Despite optimism that BNSF Railway’s congestion may ease, intermodal marketing companies expect demand to be high and equipment dislocations to persist through October in California.
Wednesday August 12, 2020
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Top 50 3PLs
Top 50 3PLs
Buoyed by the growth of the US domestic transportation management, the revenue of the 50 largest logistics companies increased 10.3 percent to $253 billion in 2017, according to Pittsburgh-based reseach and consulting firm SJ Consultng — good for a 10.2 percent growth rate. Further given the streghening global economy in late 2017/early 2018, analysts expect 2018 to be another year of substantial growth.
Buzz word / key phrase for 2018: "Adapt or else."
Beyond that, the buzz words / key phrase for the sector is, “Adapt or else.” Consulting firm and anayst Armstrong & Associates noted that the rapid expansion of e-commerce will continue in 2018, as will the focus on supply chain visibility. Also, complete, integrated services are becoming paramount fo 3PLs, which are working to establish visibility in into all locations. “Simultaneously, from the customer side there’s is a need to be timely. They are placing much more emphasis on proper timing,” Armstrong said, as is integrating all services so that customers have one contact person. That’s the future, Armstrong noted.
Top 50 3PLs 2018 Ranking
Top 50 3PLs 2017 Ranking
Press Releases
News & Analysis
06 Aug 2020
Intermodal volume, rates, and savings have been on a rollercoaster this year, surging this summer to levels higher than a year ago after steep declines this spring during the height of the pandemic.
24 Jul 2020
Union Pacific Railroad blames volatile swings in volume for congestion in Los Angeles in June, but intermodal marketing companies say it remains difficult to find space on trains because of a surge in e-commerce business.
17 Jul 2020
Despite an unexpected uptick in intermodal volume to close the second quarter, J.B. Hunt Transport Services says third-quarter consumer demand remains unpredictable due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
16 Jul 2020
The continuing surge in COVID-19 cases acts as an anchor on the economic recovery and could turn a U-shaped recovery into a W-shaped one, IHS Markit’s chief economist warns.
07 Jul 2020
Intermodal shippers are increasingly putting pressure on 3PLs to waive container fees as a precondition for business amid the coronavirus-linked recession.
25 Jun 2020
Spot rates have jumped more than 40 percent in the last four weeks for shippers using rail-owned boxes out of Los Angeles due to an equipment shortage in Southern California unseen since 2018.
23 Jun 2020
BNSF Railway has unveiled a five-day per week train service between Seattle and CSX’s Ohio hub about an hour south of Toledo.
23 Jun 2020
The pandemic-inspired shift to online shopping will have lasting effects on shippers’ transportation choices, according to the CSCMP State of Logistics Report.
09 Jun 2020
US businesses are rushing to develop a clearer picture of customer demand and freight capacity as they move beyond the early stages of reopening stores and factories.
02 Jun 2020
The acquisition of ScanData gives Transplace broader supply chain reach as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates e-commerce demand.
22 May 2020
Tightening truck capacity will collide with rising freight demand by 2021, flipping pricing power back to truckers next year, Coyote Logistics predicts, but consumer behavior is a wild card.
08 May 2020
JOC’s Spot Intermodal Savings Index hit an 14-month low in a preliminary April reading, the first snapshot of how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the math on how much money intermodal can save a shipper.
06 May 2020
A 9 percent boost in organic last-mile revenue signals more consumers are purchasing goods, including heavy goods, at home, a trend XPO’s CEO thinks could be permanent.
30 Apr 2020
The largest US logistics provider is prioritizing technology spending as the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates why more automation and digitization is needed.
28 Apr 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has flipped UPS’s business, with nearly 70 percent of package volume now residential. That means more mileage, more stops, and more costs.
16 Apr 2020
XPO Logistics CEO Bradley S. Jacobs believes the US and global economies will recover in “fits and starts” in the second half of 2020, and supply chains will become more resilient.
15 Apr 2020
J.B. Hunt Transport Services acknowledges a rough second quarter is ahead, while there’s much unknown about how severe the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on business conditions will be.
13 Apr 2020
Widespread business shutdowns will plunge third-party logistics providers and truck freight brokers into “trench warfare” over pricing, and contribute to bankruptcies that could threaten capacity.
09 Apr 2020
Intermodal volume last week was the weakest in a nearly a decade as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has wreaked havoc on the railroads, which an industry analyst believes could cost Class I railroads $9 billion dollars.
03 Apr 2020
With freight volumes expected to plunge over the next six months as the US falls into recession, shippers should remember their strategic trucking carriers and work together to weather the storm.
03 Apr 2020
Surging e-commerce volumes continued to drive growth among the 50 largest global logistics providers in 2019, but excluding Amazon, revenue not only decelerated, it actually fell from the previous year.
27 Mar 2020
Digital truck brokers have found it hard to confidently provide an accurate guaranteed rate to shippers 14 or 21 days in advance because of the unpredictable developments of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), causing one-off quotes to be higher than normal.
24 Mar 2020
The truck plant shutdowns follow a wave of broader automotive factory shutdowns the previous week, led by the big three automakers, Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, who were followed by Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen.
19 Mar 2020
The 10-year US economic expansion is over, killed by the response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019), and the recovery will be slow, IHS Markit chief economist Nariman Behravesh warns.
19 Mar 2020
FedEx expands use of its US ground unit to deliver more air express packages, as e-commerce volumes swell and Amazon ups the competitive ante.
17 Mar 2020
The coronavirus is creating new opportunities for cargo thieves, and demands better “continuity planning” from businesses that ship freight, BSI says.
09 Mar 2020
Shippers with an eye on instability in US markets are considering innovative contract terms, including the use of volume guarantees and flexible rates.
05 Mar 2020
J.B. Hunt Transportation Services, one of the largest US intermodal providers, is making a strong push into the temperature-controlled business by doubling its container fleet in 2020.
26 Feb 2020
Domestic intermodal volumes rose in January year on year, but there is little else for intermodal marketing companies (IMCs) to feel good about right now.
19 Feb 2020
Coyote Logistics predicts truckload contract rates will remain flat to down in 2020 versus a year ago, while spot rates will be higher than 2019 levels very soon.
13 Feb 2020
Non-asset intermodal providers want railroads to be more lenient on container charges and late fees when bidding for shipper business in order to become more competitive with the likes of J.B. Hunt Transport Services.
11 Feb 2020
Railroads are more conciliatory in negotiating contract rates than a year ago, hungry to recapture freight lost to trucking. One logistics executive called the railroads’ stance “a complete 180 from last year.”
06 Feb 2020
There are no positives to be found in the Intermodal Association of North America’s latest market report, which shows year-over-year volume fell 7.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019 and 4.1 percent for the full year, with declines in all types of containers.
06 Feb 2020
Despite trucking companies and brokers saying capacity is “rightsizing,” spot rates have not increased in tandem with volume and shippers could secure contract rate reductions for 2020.
05 Feb 2020
Amid weak intermodal volumes in 2019, the JOC Domestic Intermodal Savings Index shows spot and contract savings are lower than historical averages, although the year closed stronger for shipper savings on the spot market.
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