Trucking News

Bigger than expected gains in warehousing and trucking in October are welcome amid ongoing reports of labor shortages.

The Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccination and testing mandate for large employers will affect truck capacity and pricing, but questions about the extent of its impact remain.

While US chassis manufacturers have significantly ramped up production in the last six months, some marine and domestic chassis orders placed this year won’t be fulfilled into the second half of 2022.

A survey of independent truckers and small trucking firms by Truckstop.com and Bloomberg Intelligence found them optimistic about the potential for higher contract and spot rates next year.

A truck driver survey underscores the threat of potential service disruptions from an upcoming US vaccine mandate for large employers, with 36 percent of drivers showing no interest in vaccination.

New projects and those that had been delayed have begun moving, but the truck driver shortage and higher fuel costs could dampen a bright outlook for the US heavy-haul sector.

Trucking companies are seeking an exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate being implemented by the US government for large employers, which they say would further disrupt already tight US trucking capacity.

With less-than-truckload demand high and capacity tight, TFI International is clawing back its US LTL network to improve freight and lane density and profitability.

Truckload pricing will continue to rise into 2022, with the “deflationary leg” of the market starting in the second quarter next year, Coyote Logistics said in its latest Coyote Curve forecast.

Tight LTL capacity and rates that have climbed by double digits are creating opportunities for more dynamic LTL pricing, if it can be shown to benefit shippers and carriers.

The ongoing semiconductor shortage is reducing deliveries of new trucks in North America and threatening the addition of much-needed capacity in 2022, and perhaps beyond.

Retail inventories are rising but remain 9.2 percent below the pre-pandemic high point in terms of value, and shippers are trying every possible strategy to avoid stockouts.

International air freight and last-mile delivery saw the fastest revenue growth in the transportation sector last year, while industrial transportation suffered.

Demand and disruption are fueling growth at both Knight-Swift Transportation and Landstar System, neither of which see a reduction in demand or pricing in a changing truckload landscape.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide is linking its less-than-truckload carrier network to the retail platform offered by SPS Commerce to help shippers get retail goods onto shelves and avoid holiday stockouts.

Supply chain disruption is slowing economic growth, but “postponed” demand is expected to reemerge in 2022, keeping US freight capacity tight and transportation pricing high.

Flock Freight is the latest logistics technology company to reach so-called unicorn status after landing a $215 million funding round led by SoftBank to expand its pooled truckload model.

Choptank expands Hub Group’s refrigerated brokerage business as US shippers demand greater access to transportation capacity across modes and sectors.

A flood of imports into the Pacific Northwest is boosting spot truckload rates out of Seattle as shippers facing delays and intermodal container shortages seek new routes for freight moving inland.

project44 is moving beyond freight visibility into booking through a new product that uses carrier location data to identify when truckload capacity is soon to be available for freight brokers to book.

Vendorflow, a new platform to harmonize communications between logistics providers and the carriers they use, has secured funding from a range of venture capital investors with previous logistics expertise.

A reallocation of assets and workers across the transportation landscape, combined with inventory rebuilding, complicates the outlook for US shippers in 2022, speakers told the JOC Inland Distribution webcast.

The third-party logistics market is being reshaped in a crucible of ongoing supply chain disruption and technology, Transplace CEO Frank McGuigan told the JOC Inland Distribution webcast.

The for-hire trucking industry lost 1,600 jobs last month, but the Labor Department expected a bigger drop, as transit, warehousing and courier employment surged.

LTL carriers including Old Dominion Freight Line are turning to surcharges to keep over-sized, unwieldy shipments from clogging their networks, taking a page from parcel carriers.

The backlog of freight in Southern California is forcing more shippers to the truckload spot market as they search for any available capacity to speed goods inland.

Recent merger and acquisition activity, such as the ArcBest-Molo deal, proves many investors believe opportunity lies in third-party logistics providers.

A Chicago-based trucking platform focused on cross-border freight has launched a contract board for small carriers to find repetitive, complementary loads from large shippers.

Digital brokerage Loadsmart and Home Depot are launching an automated, supply-led flatbed booking platform that will help the retailer “share” its dedicated truck capacity with other shippers.

The $235 million acquisition of MoLo Solutions will double ArcBest’s available capacity and reflects an industrywide drive to access capacity across modes and networks.

Speakers at the Coyote Logistics Digital Summit said some truckload capacity is creeping back into a very tight market, but not to expect major changes in rates, especially for shippers on the “import side.”

Although national spot rate averages are flat, significant increases in dry-van truckload volumes from US ports are tightening pricing pressure in long-haul lanes as importers rush goods further inland.

Trucking equipment manufacturers are raking in new orders for trailers and tractors, but it may be well into 2022 before they roll off production lines ready to move freight.

Jam-packed West Coast warehouses are pushing more freight inland earlier, raising spot prices and expedited trucking costs in lanes out of the Los Angeles region faster than expected.

A rapid evolution in how US shippers contract with truckload carriers is driving growth at Emerge and drawing $130 million in fresh private equity funding to its digital procurement platform.

Transfix’s announcement that it is going public will serve as a comparison against incumbent brokers and a reference point for other digital brokers and technology providers with public aspirations.

The largest US trucking company, FedEx Freight, is improving profits while handling more cargo, as sister division FedEx Ground deals with congestion blamed partly on labor shortages.

Demand fueled tonnage growth at for-hire contract carriers in August, according to the American Trucking Associations, but supply chain disruption and shortages still constrain overall capacity.

As shippers increasingly turn to – or are forced to – the spot market for truck capacity, automation will identify opportunities to lower costs, according to C.H. Robinson Worldwide.

With shippers facing crippling congestion in Southern California, the Port of New York and New Jersey is seeing more volume and the demand has spilled over to long-haul trucking.