Truckload

Shippers are being urged to plan carefully for 2020, as signs begin to indicate the US truck market may swing again next year.

Seven of the top 10 critical issues facing trucking directly involve truck drivers, with pay and detention joining the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual list.

A California-based digital freight marketplace sets a five-year goal to replace its asset-based diesel fleet with alternative power.

A logistics veteran behind the growth of startups eventually bought out by C.H. Robinson and UPS Inc. has been named CEO of a new 3PL formed through a merger between Atomic Transport of Chicago and Cousins Logistics of Boca Raton, Florida.

The 15th-largest US trucking operator will make deep cuts in its dry van truckload business and focus on LTL and logistics as it attempts to get back in the black.

Convoy is releasing a new transportation management system for shippers relying on spreadsheets and emails -- a free software option that provides access to Convoy quotes and booking.

An analysis of pricing in 115 spot truckload lanes by JOC.com indicates a sequential monthly increase in September, with rates rising 4.46 percent on average across those lanes.

Trucking is experiencing slow growth, not a collapse, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello says, with retail sales and contract business sustaining demand.

What differentiates good shippers from bad ones? A Council of Supply Chain Management Conference panel discussed how the real conversation for shippers is internal, not external.

Trucking executives aren’t as worried about the impact of the IMO 2020 low-sulfur rule as they are about pending US regulatory changes that will more directly affect the sector.

Schneider National says it’s not worried about Amazon purchasing branded 53-foot containers because the intermodal provider believes only a small group of companies have the scale to insource.

The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index has gone negative for the first time since March 2017, a signal that in addition to spot rates, contract rates are starting to suffer as well; intermodal prices are also expected to go negative in October.

J.B. Hunt has informed shippers it will assess peak season surcharges on excess freight out of California and Washington state even though volumes are much weaker than a year ago.

The number of US trucking companies rose by more than 21,000 in the year between June 2018 and this June, even as low spot-market pricing increased pressure on smaller fleets.

Heartland Express has acquired truckload carrier Millis Transfer and the Millis driving school for $150 million, the second major acquisition the Iowa carrier has made in two years.

Coyote Logistics reports its spot market index is down 24.9 percent year over year, but the 3PL believes an inflection point is near when demand will begin to pick up and rates climb again.

One of the few positive indicators in trucking is the ATA Tonnage Index, which rose 7.3 percent in July year over year -- a signal that some don’t believe the industry is in turmoil.

Despite the "doom-and-gloom" predictions of some industry watchers, there are cities where trucking activity has picked up in August, offering a glimmer of hope for the US freight market.

After a rise in domestic US trucking rates in June offered a glimmer of hope, the numbers and commentary show a return to sluggish shipping conditions in the previous 45 days.

Fleet bankruptcies show some capacity is coming out of the market, but it’s unclear whether that will make any significant dent in the oversupply of trucks available in the spot trade.

The long-term outlook for truckers, and their shipper customers, is blurred by the fog of trade wars, but 2020 will bring changes.

Schneider National cut its 2019 earnings guidance, citing an uncertain outlook for trucking and intermodal volumes in the second half of the year.

Schneider National has shut its first and final-mile division only three years after the major acquisitions of Watkins & Shepard and Lodeso, exiting a market where it was unable to make inroads amid a crowd of competitors.

Large US truckload carriers are cutting excess capacity, albeit only slightly, pulling the JOC Truckload Capacity Index down for the first time since 2016.

A new chassis depot is open outside Canadian Pacific's intermodal terminal near Chicago's O'Hare Airport, which will allow truckers to pick up and return equipment to transport containers.

The driver shortage has diminished, but not disappeared, the American Trucking Associations says. Demographics, freight demand, and pay are the key issues.

With rates and freight demand low, smaller trucking operators may be increasingly up for grabs.

A new truck rate benchmarking program designed to give Mexican shippers their first scientifically-created rate comparisons will be available next month, compiled by Chainalytics and a Mexican partner.

Shippers own the US freight market in mid-2019, but they are finding the cost of poor or inconsistent trucking service can outweigh the savings of lower rates.

Uncertainty clouds the freight outlook beyond August, as spot truck rates cool in July after rising in June and US inventories remain high.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services believes the intermodal market has hit rock bottom, expressing confidence that shippers will move excess inventory in the second half of 2019, though volume will still be less than last year.

Heavy truck orders are in steep decline, but production backlogs are falling and new trucks are hitting US highways, adding to excess capacity and preserving shipper pricing leverage.

With trucking employment rising, there are few signs excess US truck capacity will be reduced soon, keeping pricing power in the grasp of shippers.

A large share of US-bound Mexican freight is shoved through an increasingly tight funnel of truck lanes vulnerable to freight surges, migration crises, and trade disputes.

There has been progress in finding a solution to the chassis woes plaguing the containerized shipping industry, but those advancements have been very slow coming. Larger solutions will take years and face many hurdles along the way.

The typical retail-based truck freight rebound came later this year and is likely to be shorter as trade tensions with China and Mexico ease.

Monterrey-based aluminum manufacturer Riisa wants to increase exports to the US but must deal with local capacity shortages and logistics challenges in Laredo, the largest US truck border crossing.

TRAC and DCLI have reached an interoperability agreement for the BNSF terminal outside of Dallas, which could lower the likelihood of chassis shortages. Open choice advocates worry this "duopoly" will spread to other Gulf Coast markets and limit trucker choice.

Truckload carriers surveyed by Cowen & Co. are banking on a stronger second half and expect contract rates to rise 2.7 percent on average over the next six months.

A sharp decline in shipper spending and freight volumes causes some to sound the recession alarm, but others still see slower growth, not steep decline, amid tariff threats.