trucking sector that is slowly becoming more international in its focus.

FedEx expects its trucking operating profits to keep rising, despite what could be a rocky economic road in the second half of 2022, executives said at an investor meeting.

The less-than-truckload industry is positioned to ride through a rocky soft patch in the economy and even a short recession with higher pricing, carrier executives at the SMC3 Connections conference said.

Long-haul LTL carrier Roadrunner is cutting transit times in 66 lanes and adding more direct routes and truck drivers as freight demand from its shippers remains strong, company executives say.

Despite softening spot rates in some modes, overall supply chain costs are rising, with higher interest rates putting more pressure on inventories, according to the CSCMP State of Logistics report.

US producer price indexes show overall transportation costs and total trucking costs moved higher still in May, and S&P Global expects the trend to continue.

Pall-Ex Group, a franchise network of more than 700 truckers hauling palletized freight across Europe, wants to set up shop in the US and is looking for a beachhead in the LTL market.

The cooling of trucking’s transactional spot market signals a “realignment,” not a contraction, as shippers cement contractual agreements and freight demand rises, albeit more slowly.

The addition of 22,500 trucking employees in May after a 14,900-gain in real jobs in April reveals a trucking sector confident in continuing freight demand as markets realign in 2022.

Expanded use of trailer pools will help ‘consolidate truckload services’ and speed goods more efficiently, but first trucking companies, brokers, and shippers need more trailers.

US Labor Department data that includes contract rates shows no drop in overall truck pricing in April, despite a truckload spot market rate plunge.

Increases in industrial production and retail sales in April suggest continuing strength in overall freight demand, despite tumbling truckload spot rates.

The debate over whether a freight recession is starting in US trucking is getting hotter as spot rates decline but other demand and pricing indicators stay positive.

Demand for LTL capacity is rising even faster than carriers can add terminals and doors, pushing rates higher still.

Forward Air is acquiring a Seattle-based drayage company as part of its strategy to direct more transloaded international container freight to its expedited LTL network.

Knight-Swift now gets 13 percent of its revenue from its regional less-than-truckload subsidiaries, as it adds terminals and expands from a “super-regional” to a national footprint.

Carrier executives say US transportation markets are stabilizing, with spot rates falling as freight shifts to contract carriers, but new approaches to contracting and planning are needed to control costs.

Recent gains in manufacturing activity, including consumer goods production, suggest continued expansion of US freight demand while dampening worries about retail spending.

Truckload spot rates have cooled considerably in the last 45 days, but a larger freight recession may not be on the horizon given demand remains strong in other modes of commercial transportation.