Trucking News

Solar panels and energy drinks are among the top targeted goods for truckload theft, with major markets such as Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago particularly ripe for those crimes.

Less-than-truckload freight once hauled by Yellow is being redistributed among other carriers in waves as shippers shop for the best fit in price, capacity, technology and service.

A US bankruptcy court approved a $1.525 billion bid by Estes Express Lines to be the “stalking horse” that sets the floor price for Yellow’s terminals at auction, controlling their sale in November.

Cuts in oil production and increased fuel use globally are pushing up trucking fuel surcharges and, in turn, transportation costs for US shippers.

The division of BNSF Logistics between BNSF Railway and J.B. Hunt is aimed at helping to improve service to joint customers at a time when freight demand is weak.

Estes Forwarding Worldwide, a subsidiary of the LTL trucking provider, is buying Superior Brokerage Services, a step that increases Estes’ ability to offer end-to-end logistics services as other providers look to do the same.

Steady gains in US-Mexico cross-border truck freight have spurred the logistics provider to open a 400,000-square-foot cross-dock warehouse in Laredo, a US border entry point already bursting with freight.

Freight brokers, load boards, technology providers and law enforcement are attempting to contain the growing threat of truckload cargo theft and the fraudulent schemes that underpin it.

While the country’s second-largest LTL provider gained shipments in August after the demise of Yellow, it sees no signs that overall freight demand is improving.

While the importance of drayage came to the fore during the pandemic, the current freight hangover is cramping the sector’s ability to take advantage of technology options on the market.

Saia and XPO are the latest LTL carriers to report volume gains in August, a month when trucking employment dropped more than 2% following Yellow’s shutdown.

Inventories are falling, but orders and shipments aren’t necessarily climbing as US retailers seek greater “inventory productivity” by closely tracking customer demand. 

The German-based forwarder remains the largest and most attractive takeover target in a cash-rich industry where the main players are all looking for opportunities to consolidate.

Regional LTL carrier A. Duie Pyle and point-to-point trucking firm Hercules Freight are finding opportunities to expand as shippers adjust to the loss of Yellow’s capacity.

Given the short duration of the port and terminal closures, impacts appeared minimal as Jacksonville, Savannah and Charleston resumed normal operations.

An LTL carrier such as Yellow is an extremely complicated business, and similar to the railroads, the enterprise software it used was developed internally — often over decades — because there was no “off-the-shelf” solution, writes analyst Ted Prince.  

ArcBest less-than-truckload (LTL) subsidiary ABF Freight is taking on additional volume and raising rates as a broad realignment of the US LTL sector gains speed.

Two weeks after Forward Air acquired forwarder Omni Logistics, a private investment fund has taken over expedited third-party logistics provider Ascent Global Logistics.

Estes Express Lines has long used third-party software to amp up its service to customers, with an expansion of its partnership with less-than-truckload software provider Optym the latest example.

Control of Yellow’s real estate may determine who gets to expand in the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector, and who must scramble to find property.

Some logistics managers report longer transit times and delivery delays, as well as higher costs, as remaining LTL providers divide the freight once hauled by Yellow. 

A ‘stalking horse bid’ from Estes, a rival trucking company, would set a floor for any competing bids for the more than 160 properties owned by Yellow.

More than 60 buyers are said to be scrutinizing the terminals and assets of defunct LTL carrier Yellow as freight volumes rise at its former US trucking competitors.

Omni’s international and US forwarding customers are expected to send more freight to Forward Air’s expedited less-than-truckload network in the US. 

The National Shipper Advisory Committee saw some good in the FMC commissioner’s ideas, but said without a clear path for implementation, businesses will continue to be hurt by detention and demurrage charges.

Top 30 freight broker BNSF Logistics said it will use Trucker Tools software to improve visibility and freight matching for its surface transportation customers.

The current freight downturn could continue until mid-2024, thanks to lower manufacturing output, high levels of employment and excess capacity, experts told the Journal of Commerce Thursday.

The merger of third-party logistics provider Omni and expedited less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Forward Air will create a more multimodal LTL network focused on high-value freight.

Targeting industrial and retail shippers that need expensive expedited services to meet stringent on-time metrics, freight broker Convoy is offering a product that guarantees shipments will be delivered within a predetermined 30-minute window.

Yellow lost money in its last six months as shippers moved freight elsewhere and non-operating expenses, including debt payments and interest, consumed shrinking operating profits.

The US economy is improving, but the gains in recent months haven’t translated into additional freight, nor an additional surge in trucking employment.

Regardless of where demand for intermodal and truckload freight transport moves over the coming months, the industry holds the key to its destiny in its own hands, writes analyst Larry Gross. 

The third-largest US less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier said Sunday it plans to use debtor-in-possession financing to support the sale of assets, while CEO Darren Hawkins blamed the Teamsters union for its collapse.

Shipment volume at the third-largest LTL carrier in the US jumped nearly 9% in July from a year ago and 3.2% from June as shippers moved freight away from rival carrier Yellow.

US truckload carrier executives say they don’t see any signs that freight demand will pick back up until the end of 2023.

The number of large US less-than-truckload carriers is shrinking, but the remaining operators are more profitable, have higher revenues and play a bigger role in customer’s supply chains.

Hedging and short selling made Yellow a “meme stock” early this week, but experts say rumors of a comeback are as wildly misplaced as investors’ cash.

Schneider's acquisition of M&M Transport underscores the ongoing popularity of dedicated transportation among shippers and carriers, even in an era of excess truckload capacity. 

The loss of the third-largest US less-than-truckload carrier is hitting a broad tranche of smaller, less-sophisticated shippers hard as they struggle with volatile rate hikes, logistics providers say.

A challenging operating environment pulled down revenue and earnings at DHL, but the Germany-based integrator remains in a highly profitable position ahead of an uncertain second half.