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West Coast ports are bearing the brunt of a steep decline in US agriculture exports, as are carriers such as CMA CGM that pivoted to serving exporters amid weaker import demand.

No carrier was untouched by a 22.4% drop in containerized US imports through May, with 36 of the 40 largest lines registering year-over-year volume declines, according to the Journal of Commerce’s Top 40 Container Carriers by US Imports and Exports.

The West Coast continues to lose discretionary cargo to the East and Gulf coasts as shippers seek to avoid the type of disruption that has been occurring in Southern California of late linked to ongoing labor negotiations.

Total US trucking costs rose in November, with revised US producer price index figures for truckload and LTL services indicating at least a temporary reversal in a months-long decline.

Ryder System is joining the race to deploy more drop-and-hook trailer pools for shippers that need greater flexibility to reduce costs and counter supply chain disruption.

Less-than-truckload shipping volumes in the US are falling in the fourth quarter from all-time highs, but rates are slower to drop as carriers push back on absorbing higher costs.

The traditional increase in bookings for December and January shipments out of Asia is nowhere to be seen as importers in destination markets struggle with surplus stock levels and weakening demand.

Hiring expectations fell short across many transportation sectors in November, with real trucking employment dropping while warehousing firms and couriers added workers.

Stubbornly strong industrial output and pent-up demand are expected to keep pressure on trailer manufacturers to increase supply, even during a US economic slowdown.

The US producer price indexes for long-distance truckload and less-than-truckload took separate routes in October, with LTL pricing essentially unchanged and the truckload index falling.

Freight volumes are dropping month to month but remain higher than a year ago, buoyed by inventory repositioning and easing supply constraints for manufacturers, according to the latest Cass Freight Index.

US transportation companies with cash on hand are acquiring asset-based truckers and non-asset freight brokers alike to add services and shipper customers and build network density.

After rising strongly from the third quarter of 2021 through the second quarter of this year, the JOC Truckload Capacity Index dropped slightly last quarter, but demand for equipment is still high.

The acquisition of ReedTMS Logistics not only expands Werner’s brokerage reach, it also delivers shipper customers in the staple food and beverage industries.

US truckload capacity isn’t so much declining as it is shifting, according to data, and that will pose challenges to shippers and carriers trying to access trucks, trailers, and drivers.

For-hire trucking companies added almost 20,000 jobs last month, erasing September’s payroll cut as capacity shifts between trucking sectors.

The acquisition of Fastmore Logistics will give Echo Global Logistics more access to international freight forwarders, linking domestic and international cargo networks.

Tonnage began increasing year over year at XPO late in the third quarter and continued to rise in October as the less-than-truckload carrier expands capacity.

Regional stress is running through US truckload markets as demand softens, with price and capacity fluctuations that challenge shippers and carriers.

Growing use of equipment pools and power-only trucking support long-term demand for 53-foot trailers that transcends short-term economic trends, manufacturer Wabash says.

Less demand for its customers’ goods is cutting into tonnage and shipments at Old Dominion Freight Line, but not the company’s revenue or profit.

More than two years in development, a standard electronic bill of lading for less-than-truckload shipments promises to streamline the flow of data, providing greater visibility to shippers.

US shippers will find LTL savings in 2023, but the biggest savings will go to those who can accurately forecast demand and fit freight to carrier networks, according to BlueGrace Logistics.

US shippers will win transportation savings in 2023 bids, but large truckload carriers haven’t lost all pricing muscle.

It was the “year of the ocean carrier” as liner operators saw 2021 revenue results that were more than double those of other top 50 transportation providers.

An increase in US manufacturing output is putting more freight in trucks this fall, contributing to an increase in truck tonnage as measured by the American Trucking Association and others.

LTL costs to shippers rose 0.3 percent in September and were up 15 percent year over year while truckload costs declined more slowly, according to the latest US producer price index.

US shippers should expect more international acquisitions of domestic US trucking operations as logistics companies work to provide more end-to-end services and visibility.

Real, unadjusted jobs in trucking dropped by 21,200 in September, an unusually high number, as contract and spot truckload rates declined.

More shippers are returning to the truckload spot market as rates drop, but experts say they’re using that market more strategically than ever before to reduce transportation costs.

US for-hire truck tonnage jumped 2.8 percent in August from July, according to the American Trucking Associations, as consumers and the US economy remained resilient despite inflation.

The US producer price indexes (PPIs) for trucking dropped in August as contract pricing cooled and fuel prices and surcharges came down.

The decline in outbound per-mile spot rates from US ports dropped more than the US average in August as normal seasonality and abnormal gridlock crimped demand, a JOC analysis shows.

Stung by lower tractor utilization rates and rising costs, truckload carrier US Xpress pares back its technology team and real estate, and focuses on adding truckload contract business.

LTL shipments at Old Dominion Freight Line fell about 3 percent year over year in August, following a more seasonal pattern than August 2021 when shipments jumped 17 percent.

While trucking makes hiring gains in the US, unadjusted warehousing and storage employment has fallen in four of the past five months, contributing to supply chain bottlenecks.

The incoming CEO of XPO Logistics is intent on adding capacity in the form of terminals, trailers, and drivers to meet long-term demand for less-than-truckload services.

Weeks of delays in moving freight from US ports to Chicago are eating into the inland warehousing space needed to get that freight out of intermodal railyards and to customers.

The American Trucking Associations reports truck tonnage levels were still high in July, running counter to reports that trucking demand is weakening ahead of the fourth quarter.

The largest truckload acquisition to date this year would put Heartland at about 11th on the Top 25 Truckload Carrier rankings prepared for JOC.com.