Truckload

March hasn't brought shippers relief from rising spot market truckload rates, as intense activity in some markets continues to keep single truck prices at a premium.

An early produce season is already tightening the supply of available northbound tractor-trailers coming from Mexico, Transplace's Troy Ryley says. That's a warning sign for shippers watching truck capacity closely.

Heavy snow and frigid temperatures in the Midwest will keep Universal Truckload Services' earnings from rising to their projected levels in the first quarter, the trucking firm warned. It's not alone.

When it came to expansion, the 25 largest truckload carriers idled their engines last year, increasing their combined revenue by just 0.6 percent to $25.6 billion. The growth they did enjoy came largely from acquisitions, a trend expected to continue in 2014 as truckload demand rises.

Truckload carriers kept more of their drivers on payroll in the fourth quarter, but driver turnover at large truckload carriers remains high, according to the American Trucking Associations.

TRAC Intermodal’s planned move into drayage is the first step in the company’s effort to expand its portfolio to provide “a broad suite of logistics services,” CEO Keith Lovetro said.

Higher first quarter volume and revenue at Landstar System reflect rising freight demand and truck rates, despite and perhaps in part thanks to severe weather.

TRAC Intermodal, the United States’ largest provider of intermodal chassis, plans to extend its services into drayage, said CEO Keith Lovetro.

The second lowest reading yet for JOC Truckload Capacity Index reflects lower truck counts at some of the largest U.S. carriers in the fourth quarter. The actual drop in capacity is likely deeper, as carrier bankruptcies hit a three-year high in the quarter.

Winter's icy grip on the eastern U.S. continues to cause supply chain disruption, driving the average spot dry-van truckload rate up to $1.98 per mile last week, according to load-matching service DAT.

The DAT national average dry van spot market rate stayed at its $1.97 per mile high last week, as more severe winter storms snarled supply chains from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast and inland.

Shippers aren't convinced 2014 will bring a truckload “capacity crunch" and don't expect rates to rise that much. Carriers have a different view, based on increasing freight demand and rising costs.

Truckload carrier C.R. England is putting more LNG trucks on the road in Southern California, as abundant natural gas builds interest in the alternative fuel.

Truckload rates rose 2.9 percent in January, with intermodal rates climbing 1.7 percent year-over-year, Cass Information Systems said.

Con-way has named Joseph M. Dagnese as president of its truckload subsidiary, Con-way Truckload.

Shippers must work with their partners to fix supply chain faults revealed by winter storms, or face more near-term rate hikes and equipment shortages, a logistics executive warns.

Rising demand from the logistics sector will boost sales of heavy-duty trucks in China and demand for imported components, according to the latest report from Macquarie Equities Research.

Celadon Group reported its net income in the second quarter of fiscal year 2014, ending June 30, 2014, was $5.1 million, plummeting 30.5 percent year-over-year from $7.4 million...

Direct ChassisLink is launching a program to replace bias-ply tires with radial tires on more than 20,000 chassis and plans eventually to convert its entire fleet to radials.

Knight Transportation reported net income in the fourth quarter of 2013 was $20.1 million, improving 13.6 percent year-over-year from $17.7 million...

Swift Transportation reported its net income in the fourth quarter of 2013 plummeted 17.2 percent year-over-year to $45.3 million...

J.B. Hunt Transport Services reported record profit of $92 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, up 9.4 percent year-over-year from $84 million...

New order placement for Class 8 trucks in North America surged in December.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has declared two Walterboro, S.C.-based trucking companies...

After a rocky start to the fourth quarter in October, Landstar System shifted into higher gear in December, increasing truckload volume and revenue in tandem.

FTR Associates’ Shippers Conditions Index improved marginally in September, but not enough to take it out of deep negative territory...

The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Trucking Tonnage in October fell for the first time in July, but the group’s economist said it wasn’t surprising for traffic to dip after a strong run.

Celadon Group has entered into an agreement to acquire selected assets of N. Yanke Transfer Limited...

The Journal of Commerce Truckload Capacity Index rose unexpectedly in the third quarter to a four-year high, but that doesn’t mean more tractor-trailers rolled onto highways and up to shipper docks. Instead, the leap in the index reflects a gathering concentration of capacity at the top of trucking’s food chain, as larger motor carriers acquire and absorb smaller companies to secure drivers, equipment and freight revenue.

Heartland Express, one of the most profitable truckload carriers in the nation, acquired fast-growing Gordon Trucking for $300 million in cash, assets and debt.

Arkansas Best today reported net income of $14.0 million in the third quarter of 2013, up 114.5 percent year-over-year from $6.5 million...

North America’s Class 8 net truck orders in October reached 25,960 units, increasing 14 percent year-over-year and 39 percent from the previous month...

Truck driver pay — or the lack of it — is a key factor in the so-called driver shortage, though not the only reason motor carriers can’t hire enough drivers.

Trucking’s early third quarter earnings reports looked better than might be expected in a sluggish and inconsistent economy. That’s largely because the first publicly owned motor carriers past the quarterly post took advantage of opportunities to move more freight by intermodal rail, diversified their over-the-road services and, most important, protected profit margins in the quarter.

Celadon Group reported its net income plummeted 20.5 percent to $6.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2014, which ended Sept. 30, 2013, from $8.3 million in the same period last year.

Knight Transportation reported its net income in the third quarter of 2013 was $15.2 million, dropping 9.1 percent year-over-year from $16.7 million.

Using in-cab and back office technology, Schneider National has measured a 3.1 percent drop in productivity since new truck driver hours of service rules took effect July 1.

Swift Transportation reported its net income in the third quarter of 2013 was $30.0 million, dropping 11.0 percent year-over-year from $33.7 million.

The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Trucking Tonnage Index increased 1.4 percent month-over-month in September, which matched August’s gain.

Werner Enterprises reported its net income in the third quarter of 2013 was $21.3 million, sliding 15 percent year-over-year from $25.1 million.