<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Global detention and demurrage charges doubled over the past year as shippers faced unprecedented delays in moving their cargo and ocean carriers sought quick return of equipment, according to Container xChange.</div>

Global detention and demurrage charges doubled over the past year as shippers faced unprecedented delays in moving their cargo and ocean carriers sought quick return of equipment, according to Container xChange.

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<div>Containers coming into the largest US import gateway can face detention and demurrage charges over $2,500, triple the global average, according to a report from Container xChange. And across the world, those fees are up sharply because of the demand surge and resulting vessel delays and port congestion. In a report released Monday, the Hamburg-based company said trans-Pacific shippers could get hit with an average $2,638 detention and demurrage charge for containers that sat for over two weeks at the Port of Long Beach. At the Port of Los Angeles, the average detention and demurrage charge for the same time...

Containers coming into the largest US import gateway can face detention and demurrage charges over $2,500, triple the global average, according to a report from Container xChange. And across the world, those fees are up sharply because of the demand surge and resulting vessel delays and port congestion. In a report released Monday, the Hamburg-based company said trans-Pacific shippers could get hit with an average $2,638 detention and demurrage charge for containers that sat for over two weeks at the Port of Long Beach. At the Port of Los Angeles, the average detention and demurrage charge for the same time period was $2,593, the report said. Across the largest global ports, the average detention and demurrage fee for was $720, the report said, adding that Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Singapore were closest to that level. Container xChange, which provides an online container leasing and purchase platform, said the global average fee was for detention and demurrage on 20-foot standard and 40-foot standard and high-cube containers. Due to a change in its data collection methods, Container xChange said it could not provide a year-on-year comparison for detention and demurrage fees for standard container equipment. However, the average detention and demurrage charge for containers of all types reached $1,219 by Mar. 2021, a 104 percent increase from the level seen a year earlier. Delays, congestion push up fees The import volumes hitting the Southern California gateways and their ability to speedily move containers off the terminals is the main factor driving up detention and demurrage fees there, according to the report. Vessels waiting at anchor to discharge import loads , congested terminals , and delays for inland transportation all result in containers sitting longer and racking up larger detention and demurrage bills. “In today’s market, containers can be stuck at the ports for an exceptional amount of time,” the report said. “That, in turn, means it’s become ever more challenging to uphold the agreed free days, making demurrage and detention [more] likely.” Ocean carriers are also levying higher detention and demurrage fees as they seek to quickly return containers to higher-paying export customers in China , Container xChange said. Chinese ports, on average, saw a 126 percent increase in detention and demurrage fees over the past year, the report said, although those fees in China are still well below $1,000 per container. “When containers became scarce commodities in China, the shipping industry came under pressure to keep up with the demand worldwide,” Container xChange said. “This led to carriers wanting a quick turnaround for their containers. A way to make that happen is through fees.” D&D fees can vary widely Shippers have some recourse in mitigating the fees through comparison shopping across port destinations and carriers, the report said. For example, Antwerp offers European importers the lowest average detention and demurrage fees compared to Hamburg and Rotterdam, according to Container xChange. Comparing ocean carriers can also yield a $1,354 reduction in potential fees paid, the report said. Shipping to Hamburg via CMA CGM could result in a $258 detention and demurrage fee for containers sitting over two weeks while Yang Ming would charge $1,612 over the same time, it said. Shippers have been also more closely scrutinizing through the use of software the available free time for a container ahead of being charged detention and demurrage. Container xChange said that varying free time policies at the ocean carriers is another area where shippers can potentially save on detention and demurrage fees. In Antwerp, Cosco Shipping offers 11 days of free time for containers. But Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, and Yang Ming only offer five days of free time, Container xChange said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter at @michael_angell .

International ports

Detention, demurrage fees doubled in 2021: report

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Gov. Gavin Newsom says a Senate vote that appears to be the first step in killing California’s stringent emissions standards is “illegal” and will be challenged in court.</div>

Gov. Gavin Newsom says a Senate vote that appears to be the first step in killing California’s stringent emissions standards is “illegal” and will be challenged in court.

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<div class="phx-topic">California will take legal action to overturn a party-line vote in the US Senate that killed a federal waiver allowing the state to set its own emissions standards for cars that are tougher than national standards. “This Senate vote is illegal. Republicans went around their own parliamentarian to defy decades of precedent,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement after Thursday’s 51-44 Senate vote. “We won’t stand by as Trump Republicans make America smoggy again.” While that challenge is ongoing, the Senate is likely to next target California’s electric truck mandates and diesel emissions rules, meaning Thursday’s vote was just the first of three taking aim at California’s stringent emissions standards. The second and third resolutions would seek to overturn waivers for California’s electric truck mandate and tighter controls on diesel truck emissions. The state wants all drayage trucks to be “zero-emissions” trucks by 2035 and all medium- and heavy-duty trucks by 2045. The US House of Representatives approved all three resolutions attacking the Golden State’s vehicle emissions and clean air programs on April 30. Congress is trying to revoke the federal waivers allowing California to set its own standards — authorized under the Clean Air Act — using the Congressional Review Act (CRA). However, the Government Accountability Office and Senate Parliamentarian both advised that use of the CRA in this case is illegal; Republicans in Congress say it is legal. That opens the door for lawsuits challenging the overturning of these three waivers. <h3>‘Foolish vote’ </h3>The Senate’s action also brought quick responses from California’s clean air regulatory agency. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) said in a statement it “profoundly disagrees with [Thursday’s] unconstitutional illegal and foolish vote attempting to undermine critical clean air protections.” “California will pursue every available remedy to challenge these actions and defend our right to protect the public from dangerous air pollution,” said Liane Randolph, CARB’s chairman. “Turning the clock back on both cleaner combustion engine requirements and zero-emission technology is an attack on clean air.” The Senate’s action will have no immediate impact on the ongoing efforts of drayage operators to tap into grant money that has been provided by sources such as the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association, told the Journal of Commerce Friday. The grant money is used by drayage operators to purchase zero-emission trucks, as well as for the development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor area, Schrap said. “There’s a ton of grant money out there,” he said. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for the past three years have been helping to fund a <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/la-lb-ports-investing-25-million-in-charging-infrastructure-for-electric-trucks-5192220">clean truck program</a> by charging $10 per TEU on loaded containers hauled to and from their marine terminals. The California Trucking Association (CTA), which represents trucking companies throughout the state, said in a statement Friday that truckers have responded to the nation’s toughest environmental regulations by “reducing emissions by over 99%.” But the Senate’s action effectively resets the discussion, which, moving forward, “must be grounded in reality, [must] consider affordability and be focused on the achievable rather than the aspirational,” CTA said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

California will take legal action to overturn a party-line vote in the US Senate that killed a federal waiver allowing the state to set its own emissions standards for cars that are tougher than national standards. “This Senate vote is illegal. Republicans went around their own parliamentarian to defy decades of precedent,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement after Thursday’s 51-44 Senate vote. “We won’t stand by as Trump Republicans make America smoggy again.” While that challenge is ongoing, the Senate is likely to next target California’s electric truck mandates and diesel emissions rules, meaning Thursday’s vote was just the first of three taking aim at California’s stringent emissions standards. The second and third resolutions would seek to overturn waivers for California’s electric truck mandate and tighter controls on diesel truck emissions. The state wants all drayage trucks to be “zero-emissions” trucks by 2035 and all medium- and heavy-duty trucks by 2045. The US House of Representatives approved all three resolutions attacking the Golden State’s vehicle emissions and clean air programs on April 30. Congress is trying to revoke the federal waivers allowing California to set its own standards — authorized under the Clean Air Act — using the Congressional Review Act (CRA). However, the Government Accountability Office and Senate Parliamentarian both advised that use of the CRA in this case is illegal; Republicans in Congress say it is legal. That opens the door for lawsuits challenging the overturning of these three waivers. ‘Foolish vote’ The Senate’s action also brought quick responses from California’s clean air regulatory agency. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) said in a statement it “profoundly disagrees with [Thursday’s] unconstitutional illegal and foolish vote attempting to undermine critical clean air protections.” “California will pursue every available remedy to challenge these actions and defend our right to protect the public from dangerous air pollution,” said Liane Randolph, CARB’s chairman. “Turning the clock back on both cleaner combustion engine requirements and zero-emission technology is an attack on clean air.” The Senate’s action will have no immediate impact on the ongoing efforts of drayage operators to tap into grant money that has been provided by sources such as the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association, told the Journal of Commerce Friday. The grant money is used by drayage operators to purchase zero-emission trucks, as well as for the development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor area, Schrap said. “There’s a ton of grant money out there,” he said. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for the past three years have been helping to fund a clean truck program by charging $10 per TEU on loaded containers hauled to and from their marine terminals. The California Trucking Association (CTA), which represents trucking companies throughout the state, said in a statement Friday that truckers have responded to the nation’s toughest environmental regulations by “reducing emissions by over 99%.” But the Senate’s action effectively resets the discussion, which, moving forward, “must be grounded in reality, [must] consider affordability and be focused on the achievable rather than the aspirational,” CTA said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

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Trucking News

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

California rips US Senate move targeting state’s emissions rules

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The GPS technology will provide real-time visibility into chassis location, mileage and high-impact events on the road that could require repairs.</div>

The GPS technology will provide real-time visibility into chassis location, mileage and high-impact events on the road that could require repairs.

<div class="phx-topic">US chassis provider Direct ChassisLink Inc. (DCLI) will deploy BlackBerry Radar tracking devices across 100,000 of its domestic 53-foot chassis, a move that would benefit shippers seeking track-and-trace capability, faster turnover of units and reliable equipment that doesn’t break down. The move is an extension of an existing five-year partnership between DCLI and Blackberry. The GPS technology will provide real-time visibility into chassis location, mileage and high-impact events on the road that could require repairs. DCLI said Thursday the new devices will allow the company to develop consistent maintenance schedules, thereby reducing equipment downtime for major repairs. The trackers will also ensure fewer errors during the customer billing process, it said. DCLI operates a chassis pool for CSX Transportation and Union Pacific Railroad and has contracts with carriers, brokers and retailers who have freight on BNSF and Norfolk Southern Railways. While private containers from companies such as Hub Group, J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Schneider National already have GPS devices installed, the rail-owned container fleet used by non-asset brokers is only partially equipped with GPS units. An industry-wide project to put units on the tens of thousands of rail-owned containers is ongoing. Other private containers, such as those from less-than-truckload carriers and even some shipper-owned boxes, might not have GPS devices on them at all, leaving no visibility without the devices installed on the DCLI chassis. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

US chassis provider Direct ChassisLink Inc. (DCLI) will deploy BlackBerry Radar tracking devices across 100,000 of its domestic 53-foot chassis, a move that would benefit shippers seeking track-and-trace capability, faster turnover of units and reliable equipment that doesn’t break down. The move is an extension of an existing five-year partnership between DCLI and Blackberry. The GPS technology will provide real-time visibility into chassis location, mileage and high-impact events on the road that could require repairs. DCLI said Thursday the new devices will allow the company to develop consistent maintenance schedules, thereby reducing equipment downtime for major repairs. The trackers will also ensure fewer errors during the customer billing process, it said. DCLI operates a chassis pool for CSX Transportation and Union Pacific Railroad and has contracts with carriers, brokers and retailers who have freight on BNSF and Norfolk Southern Railways. While private containers from companies such as Hub Group, J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Schneider National already have GPS devices installed, the rail-owned container fleet used by non-asset brokers is only partially equipped with GPS units. An industry-wide project to put units on the tens of thousands of rail-owned containers is ongoing. Other private containers, such as those from less-than-truckload carriers and even some shipper-owned boxes, might not have GPS devices on them at all, leaving no visibility without the devices installed on the DCLI chassis. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

DCLI-Blackberry deal will improve visibility for domestic chassis pools

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Demand for goods traditionally shipped by air has been weakened by global economic issues, high inflation in destination markets and geopolitical issues that have impacted trade flows. </div>

Demand for goods traditionally shipped by air has been weakened by global economic issues, high inflation in destination markets and geopolitical issues that have impacted trade flows.

<div class="phx-topic">Airlines prioritized surging e-commerce shipments on trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe routes over the past few years at the expense of general air freight. But as US tariffs curb low-value imports from China, carriers are finding traditional markets have also declined. Air cargo posted a record 2024 that saw 12% growth in global volume, with much of the demand generated by e-commerce. But the <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/air-cargo-volumes-fall-on-trans-pacific-as-us-de-minimis-changes-loom-5993599">May 2 elimination of the US’ duty-free exemption for low-value shipments</a> from China under so-called “de minimis” rules has led to a drop in air cargo demand on the trans-Pacific. Airlines focusing heavily on this sector are now searching for business in the more traditional forwarder-driven markets that have weakened through a range of economic and geopolitical factors, according to Martin Habisreitinger, COO of air freight at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. “The surge in e-commerce, particularly during the pandemic, created an unprecedented demand on specific routes, especially trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe,” Habisreitinger told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “Airlines, facing capacity constraints and driven by yield management strategies, naturally prioritized this high-volume, often higher-paying segment,” he added. “This prioritization, coupled with port congestion and supply chain disruptions, sometimes led to capacity challenges for traditional cargo shippers.” A source from another global forwarder who did not want to be identified said service providers were largely excluded from the e-commerce business as the main Chinese online marketplaces, Temu, Shein and Tik Tok, contracted their capacity directly from airlines. <h3>Carriers ‘neglected’ traditional markets </h3>While airlines devoted most of their attention to shipping e-commerce out of China, the traditional markets were being weakened by global economic instability that dampened demand for goods traditionally shipped by air, high inflation in destination markets and geopolitical issues that impacted trade flows. “Air cargo airlines neglected thinking about the long-term picture to chase the cross-border e-commerce business that has been served to them on a silver platter,” said Frederic Horst, managing director of the consultancy Trade and Transport Group. The Sydney-based analyst told the Journal of Commerce in an interview this week that general air freight traffic peaked in 2018 and has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Data from Trade and Transport Group shows that in the past two years through the end of April on both the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe routes, higher-value general cargo volume has been declining while lower-value air freight shipments have soared. US trade statistics regard imports valued at $2,000 or less as “de minimis” traffic. “I don’t think [airlines] realized what was going on in the background where their traditional market was in decline, and now they need to go back to focusing on general air freight,” Horst said. “But the question is, is that traffic still there?” Habisreitinger emphasized that although the traditional market has declined, it remains a significant part of the air cargo industry. “We’re seeing signs of stabilization and even some growth in certain sectors,” he said. “The decline isn’t uniform across all industries. Some sectors, like pharmaceuticals and specialized high-value goods, have shown resilience.” Following trade talks in Geneva between the US and China earlier this month, part of the deal included a reduction of the US’ 120% duty to 54%. An additional per-parcel fee of $100 came into effect on May 14 that was effectively a hammer blow to e-commerce companies making use of the de minimis exemption because of the low value of online products ordered from China. However, Horst believes transporting low-value products by air was never going to be sustainable, even without the US changes to de minimis rules. “At some point this traffic was going to disappear because it’s too cheap to move by air,” he said, pointing to Chinese customs data that puts the average value per shipment near $15 per kilogram. “You can’t be paying air freight rates of $5/kg or $6/kg, plus the ground network distribution cost, for that. It was a pure ‘let’s grow our market share’ play,” Horst added. “The focus is shifting to some other markets now and a lot of volumes may just disappear. It’s also discretionary spending at a time of high inflation. Nobody really needs the stuff they buy on Temu or Shein.” <h3>Freighters shift to more lucrative markets </h3>Since May 2, when the US revoked the duty-free status of low-value imports from China, there has been a drop in air cargo demand on the trans-Pacific. A clearer view of the market will come with the May data that analysts expect will show the extent of the decline in trans-Pacific demand following the rolling out of the tariffs and the shifting of chartered freighter capacity to other, more lucrative trade lanes. The first signs of that drop in demand and the shifting of freighters are visible in data from air cargo analyst Rotate, which shows freighter capacity deployed on the eastbound trans-Pacific from May 12–18 fell 8% year over year to 82,000 tons while increasing 19% year over year to 74,000 tons on Asia-Europe. “It is difficult to put numbers in exact terms because the May data is not yet available, but shippers that are not willing to ship to the US because of the tariffs are getting creative in searching for new markets,” a Rotate spokesperson said. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="d9092521-9dbe-4569-bade-b3802c73bc98"></dynamic-object></div>By the end of April, around 100,000 tons a month of de minimis-type traffic was moving across the Pacific on more than 60 freighters dedicated to carrying e-commerce. The volume of cross-border low-value cargo imports from China in the first quarter grew by 28.5% year over year, Trade and Transport data shows. “Many freighter operators pulled out of north-south markets like Africa-Europe, Latin America-Europe and Latin America-US to put freighters into the trans-Pacific and to a lesser extent into Asia-Europe,” Horst said. For example, he said freighter operator Cargolux offered 35 destinations in Africa in previous years but now had only two — Johannesburg and Nairobi. In the rush to move air cargo before May 2, the rate from Hong Kong to the US in mid-April shot up 50% compared with the previous week to $7.95/kg, according to rate benchmarking platform Xeneta. Since then, the rates have been falling, with data from the Baltic Air Index putting the rate from China to North America this week at $4.72/kg. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Airlines prioritized surging e-commerce shipments on trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe routes over the past few years at the expense of general air freight. But as US tariffs curb low-value imports from China, carriers are finding traditional markets have also declined. Air cargo posted a record 2024 that saw 12% growth in global volume, with much of the demand generated by e-commerce. But the May 2 elimination of the US’ duty-free exemption for low-value shipments from China under so-called “de minimis” rules has led to a drop in air cargo demand on the trans-Pacific. Airlines focusing heavily on this sector are now searching for business in the more traditional forwarder-driven markets that have weakened through a range of economic and geopolitical factors, according to Martin Habisreitinger, COO of air freight at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. “The surge in e-commerce, particularly during the pandemic, created an unprecedented demand on specific routes, especially trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe,” Habisreitinger told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “Airlines, facing capacity constraints and driven by yield management strategies, naturally prioritized this high-volume, often higher-paying segment,” he added. “This prioritization, coupled with port congestion and supply chain disruptions, sometimes led to capacity challenges for traditional cargo shippers.” A source from another global forwarder who did not want to be identified said service providers were largely excluded from the e-commerce business as the main Chinese online marketplaces, Temu, Shein and Tik Tok, contracted their capacity directly from airlines. Carriers ‘neglected’ traditional markets While airlines devoted most of their attention to shipping e-commerce out of China, the traditional markets were being weakened by global economic instability that dampened demand for goods traditionally shipped by air, high inflation in destination markets and geopolitical issues that impacted trade flows. “Air cargo airlines neglected thinking about the long-term picture to chase the cross-border e-commerce business that has been served to them on a silver platter,” said Frederic Horst, managing director of the consultancy Trade and Transport Group. The Sydney-based analyst told the Journal of Commerce in an interview this week that general air freight traffic peaked in 2018 and has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Data from Trade and Transport Group shows that in the past two years through the end of April on both the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe routes, higher-value general cargo volume has been declining while lower-value air freight shipments have soared. US trade statistics regard imports valued at $2,000 or less as “de minimis” traffic. “I don’t think [airlines] realized what was going on in the background where their traditional market was in decline, and now they need to go back to focusing on general air freight,” Horst said. “But the question is, is that traffic still there?” Habisreitinger emphasized that although the traditional market has declined, it remains a significant part of the air cargo industry. “We’re seeing signs of stabilization and even some growth in certain sectors,” he said. “The decline isn’t uniform across all industries. Some sectors, like pharmaceuticals and specialized high-value goods, have shown resilience.” Following trade talks in Geneva between the US and China earlier this month, part of the deal included a reduction of the US’ 120% duty to 54%. An additional per-parcel fee of $100 came into effect on May 14 that was effectively a hammer blow to e-commerce companies making use of the de minimis exemption because of the low value of online products ordered from China. However, Horst believes transporting low-value products by air was never going to be sustainable, even without the US changes to de minimis rules. “At some point this traffic was going to disappear because it’s too cheap to move by air,” he said, pointing to Chinese customs data that puts the average value per shipment near $15 per kilogram. “You can’t be paying air freight rates of $5/kg or $6/kg, plus the ground network distribution cost, for that. It was a pure ‘let’s grow our market share’ play,” Horst added. “The focus is shifting to some other markets now and a lot of volumes may just disappear. It’s also discretionary spending at a time of high inflation. Nobody really needs the stuff they buy on Temu or Shein.” Freighters shift to more lucrative markets Since May 2, when the US revoked the duty-free status of low-value imports from China, there has been a drop in air cargo demand on the trans-Pacific. A clearer view of the market will come with the May data that analysts expect will show the extent of the decline in trans-Pacific demand following the rolling out of the tariffs and the shifting of chartered freighter capacity to other, more lucrative trade lanes. The first signs of that drop in demand and the shifting of freighters are visible in data from air cargo analyst Rotate, which shows freighter capacity deployed on the eastbound trans-Pacific from May 12–18 fell 8% year over year to 82,000 tons while increasing 19% year over year to 74,000 tons on Asia-Europe. “It is difficult to put numbers in exact terms because the May data is not yet available, but shippers that are not willing to ship to the US because of the tariffs are getting creative in searching for new markets,” a Rotate spokesperson said. By the end of April, around 100,000 tons a month of de minimis-type traffic was moving across the Pacific on more than 60 freighters dedicated to carrying e-commerce. The volume of cross-border low-value cargo imports from China in the first quarter grew by 28.5% year over year, Trade and Transport data shows. “Many freighter operators pulled out of north-south markets like Africa-Europe, Latin America-Europe and Latin America-US to put freighters into the trans-Pacific and to a lesser extent into Asia-Europe,” Horst said. For example, he said freighter operator Cargolux offered 35 destinations in Africa in previous years but now had only two — Johannesburg and Nairobi. In the rush to move air cargo before May 2, the rate from Hong Kong to the US in mid-April shot up 50% compared with the previous week to $7.95/kg, according to rate benchmarking platform Xeneta. Since then, the rates have been falling, with data from the Baltic Air Index putting the rate from China to North America this week at $4.72/kg. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Air Cargo Forwarder News

Air Cargo Carriers News

Air Cargo

General air cargo in decline as China-US e-commerce boom slows

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Luxembourg-based carrier is the latest airline to sign a supply agreement for sustainable aviation fuel, but it comes as the industry makes slow progress toward decarbonization. </div>

The Luxembourg-based carrier is the latest airline to sign a supply agreement for sustainable aviation fuel, but it comes as the industry makes slow progress toward decarbonization.

<div class="phx-topic">Air freighter operator Cargolux and forwarder AIT Worldwide Logistics have formed a partnership to source sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that will be used to move cargo owned by Microsoft Cloud Services. Under the three-year deal, the companies will buy SAF from US-based Valero Energy, allowing them to save 66,000 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions between now and 2027. Luxembourg-based carrier Cargolux is the latest airline to sign an SAF supply agreement as the aviation industry makes incremental progress toward decarbonization. The SAF in the deal will be sourced from used cooking oil and tallow, an animal fat that will not contain palm oil or any derivatives. The fuel will be stored at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, the partner companies said in a joint statement this week. “Securing this noteworthy volume of SAF with Cargolux over a three-year period is a key aspect of our global supply chain solutions for Microsoft Cloud Services, enabling all parties to strive closer towards our emissions reduction goals,” said Chelsea Lamar, vice president of global sustainability at AIT. The volume of SAF involved in the deal was not disclosed. Colin Todd, general manager of cloud manufacturing operations and fulfilment at Microsoft, highlighted the challenge in cutting emissions and narrowing the cost gap between SAF and existing Jet A aviation fuel. “By working together to increase the production and use of SAF, we can help to cost effectively drive down emissions and increase the potential for more use of alternative fuels across the transport ecosystem,” Todd said in the statement. Many of the world’s major airlines have signed SAF sourcing agreements with fuel producers and logistics providers, but it has been slow going. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects SAF production to reach 2.1 million metric tons this year, which is just 0.7% of total jet fuel supply. <h3>Registry will track SAF across value chain </h3>In a move aimed at accelerating the uptake of SAF toward the 2050 net-zero industry target, IATA earlier this year launched the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Registry that will be managed by the Civil Aviation Decarbonization Organization (CADO). The registry will ensure the environmental benefits of SAF can be tracked as they move across the SAF value chain and enable the claiming of those benefits against regulatory obligations and voluntary schemes by airlines and corporate customers. It will also address the challenge of limited SAF supply — which is acutely scarce and available in only a few locations globally — by connecting airlines with SAF producers and suppliers, regardless of their geographic location. While some biofuels are produced sustainably and deliver significant greenhouse gas reductions, there are scalability limitations. Most biofuels are produced from food crop-based feedstocks, which come with direct and indirect deforestation as well as many other sustainability issues ranging from water scarcity to food security. As a result, Europe has excluded the use of feed- and food-based biofuels from its flagship shipping fuels regulation, FuelEU Maritime, that was implemented on Jan. 1. Aviation is part of the European Union’s cap-in-trade emissions trading system that will be reviewed in 2026. Climate activist Transport &amp; Environment (T&amp;E) believes this will be an opportunity for the European Commission to address “a fundamental flaw” in the regulation that only covers flights in Europe. A study by T&amp;E last month estimated that 70% of emissions generated by airlines in 2024 were on intercontinental flights for which airlines were not charged, with the London-New York route topping the list. The study found the European aviation sector has almost fully bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, reaching 96% of 2019 flight numbers and 98% of emissions last year. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Air freighter operator Cargolux and forwarder AIT Worldwide Logistics have formed a partnership to source sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that will be used to move cargo owned by Microsoft Cloud Services. Under the three-year deal, the companies will buy SAF from US-based Valero Energy, allowing them to save 66,000 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions between now and 2027. Luxembourg-based carrier Cargolux is the latest airline to sign an SAF supply agreement as the aviation industry makes incremental progress toward decarbonization. The SAF in the deal will be sourced from used cooking oil and tallow, an animal fat that will not contain palm oil or any derivatives. The fuel will be stored at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, the partner companies said in a joint statement this week. “Securing this noteworthy volume of SAF with Cargolux over a three-year period is a key aspect of our global supply chain solutions for Microsoft Cloud Services, enabling all parties to strive closer towards our emissions reduction goals,” said Chelsea Lamar, vice president of global sustainability at AIT. The volume of SAF involved in the deal was not disclosed. Colin Todd, general manager of cloud manufacturing operations and fulfilment at Microsoft, highlighted the challenge in cutting emissions and narrowing the cost gap between SAF and existing Jet A aviation fuel. “By working together to increase the production and use of SAF, we can help to cost effectively drive down emissions and increase the potential for more use of alternative fuels across the transport ecosystem,” Todd said in the statement. Many of the world’s major airlines have signed SAF sourcing agreements with fuel producers and logistics providers, but it has been slow going. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects SAF production to reach 2.1 million metric tons this year, which is just 0.7% of total jet fuel supply. Registry will track SAF across value chain In a move aimed at accelerating the uptake of SAF toward the 2050 net-zero industry target, IATA earlier this year launched the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Registry that will be managed by the Civil Aviation Decarbonization Organization (CADO). The registry will ensure the environmental benefits of SAF can be tracked as they move across the SAF value chain and enable the claiming of those benefits against regulatory obligations and voluntary schemes by airlines and corporate customers. It will also address the challenge of limited SAF supply — which is acutely scarce and available in only a few locations globally — by connecting airlines with SAF producers and suppliers, regardless of their geographic location. While some biofuels are produced sustainably and deliver significant greenhouse gas reductions, there are scalability limitations. Most biofuels are produced from food crop-based feedstocks, which come with direct and indirect deforestation as well as many other sustainability issues ranging from water scarcity to food security. As a result, Europe has excluded the use of feed- and food-based biofuels from its flagship shipping fuels regulation, FuelEU Maritime, that was implemented on Jan. 1. Aviation is part of the European Union’s cap-in-trade emissions trading system that will be reviewed in 2026. Climate activist Transport & Environment (T&E) believes this will be an opportunity for the European Commission to address “a fundamental flaw” in the regulation that only covers flights in Europe. A study by T&E last month estimated that 70% of emissions generated by airlines in 2024 were on intercontinental flights for which airlines were not charged, with the London-New York route topping the list. The study found the European aviation sector has almost fully bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, reaching 96% of 2019 flight numbers and 98% of emissions last year. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Cargolux inks three-year green fuel deal to handle Microsoft cargo

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Excluding the last remnants of Yellow’s revenue, the largest US LTL carriers boosted their top line by 3.9% last year, with daily volumes rising 2.7% and terminal numbers up almost 3%.</div>

Excluding the last remnants of Yellow’s revenue, the largest US LTL carriers boosted their top line by 3.9% last year, with daily volumes rising 2.7% and terminal numbers up almost 3%.

<div class="phx-topic">Bankrupt less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Yellow has a long reach, although its zombie-like grip on the US LTL market is loosening almost two years after its demise. The combined revenue of the Top 25 US LTL carriers dropped 1.3% to $48.2 billion in 2024, when $2.4 billion of Yellow revenue prior to the company’s July 2023 bankruptcy is included in an annualized comparison by SJ Consulting Group. However, exclude that revenue from Yellow in the first half of 2023 and the Top 25 LTL carriers increased their top line by 3.9% last year, reversing a 13.9% drop in 2023. Higher rates are helping LTL providers generate revenue. Total LTL costs to shippers rose 3% in 2024, according to the US long-distance LTL producer price index (PPI) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Since Yellow’s collapse, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-ltl-pricing-maintains-record-high-as-truckload-slumps-6008704">the LTL PPI has climbed 12.1%.</a>The largest LTL carrier in the rankings was FedEx Freight — long the largest trucking and LTL company, with $9.1 billion in revenue in calendar year 2024. Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), with $5.8 billion in revenue, and Estes Express Lines, with $5 billion, rounded out the top three. Among the 10 largest LTL providers, Saia rose from eighth in the rankings to sixth, while ABF Freight System took seventh place as TForce Freight dropped from sixth to eighth. Thirteen of the carriers in the annual Top 25 US LTL Carrier rankings produced by SJ Consulting Group and the Journal of Commerce did better than last year’s 3.9% average growth rate, led by Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, which increased LTL revenue 15.6%. Knight-Swift did even better in the 2025 first quarter, increasing its revenue 26.7% year over year, when other LTL carriers saw more modest gains or annualized declines in revenue. How the LTL sector does in terms of revenue in 2025 depends on improvements in industrial production and the impact of US tariffs on consumer sentiment — but don’t count LTL growth out. In fact, the Top 25 LTL rankings, published by the Journal of Commerce since 2008, show extraordinary growth by the Top 25 and the overall LTL sector over time. Although total US LTL revenue is down from its $57.8 billion peak in 2022, it is 25.5% higher than the $42.1 billion SJ Consulting Group reported for 2020. The LTL sector’s top line has been above $50 billion for four straight years, SJ Consulting Group data shows. Total LTL revenue rose an unprecedented 37.3% from 2020 through 2022, during the pandemic freight boom. From 2014 through 2024, total LTL revenue rose by more than $17 billion, or 42.9%, the data shows. Revenue at the Top 25 carriers, which account for 91% of all LTL revenue, followed a similar trajectory, rising 41.1% from 2020 through 2022 and 26.1% from 2020 through 2024 despite COVID-19, a freight boom and an almost three-year freight bust. “The LTL market is healthy compared to any other segment of transportation,” Satish Jindel, president of SJ Consulting Group, told the Journal of Commerce. “It can remain healthy if they maintain discipline” when it comes to expansion, Jindel said. “They don’t need to add more doors or more terminals when they have more than 20% excess capacity.” <h3>Fastest-growing carriers </h3>In recent years, smaller carriers have been among the fastest-growing LTL carriers. This year, big companies led the way, with Knight-Swift, Estes Express Lines and Saia all increasing revenue by double digits. With its 15.6% revenue gain, Knight-Swift passed the $1 billion milestone for the first time. Much of Knight-Swift’s LTL gain came from the acquisition of Dependable Highway Express (DHE) in July 2024, as the holding company expanded its LTL network to the West. Estes, the largest privately owned LTL carrier, increased its revenue 12.4% to nearly $5 billion and moved up to third place in the SJ Consulting Group/Journal of Commerce rankings. That is a rebound for Estes, which saw revenue drop 4.2% in 2023. Revenue at Saia rose 11.4% last year to $3.2 billion, making it the third-fastest-growing LTL provider. The company kept its foot on the pedal — its top line rose only 3.2% in 2023. “These companies are in a growth mode,” despite a soft freight market, said Jindel. Estes, as a family-owned company, “doesn’t have to worry about Wall Street analysts or investors,” he said. “They can take <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ltl-carriers-expanding-networks-to-prepare-for-long-term-growth-5915148">a long-term view</a> of how to run their business and where they want to expand.” The next companies in the race were national LTL provider R+L Carriers and A. Duie Pyle, a regional company. R+L increased revenue 9.4% while Pyle expanded 8.1%. Altogether, eight carriers grew revenue between 5% and 10%. Another nine companies expanded 0.1% to 5%, while six companies saw revenue drop in 2024, including two of the largest carriers, FedEx Freight and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL). Revenue decline isn’t necessarily a bad thing for LTL carriers. Often it reflects efforts to rebalance freight mix and the rejection of some lower-priced freight. FedEx Freight had an operating margin in the 15% to 20% range most of 2024, higher than many competitors. And ODFL had an operating ratio of 73.4%, indicating a 26.6% operating margin. <h3>After the ‘gold rush’ </h3>One thing many of the largest LTL providers, especially Estes, XPO, R+L and Saia, had in common: They all bought large numbers of terminals from Yellow in 2023 and 2024. Overall, the Top 25 carriers operated 2,898 terminals in 2024, a 2.9% year-over-year gain. The total terminal count for the entire LTL sector last year was 3,216 facilities, a 2.7% increase over 2023, according to SJ Consulting Group. The Top 25 carriers as a group increased their combined terminal count by a net of 81 facilities in 2024, the research firm’s data shows. And the LTL real estate “gold rush” is not over, although it is slowing. Yellow’s bankruptcy estate plans to sell another 12 terminals this month for more than $20 million, including three terminals that will be delivered to Saia and two to ArcBest. Not all the terminals added to the US LTL network in the past two years have been fully activated, Jindel said. Some carriers are only using a portion of their newly acquired dock doors until freight demand rises. Others have combined nearby terminals, closing smaller facilities. “No one needs to add more terminals right now the way the market is,” he said. “Carriers have the ability to handle more freight within their existing networks.” <h3>Average daily shipments </h3>Surprisingly, despite a soft market and volume declines at some public companies, the average daily shipment (ADS) count rose 2.7% for the Top 25 carriers as a group last year, reaching 586,545 shipments per day. That’s more than 200 million shipments a year, excluding holidays, which may vary from company to company. The total LTL sector ADS count rose 2.5% from 2023 to 669,545 shipments a day. On average, the Top 25 carriers moved 202 shipments per terminal each day in 2024, just six shipments fewer than the ADS-per-terminal ratio for the LTL sector as a whole. FedEx Freight had the highest ADS count per day with an average of 98,905 shipments moving through 326 terminals, for an average ADS-per-terminal rate of 303 shipments. R+L Carriers, ranked fifth among the Top 25, had the second-largest ADS count of 61,000 shipments, with an average of 473 ADS per terminal. R+L is a long-distance carrier with 129 terminals, fewer intermediate terminals than many nationwide competitors.Daylight Transport, a long-distance carrier moving LTL shipments inland from the West Coast, operates only eight terminals but had an ADS-per-terminal rate of 433 last year. Regional LTL provider A. Duie Pyle had an ADS-per-terminal rate of 402, with 30 terminals in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and an ADS count of 12,062, SJ Consulting Group reported. In contrast, national carrier ABF Freight, an ArcBest subsidiary, had an ADS-per-terminal rate of 90 last year, with 220 terminals and 19,856 ADS. TForce Freight, formerly UPS Freight, had an ADS-per-terminal rate of 115 with 192 terminals and 22,122 ADS. Many companies with a low ADS-per-terminal rate could move more freight without adding more terminals, Jindel said. But a low ADS-per-terminal rate doesn’t always indicate a lack of efficiency. Instead, it may reflect the structure of a carrier’s network. Cross Country Freight Solutions, which came in 21st in the rankings with $219 million in revenue last year, had 51 terminals and an ADS count of 2,900 shipments, giving it an ADS-per-terminal rate of 88. “They have smaller terminals, but they cover a very large geography, from the Mississippi River to the West Coast and from Canada to Mexico,” Jindel said. With such an expansive territory, “they need the terminals,” he said. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.<div class="wrapper-full"><table><colgroup><col width="10.65%"></col><col width="25.91%"></col><col width="11.9%"></col><col width="11.9%"></col><col width="10.23%"></col><col width="21.01%"></col><col width="8.4%"></col></colgroup><caption>Journal of Commerce Top 25 US Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) CarriersAnnual revenue, including fuel surcharges, in millions of US dollars; average daily shipments in 2024; and number of terminals as Dec. 31, 2024</caption><thead><tr><th>2024 Rank</th><th>Carrier</th><th>2023 Revenue</th><th>2024 Revenue</th><th>YoY Change</th><th>Average Daily Shipments</th><th>Terminals</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="align-right">1</td><td>FedEx Freight</td><td class="align-right">$9,106</td><td class="align-right">$9,098</td><td class="align-right">-0.1%</td><td class="align-right">98,905</td><td class="align-right">326</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">2</td><td>Old Dominion Freight Line</td><td class="align-right">$5,805</td><td class="align-right">$5,761</td><td class="align-right">-0.8%</td><td class="align-right">47,288</td><td class="align-right">261</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">3</td><td>Estes Express Lines</td><td class="align-right">$4,432</td><td class="align-right">$4,981</td><td class="align-right">12.4%</td><td class="align-right">53,744</td><td class="align-right">224</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">4</td><td>XPO Logistics</td><td class="align-right">$4,671</td><td class="align-right">$4,899</td><td class="align-right">4.9%</td><td class="align-right">49,109</td><td class="align-right">303</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">5</td><td>R+L Carriers</td><td class="align-right">$3,493</td><td class="align-right">$3,820</td><td class="align-right">9.4%</td><td class="align-right">61,000</td><td class="align-right">129</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">6</td><td>Saia Motor Freight Line</td><td class="align-right">$2,881</td><td class="align-right">$3,209</td><td class="align-right">11.4%</td><td class="align-right">35,390</td><td class="align-right">218</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">7</td><td>ABF Freight System</td><td class="align-right">$2,810</td><td class="align-right">$2,690</td><td class="align-right">-4.3%</td><td class="align-right">19,856</td><td class="align-right">220</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">8</td><td>TForce Freight (US only)</td><td class="align-right">$2,375</td><td class="align-right">$2,490</td><td class="align-right">4.8%</td><td class="align-right">22,122</td><td class="align-right">192</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">9</td><td>Southeastern Freight Lines</td><td class="align-right">$1,685</td><td class="align-right">$1,700</td><td class="align-right">0.9%</td><td class="align-right">33,887</td><td class="align-right">87</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">10</td><td>Central Transport Int'l1</td><td class="align-right">$1,542</td><td class="align-right">$1,628</td><td class="align-right">5.6%</td><td class="align-right">24,400</td><td class="align-right">203</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">11</td><td>Averitt Express</td><td class="align-right">$1,165</td><td class="align-right">$1,149</td><td class="align-right">-1.4%</td><td class="align-right">18,169</td><td class="align-right">82</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">12</td><td>Knight-Swift LTL2</td><td class="align-right">$924</td><td class="align-right">$1,068</td><td class="align-right">15.6%</td><td class="align-right">18,805</td><td class="align-right">166</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">13</td><td>Dayton Freight Lines</td><td class="align-right">$1,035</td><td class="align-right">$1,043</td><td class="align-right">0.8%</td><td class="align-right">22,306</td><td class="align-right">68</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">14</td><td>Forward Air</td><td class="align-right">$937</td><td class="align-right">$945</td><td class="align-right">0.9%</td><td class="align-right">13,100</td><td class="align-right">107</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">14</td><td>Pitt Ohio Transportation Group</td><td class="align-right">$909</td><td class="align-right">$939</td><td class="align-right">3.3%</td><td class="align-right">21,286</td><td class="align-right">54</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">16</td><td>A. Duie Pyle1</td><td class="align-right">$570</td><td class="align-right">$616</td><td class="align-right">8.1%</td><td class="align-right">12,062</td><td class="align-right">30</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">17</td><td>Roadrunner Transportation1</td><td class="align-right">$410</td><td class="align-right">$436</td><td class="align-right">6.3%</td><td class="align-right">5,250</td><td class="align-right">31</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">18</td><td>Daylight Transport</td><td class="align-right">$374</td><td class="align-right">$393</td><td class="align-right">5.1%</td><td class="align-right">3,460</td><td class="align-right">8</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">19</td><td>Oak Harbor Freight Lines1</td><td class="align-right">$320</td><td class="align-right">$342</td><td class="align-right">6.9%</td><td class="align-right">5,444</td><td class="align-right">40</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">20</td><td>Ward Trucking Corporation</td><td class="align-right">$253</td><td class="align-right">$258</td><td class="align-right">2.0%</td><td class="align-right">4,688</td><td class="align-right">24</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">21</td><td>Cross Country Freight Solutions</td><td class="align-right">$207</td><td class="align-right">$219</td><td class="align-right">5.8%</td><td class="align-right">4,500</td><td class="align-right">51</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">22</td><td>Magnum LTL</td><td class="align-right">$155</td><td class="align-right">$164</td><td class="align-right">5.8%</td><td class="align-right">3,500</td><td class="align-right">31</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">23</td><td>Sutton Transport1</td><td class="align-right">$123</td><td class="align-right">$115</td><td class="align-right">-6.5%</td><td class="align-right">3,550</td><td class="align-right">13</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">24</td><td>Peninsula Truck Lines</td><td class="align-right">$102</td><td class="align-right">$103</td><td class="align-right">1.0%</td><td class="align-right">1,824</td><td class="align-right">16</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">25</td><td>Standard Forwarding1</td><td class="align-right">$98</td><td class="align-right">$100</td><td class="align-right">2.0%</td><td class="align-right">2,900</td><td class="align-right">14</td></tr><tr class="phx-row-total"><td colspan="2">Total Top 25 US LTL Carriers</td><td class="align-right">$48,805</td><td class="align-right">$48,166</td><td class="align-right">-1.3%</td><td class="align-right">586,545</td><td class="align-right">2,898</td></tr><tr class="phx-row-total"><td colspan="2">Total US LTL Market</td><td class="align-right">$53,206</td><td class="align-right">$52,819</td><td class="align-right">-0.7%</td><td class="align-right">669,545</td><td class="align-right">3,216</td></tr></tbody><tfoot><tr><td colspan="7">1 SJ Consulting estimates</td></tr><tr><td colspan="7">2 Includes ACT, MME and DHE acquisitions and growth from new terminal openings</td></tr><tr class="phx-table-source"><td colspan="7">Sources: Company reports and SJ Consulting estimates. Prepared by SJ Consulting Group, Inc.© 2025 S&amp;P Global.</td></tr></tfoot></table></div></div>

Bankrupt less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Yellow has a long reach, although its zombie-like grip on the US LTL market is loosening almost two years after its demise. The combined revenue of the Top 25 US LTL carriers dropped 1.3% to $48.2 billion in 2024, when $2.4 billion of Yellow revenue prior to the company’s July 2023 bankruptcy is included in an annualized comparison by SJ Consulting Group. However, exclude that revenue from Yellow in the first half of 2023 and the Top 25 LTL carriers increased their top line by 3.9% last year, reversing a 13.9% drop in 2023. Higher rates are helping LTL providers generate revenue. Total LTL costs to shippers rose 3% in 2024, according to the US long-distance LTL producer price index (PPI) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Since Yellow’s collapse, the LTL PPI has climbed 12.1%. The largest LTL carrier in the rankings was FedEx Freight — long the largest trucking and LTL company, with $9.1 billion in revenue in calendar year 2024. Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), with $5.8 billion in revenue, and Estes Express Lines, with $5 billion, rounded out the top three. Among the 10 largest LTL providers, Saia rose from eighth in the rankings to sixth, while ABF Freight System took seventh place as TForce Freight dropped from sixth to eighth. Thirteen of the carriers in the annual Top 25 US LTL Carrier rankings produced by SJ Consulting Group and the Journal of Commerce did better than last year’s 3.9% average growth rate, led by Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, which increased LTL revenue 15.6%. Knight-Swift did even better in the 2025 first quarter, increasing its revenue 26.7% year over year, when other LTL carriers saw more modest gains or annualized declines in revenue. How the LTL sector does in terms of revenue in 2025 depends on improvements in industrial production and the impact of US tariffs on consumer sentiment — but don’t count LTL growth out. In fact, the Top 25 LTL rankings, published by the Journal of Commerce since 2008, show extraordinary growth by the Top 25 and the overall LTL sector over time. Although total US LTL revenue is down from its $57.8 billion peak in 2022, it is 25.5% higher than the $42.1 billion SJ Consulting Group reported for 2020. The LTL sector’s top line has been above $50 billion for four straight years, SJ Consulting Group data shows. Total LTL revenue rose an unprecedented 37.3% from 2020 through 2022, during the pandemic freight boom. From 2014 through 2024, total LTL revenue rose by more than $17 billion, or 42.9%, the data shows. Revenue at the Top 25 carriers, which account for 91% of all LTL revenue, followed a similar trajectory, rising 41.1% from 2020 through 2022 and 26.1% from 2020 through 2024 despite COVID-19, a freight boom and an almost three-year freight bust. “The LTL market is healthy compared to any other segment of transportation,” Satish Jindel, president of SJ Consulting Group, told the Journal of Commerce. “It can remain healthy if they maintain discipline” when it comes to expansion, Jindel said. “They don’t need to add more doors or more terminals when they have more than 20% excess capacity.” Fastest-growing carriers In recent years, smaller carriers have been among the fastest-growing LTL carriers. This year, big companies led the way, with Knight-Swift, Estes Express Lines and Saia all increasing revenue by double digits. With its 15.6% revenue gain, Knight-Swift passed the $1 billion milestone for the first time. Much of Knight-Swift’s LTL gain came from the acquisition of Dependable Highway Express (DHE) in July 2024, as the holding company expanded its LTL network to the West. Estes, the largest privately owned LTL carrier, increased its revenue 12.4% to nearly $5 billion and moved up to third place in the SJ Consulting Group/Journal of Commerce rankings. That is a rebound for Estes, which saw revenue drop 4.2% in 2023. Revenue at Saia rose 11.4% last year to $3.2 billion, making it the third-fastest-growing LTL provider. The company kept its foot on the pedal — its top line rose only 3.2% in 2023. “These companies are in a growth mode,” despite a soft freight market, said Jindel. Estes, as a family-owned company, “doesn’t have to worry about Wall Street analysts or investors,” he said. “They can take a long-term view of how to run their business and where they want to expand.” The next companies in the race were national LTL provider R+L Carriers and A. Duie Pyle, a regional company. R+L increased revenue 9.4% while Pyle expanded 8.1%. Altogether, eight carriers grew revenue between 5% and 10%. Another nine companies expanded 0.1% to 5%, while six companies saw revenue drop in 2024, including two of the largest carriers, FedEx Freight and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL). Revenue decline isn’t necessarily a bad thing for LTL carriers. Often it reflects efforts to rebalance freight mix and the rejection of some lower-priced freight. FedEx Freight had an operating margin in the 15% to 20% range most of 2024, higher than many competitors. And ODFL had an operating ratio of 73.4%, indicating a 26.6% operating margin. After the ‘gold rush’ One thing many of the largest LTL providers, especially Estes, XPO, R+L and Saia, had in common: They all bought large numbers of terminals from Yellow in 2023 and 2024. Overall, the Top 25 carriers operated 2,898 terminals in 2024, a 2.9% year-over-year gain. The total terminal count for the entire LTL sector last year was 3,216 facilities, a 2.7% increase over 2023, according to SJ Consulting Group. The Top 25 carriers as a group increased their combined terminal count by a net of 81 facilities in 2024, the research firm’s data shows. And the LTL real estate “gold rush” is not over, although it is slowing. Yellow’s bankruptcy estate plans to sell another 12 terminals this month for more than $20 million, including three terminals that will be delivered to Saia and two to ArcBest. Not all the terminals added to the US LTL network in the past two years have been fully activated, Jindel said. Some carriers are only using a portion of their newly acquired dock doors until freight demand rises. Others have combined nearby terminals, closing smaller facilities. “No one needs to add more terminals right now the way the market is,” he said. “Carriers have the ability to handle more freight within their existing networks.” Average daily shipments Surprisingly, despite a soft market and volume declines at some public companies, the average daily shipment (ADS) count rose 2.7% for the Top 25 carriers as a group last year, reaching 586,545 shipments per day. That’s more than 200 million shipments a year, excluding holidays, which may vary from company to company. The total LTL sector ADS count rose 2.5% from 2023 to 669,545 shipments a day. On average, the Top 25 carriers moved 202 shipments per terminal each day in 2024, just six shipments fewer than the ADS-per-terminal ratio for the LTL sector as a whole. FedEx Freight had the highest ADS count per day with an average of 98,905 shipments moving through 326 terminals, for an average ADS-per-terminal rate of 303 shipments. R+L Carriers, ranked fifth among the Top 25, had the second-largest ADS count of 61,000 shipments, with an average of 473 ADS per terminal. R+L is a long-distance carrier with 129 terminals, fewer intermediate terminals than many nationwide competitors. Daylight Transport, a long-distance carrier moving LTL shipments inland from the West Coast, operates only eight terminals but had an ADS-per-terminal rate of 433 last year. Regional LTL provider A. Duie Pyle had an ADS-per-terminal rate of 402, with 30 terminals in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and an ADS count of 12,062, SJ Consulting Group reported. In contrast, national carrier ABF Freight, an ArcBest subsidiary, had an ADS-per-terminal rate of 90 last year, with 220 terminals and 19,856 ADS. TForce Freight, formerly UPS Freight, had an ADS-per-terminal rate of 115 with 192 terminals and 22,122 ADS. Many companies with a low ADS-per-terminal rate could move more freight without adding more terminals, Jindel said. But a low ADS-per-terminal rate doesn’t always indicate a lack of efficiency. Instead, it may reflect the structure of a carrier’s network. Cross Country Freight Solutions, which came in 21st in the rankings with $219 million in revenue last year, had 51 terminals and an ADS count of 2,900 shipments, giving it an ADS-per-terminal rate of 88. “They have smaller terminals, but they cover a very large geography, from the Mississippi River to the West Coast and from Canada to Mexico,” Jindel said. With such an expansive territory, “they need the terminals,” he said. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .Journal of Commerce Top 25 US Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) Carriers Annual revenue, including fuel surcharges, in millions of US dollars; average daily shipments in 2024; and number of terminals as Dec. 31, 2024 2024 Rank Carrier 2023 Revenue 2024 Revenue YoY Change Average Daily Shipments Terminals 1 FedEx Freight $9,106 $9,098 -0.1% 98,905 326 2 Old Dominion Freight Line $5,805 $5,761 -0.8% 47,288 261 3 Estes Express Lines $4,432 $4,981 12.4% 53,744 224 4 XPO Logistics $4,671 $4,899 4.9% 49,109 303 5 R+L Carriers $3,493 $3,820 9.4% 61,000 129 6 Saia Motor Freight Line $2,881 $3,209 11.4% 35,390 218 7 ABF Freight System $2,810 $2,690 -4.3% 19,856 220 8 TForce Freight (US only) $2,375 $2,490 4.8% 22,122 192 9 Southeastern Freight Lines $1,685 $1,700 0.9% 33,887 87 10 Central Transport Int'l1 $1,542 $1,628 5.6% 24,400 203 11 Averitt Express $1,165 $1,149 -1.4% 18,169 82 12 Knight-Swift LTL2 $924 $1,068 15.6% 18,805 166 13 Dayton Freight Lines $1,035 $1,043 0.8% 22,306 68 14 Forward Air $937 $945 0.9% 13,100 107 14 Pitt Ohio Transportation Group $909 $939 3.3% 21,286 54 16 A. Duie Pyle1 $570 $616 8.1% 12,062 30 17 Roadrunner Transportation1 $410 $436 6.3% 5,250 31 18 Daylight Transport $374 $393 5.1% 3,460 8 19 Oak Harbor Freight Lines1 $320 $342 6.9% 5,444 40 20 Ward Trucking Corporation $253 $258 2.0% 4,688 24 21 Cross Country Freight Solutions $207 $219 5.8% 4,500 51 22 Magnum LTL $155 $164 5.8% 3,500 31 23 Sutton Transport1 $123 $115 -6.5% 3,550 13 24 Peninsula Truck Lines $102 $103 1.0% 1,824 16 25 Standard Forwarding1 $98 $100 2.0% 2,900 14 Total Top 25 US LTL Carriers $48,805 $48,166 -1.3% 586,545 2,898 Total US LTL Market $53,206 $52,819 -0.7% 669,545 3,216 1 SJ Consulting estimates 2 Includes ACT, MME and DHE acquisitions and growth from new terminal openings Sources: Company reports and SJ Consulting estimates. Prepared by SJ Consulting Group, Inc. © 2025 S&P Global.

Journal of Commerce Rankings: US LTL sector defies soft demand, regains traction

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The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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