Southeastern Freight Lines is working with Relay Payments to automate accessorial payment processes such as “lumper fees” as LTL firms look to digitize more aspects of their business.
Top 25 LTL Trucking Companies
Top 25 LTL Trucking Companies
In 2017, the 25 largest less-than-truckload carriers in the US increased their combined revenue 7.8 percent, as higher industrial production and disciplined pricing raised their topline. That sizable gain followed a flat year for LTL revenue in 2016 and a revenue drop of 0.5 percent in 2015, as freight demand tumbled in the latest slowdown in the long-running economic recovery.
The US economy grew at a faster rate in 2017, and strong industrial production helped create more pallets of goods to fill LTL terminals and trailers. The combined revenue of the 25 largest LTL carriers in the US reached a new record of $34.5 billion. Just two LTL carriers reported less revenue year over year in 2017, compared with 10 in 2016 and 12 in 2015.
Some of the fastest-growing LTL carriers, however, weren’t on the list. The smaller LTL and cartage companies that didn’t make the Top 25 grew faster as a group than their larger competitors, increasing combined revenue 8.5 percent to $3.2 billion. That revenue would make those small companies the fourth largest LTL carrier if they were one trucking company.
Key stories in LTL:
Top 25 LTL 2017: LTL carriers pave way to growth in challenging market
Top 25 LTL 2016: Lower fuel surcharges, soft demand squeeze revenue
Top 25 LTL 2015: Revenue up 9.1 percent for largest US LTL carriers
Top 25 LTL 2014: Revenue Growth at LTL Truckers Drops
Top 25 LTL 2013: Economic Slowdown Detours LTL Growth
Top 25 LTL 2012: LTL's Second Wind
Top 25 LTL 2011: LTL's Incomplete Recovery
J. Harwood Cochrane: Present at the Birth of Trucking
Press Releases
News & Analysis
08 Nov 2021
An exemption to the US’ large employer vaccine mandate granted to outdoor workers may cover truck drivers, the American Trucking Association argues. But it’s not clear that exemption would apply to all types of truck drivers.
05 Nov 2021
Bigger than expected gains in warehousing and trucking in October are welcome amid ongoing reports of labor shortages.
05 Nov 2021
The Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccination and testing mandate for large employers will affect truck capacity and pricing, but questions about the extent of its impact remain.
04 Nov 2021
A survey of independent truckers and small trucking firms by Truckstop.com and Bloomberg Intelligence found them optimistic about the potential for higher contract and spot rates next year.
03 Nov 2021
A truck driver survey underscores the threat of potential service disruptions from an upcoming US vaccine mandate for large employers, with 36 percent of drivers showing no interest in vaccination.
02 Nov 2021
Trucking companies are seeking an exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate being implemented by the US government for large employers, which they say would further disrupt already tight US trucking capacity.
29 Oct 2021
With less-than-truckload demand high and capacity tight, TFI International is clawing back its US LTL network to improve freight and lane density and profitability.
28 Oct 2021
Tight LTL capacity and rates that have climbed by double digits are creating opportunities for more dynamic LTL pricing, if it can be shown to benefit shippers and carriers.
26 Oct 2021
The ongoing semiconductor shortage is reducing deliveries of new trucks in North America and threatening the addition of much-needed capacity in 2022, and perhaps beyond.
21 Oct 2021
C.H. Robinson Worldwide is linking its less-than-truckload carrier network to the retail platform offered by SPS Commerce to help shippers get retail goods onto shelves and avoid holiday stockouts.
08 Oct 2021
LTL carriers including Old Dominion Freight Line are turning to surcharges to keep over-sized, unwieldy shipments from clogging their networks, taking a page from parcel carriers.
05 Oct 2021
Recent merger and acquisition activity, such as the ArcBest-Molo deal, proves many investors believe opportunity lies in third-party logistics providers.
29 Sep 2021
The $235 million acquisition of MoLo Solutions will double ArcBest’s available capacity and reflects an industrywide drive to access capacity across modes and networks.
27 Sep 2021
Trucking equipment manufacturers are raking in new orders for trailers and tractors, but it may be well into 2022 before they roll off production lines ready to move freight.
22 Sep 2021
The largest US trucking company, FedEx Freight, is improving profits while handling more cargo, as sister division FedEx Ground deals with congestion blamed partly on labor shortages.
21 Sep 2021
Demand fueled tonnage growth at for-hire contract carriers in August, according to the American Trucking Associations, but supply chain disruption and shortages still constrain overall capacity.
07 Sep 2021
Less-than-truckload carrier Old Dominion Freight Line hopes to counter the threat of COVID-19 to its own employees and its customers with a financial vaccination incentive.
03 Sep 2021
Rather than adding terminals, XPO says it is deploying technology to better utilize existing space in its trailers and speed trucks, effectively expanding the capacity it can offer customers.
29 Aug 2021
Instead of waiting for autonomous trucks, shippers starving for capacity should automate processes starting with freight pickup and delivery to save drivers time, says MIT FreightLab’s co-director.
20 Aug 2021
As supply chain disruption increases, tracking technology and higher detention charges are two methods LTL carriers are using to combat trailer detention and encourage shippers to speed turns
12 Aug 2021
Forget the fall, the peak US truck shipping season is under way now, trucking analysts say, with spot truckload rates elevated and contract rates still climbing.
10 Aug 2021
Old Dominion Freight Line, the second-largest US LTL carrier, is accelerating a $275 million expansion plan as surging LTL becomes more central to the consumer economy.
15 Jul 2021
Digital broker Uber Freight is expanding its truckload platform to encompass LTL, as strapped US shippers turn to LTL carriers and 3PLs such as BlueGrace for capacity.
14 Jul 2021
An ‘unprecedented’ number of new motor carriers is hitting US roads, but they represent a shift in capacity, not an expansion, according to experts.
09 Jul 2021
More buyouts, big and small, are likely in trucking as carriers battle for assets and especially truck drivers. But they’re also responding to opportunities created by shifts in freight demand.
06 Jul 2021
The $1.35 billion acquisition of multi-regional LTL carrier AAA Cooper broadens the largest US truckload operator’s service portfolio as more e-commerce freight flows toward the LTL marketplace.
29 Jun 2021
Waves of freight are flooding the less-than-truckload market from all sides, and shippers will need to be "creative" to get capacity, according to Yellow CEO Darren Hawkins.
25 Jun 2021
The largest US trucking company is more profitable than ever despite the capacity and service challenges posed by waves of e-commerce-generated freight and a resurgent industrial economy.
23 Jun 2021
A lack of truck drivers and equipment, not a cooler economy, is behind a recent drop in for-hire trucking tonnage and spot market volume, as demand overshoots supply chain capacity.
21 Jun 2021
Teamsters at Yellow’s western regional carrier Reddaway agreed to drop their standalone contract and join Yellow’s national master agreement, a step that makes integration of Yellow’s brands easier.
16 Jun 2021
FedEx Freight’s “targeted volume controls” on select shippers amplify industry-wide less-than-truckload capacity constraints that are reshaping the LTL business and sending rates soaring.
11 Jun 2021
CEO Darren Hawkins pledges cooperation with congressional subcommittee investigating its $700 million loan and defends Yellow’s claim to be a major military trucking supplier, saying CARES Act saved critical LTL capacity as well as jobs.
04 Jun 2021
The US for-hire trucking industry has added 25,100 jobs over the past three months, but the US economy appears to be expanding faster than trucking recruiters can hire workers.
03 Jun 2021
Double-digit year-over-year increases in volume and revenue at Old Dominion Freight Line set a benchmark for US economic and LTL sector growth since the worst point of the recession.
21 May 2021
Less-than-truckload carriers are becoming a transload option for importers forced to choose between speed and cost of delivery amid port congestion and intermodal delays.
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