Truck brokers

Completion of a $450 million rights offering will keep Roadrunner’s LTL and truckload capacity on the road as the operator attempts to rebuild its business.

The hefty capital injection for NEXT, announced Wednesday, places it among the biggest individual raisers of capital in the most recent wave of logistics technology startups.

Schneider's adoption of the new systems places in stark relief the need for brokers to differentiate.

With the US Securities and Exchange Commission closed, Roadrunner is looking for a run-around to push its rights offering and recovery plan forward.

The Phoenix-based company broke into the top 10 of North American brokers in 2018.

Automating often ignored ‘behind-the-scenes’ systems can bring big benefits, including savings and improved customer service, says Echo Global Logistics CEO Doug Waggoner.

A dynamic, demand-based pricing system similar to those used by airlines and hotels is one part of a broader plan that would affect how freight is shipped in the US LTL market.

Transplace, with headquarters in Frisco, Texas, near Dallas, has been growing rapidly in recent years and expects to move $8 billion through its network this year.

XPO Logistics just answered Amazon’s delivery/fulfillment serve with a volley — the deployment of thousands of robotic “cobots.”

The smaller brokerage focusing on shipper supply chain management is GlobalTranz’s first major deal since it was sold to a new private-equity owner in June.

Uber Freight’s app has become a market participant at a time when US truck capacity is very tight and shippers are looking for ways to counter (or at least blunt) the remarkable amount of negotiating power transport companies have.

Fresh from Amazon’s transportation shop, Kenny Wagers sees technology and integration within XPO as the keys to accelerating less-than-truckload growth.

That upgrade for Uber Freight could lead to expanded, pro-active opportunities for shippers.

“We do expect a big peak this year because the economy is so good,” Bradley S. Jacobs, chairman and CEO, said in an interview. “...We’ve started staffing up already. That’s one of the reasons we began adding all the technology we’ve been developing.”

It’s a stronger US truck market than even 2004/2005, drivers are aware that they are in short supply, and there is no end in sight — hence there is an obvious reason why both shippers and trucking companies should keep those market conditions in mind.

The inclusion of carriers with up to 10 trucks in Uber’s capacity pool will help build density and increase the value of its app-based service to shippers.

Trucking companies at the NASSTRAC Shippers Conference say they aren’t having an easy time finding capacity either, citing rising labor costs and a shrinking labor pool. And there are other sector issues they are dealing with that shippers never see.

XPO Connect will help shippers find and monitor fluctuating capacity across the logistics firm’s transportation modes.

Full enforcement of the electronic logging device mandate began April 1, but inspectors issued a slew of violations in early 2018, federal data show.

Freight brokers with less than $16 million in annual revenue saw shipments jump 20.5 percent in the fourth quarter, but higher truck rates put pressure on margins.

While 59 percent of the 258 truckers in the survey were satisfied with traditional brokers, 50 percent also said communication has been poor and 53 percent said the information about the load was lacking or incorrect.

Despite the dip, the freight market is strong, as are the sectors that feed into freight — factory output, construction, and business investment.

A survey of shippers and logistics service providers (LSPs) shows broad agreement truck capacity is getting tighter, but the LSPs expect rates to rise higher next year than shippers anticipate. Electronic logging devices may be a reason.

E-commerce is accelerating, underpinning an uptick in global trade and US economic growth, XPO's Jacobs said.

Purchased transportation costs rose steadily in the third quarter.

More complex supply chains and faster fulfillment demands create opportunity for logistics "insourcing" among shippers, Haversack Logistics founder says.

Third-quarter earnings reports reveal across-the-board increases in transportation rates, with little sign pressure will ease soon.

"Relentless" investment in equipment, higher driver pay help boost capacity, revenue, profit for Werner.

Technology cannot replace personal relationships, but greater automation can help smooth processes, Echo Global Logistics CEO Waggoner says.

Higher third-quarter operating costs at J.B. Hunt, especially costs related to drivers and empty trucks, show why US shippers should be concerned about truck and intermodal pricing.

Shippers will have to dig harder to access new capacity as peak shipping season heats up.

A host of issues critical to shippers, brokers and truckers await Robert P. Martinez, President Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Uber Freight is most comfortable concentrating on truckload.

Call it an "obsession." Amazon's dedication to fulfilling customer expectations is turning a wheel of logistics growth that is not likely to stop.

Addition of 10-4 Systems to division offering carrier technologies promises greater blending of services across supply chains.

Does an atypically "robust" summer for US freight demand signal higher road and rail rates ahead for shippers?

Descartes' acquisition of MacroPoint will accelerate drive toward shipment, SKU-level tracking of freight across modal networks.

Private equity firm Transplace management to buy company as shippers increasingly demand not just technology, but also realizing the value of that technology.

The $14.6 billion logistics and transportation provider accelerated growth at asset and non-asset operations alike in the second quarter, including its LTL division.

Increased second-quarter US industrial activity, consumer confidence primes freight market, pressures rates.