LTL

Cross-border supply chains need to become more integrated and efficient to increase capacity on both sides of a constricted border, logistics executives say.

Shippers once saw small variances on freight bills as a nuisance too insignificant to dispute, but technology is enabling more efficient scrutiny across transportation modes.

Those companies are combining to get the terminals, talent and technology they need to compete as larger carriers increasingly seek business in their markets.

Less-than-truckload volumes may be down as much as 15% from 2021, but carriers are pushing for rate hikes in single-digit percentages as they plan expansion.

A stronger manufacturing recovery is needed to increase demand in both the truckload and LTL sectors, speakers said during a Journal of Commerce webcast.

Trucking companies large and small are considering adding more LTL providers to their portfolios, but finding the right acquisition targets is a challenge.

The US economy will grow in 2025, but not by leaps and bounds, with consumer spending forecast to drop while freight rates rise, according to speakers at the Journal of Commerce Inland Distribution Conference 2024 (Inland24).

Recovery efforts are barely under way after a deadly and destructive storm ripped through several southern states, but reconstruction will draw on truckload supply nationwide.

A court has cleared the sale of the last batch of properties from the bankrupt LTL provider, more than two dozen of which are located near container ports.

Cutting terminals as freight volume drops, FedEx Freight is positioning itself for growth and a possible separation from its parcel carrier parent company in 2025.

The latest year-over-year comparisons are clearing up LTL market distortions caused by Yellow’s failure and revealing weak demand, but tight capacity is pushing up rates.

Investors have put $6.3 million into a startup aiming to provide a procurement and transportation management software alternative to enterprise-focused solutions.

The possible sale of DHL Freight’s US regional LTL arm to Jack Cooper would be the latest in a series of acquisitions aimed at building larger LTL networks.

Reduced overall capacity, higher pricing and more dense and efficient networks are defining characteristics of the post-Yellow LTL market.

Disruption to inland supply lanes and the location of truck capacity would be possible if rail and port strike threats prove real, analysts told a Journal of Commerce webcast.

Producer price indexes and the Cass Freight Index show slight increases in truck pricing and volumes in July, but not a rapid turnaround.

Some non-asset logistics providers are adding LTL volume and revenue as truckload brokerage keeps declining. 

Large truckload providers have been jettisoning trucks at an historic pace in an imbalanced market, but they are making more efficient use of their remaining trucks.

Large LTL trucking companies including XPO, Saia, ODFL and Knight-Swift are increasing volumes by diversifying and going deeper into shipper supply chains as they add customers.

Uber Freight is managing a growing internal LTL network within Canada and cross-border trade, and others are looking for ways to create “alternative” LTL services.

The takeover of Los Angeles-based Dependable Highway Express (DHE) allows Knight-Swift to reach 70% of the US population with its LTL services.

The sale of European Surface Transportation to German-based brokerage sennder is part of a drive to strengthen operations that C.H. Robinson considers core to its business.

Saia, Knight-Swift and other LTL carriers are moving ahead with plans to open terminals once owned by bankrupt Yellow, despite higher costs.

More business from logistics partners and retailers helped increase daily shipment count for the second-largest US LTL provider, but year-over-year comps are about to get tougher.

The third-largest US less-than-truckload provider is expanding its service centers along the US-Mexico border, anticipating an increase in northbound industrial freight. 

Pitt Ohio is the latest LTL carrier to announce additional next-day lanes as the redistribution of former Yellow terminals creates opportunities to speed freight.

Speakers at the SMC3 Connections Conference this week warned that US truckload pricing will rise slowly heading toward 2025, although others expect a faster move.

As FedEx Freight increases revenue and profitability, the transportation and logistics company is considering potential steps to “unlock sustainable shareholder value.”

Despite a 7.1% unadjusted month-to-month increase in mostly contractual truck tonnage, more data is needed before the American Trucking Associations will call it a “recovery.”

The preliminary agreement avoids a strike that could have created traffic jams along the US-Canada border, disrupting trade and manufacturing. 

Shippers need to consider contingency plans for truck shipments crossing the US-Canadian border in case Canada’s Customs and Immigration Union calls a strike this week.

Last month’s actual trucking employment gain was lower than expected as the US economy added more jobs in service industries such as hospitality and healthcare. 

Saia’s 18.6% year-over-year gain in LTL shipments in May underscores the ongoing impact of Yellow’s bankruptcy, while larger ODFL reports smaller “Yellow-free” gains in volume.

Yellow still has 130 terminals that could be sold, but they’re not quite ready for the auction block, bankruptcy court testimony revealed this week.

Earnings records show several big LTL carriers are expanding their tractor and trailer fleets in the post-Yellow market to keep pace with terminal expansion.

Like many of its LTL competitors, XPO is using former Yellow terminals to build density in major freight markets such as Baltimore-Washington, D.C.

Average US truckload pricing has hardly risen since last June, while less-than-truckload costs continue to climb due to tighter capacity.

The expedited surface transportation provider said it has kept customers and is adding business but needs to “aggressively” address profitability after a first-quarter loss.

Candor Expedite’s new service is designed to let perishables shippers use lower-cost freight modes and reduce product spoilage.

The third-largest US LTL provider is joining competitors renovating and opening terminals acquired from Yellow and expects to complete that work by early 2025.