LTL

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.

Forwarding software provider Magaya is wading into the less-than-truckload technology market with an automated pricing tool meant to help its customers quote faster to shippers.

Growing e-commerce and import-export business is pulling Northeast regional LTL carrier A. Duie Pyle south to Virginia, where it plans to open three terminals and connect to ports.

The sudden increase in fuel-related shipping costs caused by the war in Ukraine is already changing how shippers plan to move goods within the US, forcing them to consolidate shipments and even change modes.

Less-than-truckload provider Yellow denied liability but agreed to settle a longstanding allegation that it charged the US Department of Defense too much for certain shipments before 2013.

The truckload and less-than-truckload markets are closer than ever, as retail demand and inventory replenishment put pressure on capacity, Knight-Swift CEO David Jackson says.

XPO Logistics is spinning off its North American truckload brokerage business and looking to sell off its intermodal group.

Combined revenues among the 25 largest US LTL trucking companies jumped more than 20 percent in 2021, and the market conditions that allowed for that record-setting revenue growth remain firmly in place in early 2022.

Double-digit increases in tonnage and volume at two of the largest less-than-truckload carriers in February reflect strong overall demand from US retail and industrial shippers.

As container lines pull back on inland point intermodal (IPI), US importers are rethinking their landside delivery plans and containerized freight is moving further inland before being deconsolidated.

On-dock automation and better analytical tools are helping linehaul LTL carrier Roadrunner cut transit times in 120 lanes as LTL shippers increase demand for speed, especially from ports.

Higher rates and accessorial charges helped the largest US less-than-truckload carriers add revenue at an unprecedented pace last year, with the five fastest-growing companies increasing their top line between 30 and 40 percent.

Trucks are no longer blocking the US-Canada border, but spot truckload rates in cross-border lanes remain high, and shippers have been warned of the threat of additional disruption.

Visibility software company FourKites is tracking a drop in cargo volumes and on-time performance in northbound shipments as protesting Canadian truck drivers bring more disruption to the US-Canadian border.

The $1.6 billion acquisition of Pilot Freight Services gives Maersk greater power to integrate ocean, air, and land-based services from the first to last mile.

With delays and port congestion common, and transload capacity tight, less-than-truckload carriers are playing a bigger role in moving containerized freight inland.

The pipeline of freight feeding less-than-truckload carriers is getting bigger, expanded by growth from traditional industrial sources and imports moving into LTL trucking networks.

A trucker blockade at a small US-Canada border crossing will bring big cost increases for cross-border shippers, as US carriers begin to embargo or reroute freight hundreds of miles.

Changes in shipper needs accelerated by the pandemic added more than $1 billion in revenue to ArcBest’s topline last year, driving growth in its asset- and asset-light services.

Proactive steps taken by US and Canadian motor carriers and shippers ahead of vaccine mandates for truck drivers are keeping cross-border freight flowing despite earlier fears of disruption and delays.

High freight demand, driven by US imports and e-commerce, will keep pressure on less-than-truckload capacity and pricing in 2022, speakers said at the annual SMC3 JumpStart conference.

XPO is adding new facilities and technology to its less-than-truckload network, reducing reliance on third parties.

Shippers “will have to be innovative” to avoid delays caused by COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers crossing the US-Canadian border.

E-commerce demand, inventory restocking, and increased manufacturing output will keep LTL carriers in flux and LTL pricing high in 2022.

Seasonality was behind the large increases in courier and delivery employment and a drop in trucking employment last month; beneath the surface, there’s tooth-and-nail competition for labor.

The fast-spreading variant of COVID-19 likely won’t affect trucking as much as warehousing and aviation, but its indirect impact will put more pressure on already high trucking costs.

FedEx Freight handled higher freight volumes and helped with the delivery of FedEx Ground packages this fall, relying on price hikes and “judicious” network management.

Once often discounted, general rate increases are going to stick as LTL trucking demand grows faster than capacity.