Trucking News

Fewer trucking companies are responding to shipper bids, as contract truckload pricing rises by high single-digit percentage rates, Transplace executives said Tuesday.

A significant number of truckload shippers delayed annual bids with the largest US truck freight broker in the fourth quarter to avoid spiking contract rates.

Software providers say the proliferation of integrations between transportation management systems and domestic freight brokers in 2020 hints at a future in which a TMS will no longer be merely a static system, but a living platform.

Policy experts told the virtual SMC3 Jump Start 2021 conference they expect a renewed push to limit truck driver hours of service, but also truck driver detention, during the Biden administration.

Another new entrant in the small carrier TMS space, Dallas-based Axele, portends more market structure and available capacity for shippers to tap into.

A surge in demand for Shipwell’s technology-focused managed transportation approach, with freight under management tripling in 2020, is a sign of shippers’ increased reliance on an outsourced approach to logistics.

Additional acquisitions will fuel growth for both XPO’s transportation and contract logistics businesses, soon to be separate companies, chairman and CEO Bradley S. Jacobs said.

The sale of its $3.1 billion less-than-truckload (LTL) subsidiary narrows UPS’s focus and gives TFI International a much bigger presence in the North American LTL market, from Canada to Mexico.

Companies such as Werner Enterprises, Schneider National, and U.S. Xpress are taking an active role in the development of autonomous trucks, but not, they say, to replace drivers.

Motor carriers must do more than raise driver pay to counteract the current shortfall, including driving greater efficiency in their networks and at shipper facilities to allow existing truckers to make more trips in a given day.

US truckload carrier Heartland Express improved revenue and profit in the most recent quarter and is raising driver pay, investing in new equipment, and focusing on improved utilization in 2021.

After a sharp rebound in freight demand in the second half of 2020, US less-than-truckload (LTL) operators are operating more profitably and seeking higher rates for 2021, while shippers are prioritizing capacity and on-time performance.

Rising industrial freight volumes will keep pressure on truckload capacity and pricing in 2021, even if demand for goods peaks, according to FTR Transport Intelligence analysts.

More than half of 300 retailers responding to a recent survey cited increasing delivery costs as a major challenge in meeting growing e-commerce demand.

A chassis shortage has caused some containers to idle at BNSF’s ramp in St. Paul, Minnesota, an offshoot of the congestion in Chicago, but not as disruptive given the relative small rail volume in the Twin Cities.

Major US retailers in 2020 responded to COVID-19 lockdowns and last-mile delivery constraints by expanding customer fulfillment options like curbside pickup, buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), and same-day delivery, demand for which continued to increase even as stores reopened.

European truckload broker sennder has vaulted into the upper reaches of venture capital-based logistics startups with a $160 million funding round and a $1 billion valuation.

Shippers have used the spot trucking market to account for volume surges in 2020, but they can use data to better calibrate their contracts, including short-term deals, freight procurement expert Heather Mueller tells JOC Uncharted.

Retailers and parcel carriers are expanding returns networks to handle record volumes and drive down transportation costs for carriers.

High demand for consumer goods and tight capacity will keep pressure on US contract and spot truckload rates in the early part of 2021, but pricing could begin to recede again by mid-year.

Trucking’s peak season extended well into December, blunting a seasonal decline in actual trucking employment numbers and boosting seasonally adjusted job gains, according to data released Friday.

The chassis network on the East Coast has held up during the recent import surge due to better communication and data, and more reliable equipment.

A new law that requires the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a plan to use X-rays or similar technology to scan all cars, trucks, and freight trains entering the country could cause a flare up of chronic congestion issues at the southern border.

The distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the US is being slowed not by transportation issues, but by “last-mile” inefficiencies in many states, especially a lack of personnel, funding, and necessary planning.

FedEx and UPS capped parcel volumes and placed limits on equipment used for pickups amid the holiday rush, pushing shippers to seek other options.

CEO Tom Schmitt says better pricing and targeted expansions beyond its air freight footprint will help Forward Air provide the shareholder value sought by activist investors.

Logistics managers that saw their organization's supply chains disrupted and transportation budgets blown out of the water in 2020 will be at the epicenter of make-or-break decisions in the coming year.

Parcel volume growth driven by e-commerce is expected to continue accelerating in 2021, but with carriers focusing on the most profitable shipments, shippers are turning to regional carriers and "gig" delivery platforms.

An $89.5 million stock purchase at Forward Air aimed at increasing shareholder value should be a “wake-up call” for other less-than-truckload providers that likewise may not be as profitable as activist investors think they should be.

Third-party logistics provider GlobalTranz saw a strong increase in demand for managed transportation service in 2020 and expects the outsourcing trend to continue as supply chain disruption spills into 2021.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic completely upended prior expectations for 2020, it also accelerated existing trends that every shipper, carrier, and third-party logistics provider should be watching in 2021.

After battling a huge surge in container traffic and labor shortages in rail yards, drayage, and receiver docks during the second half of 2020, US chassis providers are expanding their fleets.

Because asset owners can’t economically invest in excess capacity for volumes that may never materialize, the risk of supply chain disruption caused by external shocks, especially surprise surges in demand, likely will never go away.

The integration between AscendTMS’s widely-used transportation management software with predictive pricing and historical benchmark trucking data from DAT Solutions is a signal that users of such systems want more value piped directly into the platforms on which they rely.

There’s debate about how much of a knock-on effect COVID-19 vaccine distribution could have on other types of cargoes, but US shippers are cautioned to plan for some disruption.

Parcel carrier FedEx warned surcharges will be a “necessary part” of its pricing strategy after a quarter in which increased efficiencies in its Ground operations led to large gains in operating income.

The truck driver turnover rate is rising at truckload carriers as they compete for employees; that is spurring a new round of pay hikes for drivers.

Convoy is integrating with AscendTMS, another sign of the importance of enabling small truckload carriers with software to manage driver dispatch and scheduling, which helps give shippers electronic access to more capacity.

Momentum for software that helps small carriers manage their businesses keeps growing, with CloudTrucks getting $20.5 million in venture capital to build its “virtual carrier” model and an instant pay product for drivers.

COVID-19 and the wave of imports reaching the US will keep pressure on transportation capacity and pricing, from ports to the last mile, shippers warned Tuesday.