LTL

Trade disputes cast a pall over US manufacturing and trucking as exports and imports drop, PMI surveys show.

With a “reintroduced” ground freight shipping option, UPS hopes to tempt LTL shippers seeking alternatives to LTL rates that are up 12% on average from mid-2023.

Less-than-truckload companies are reporting low volumes and customers stressed by trade conflicts, but contract rates are climbing.

The president of the second-largest US LTL provider sees Amazon’s decision to offer its vendors LTL service as an opportunity for ODFL to move more retail freight.

Shippers need to collect and share accurate shipment data and even rethink some shipping processes ahead of July 19 changes to LTL classification, experts tell the Journal of Commerce.

Some – but not all – LTL trucking companies are handling more imports as US tariffs take effect, but the market is otherwise weak, carriers and analysts say.

AFS Logistics and TD Cowen are forecasting a decline in truckload pricing and moderation in the LTL market as shippers and carriers alike navigate a new trade reality.

The partnership will see SMC3 provide less-than-truckload rating, booking and tracking data into Turvo’s transportation management system, which primarily serves US freight brokers and third-party logistics providers.

As shippers race to get goods from Mexico and Canada into the US before full implementation of 25% tariffs Wednesday, they’re beginning to rethink supply chains.

Acquisitions continue in the domestic freight market, with Descartes buying 3GTMS to continue a decade-long spree of purchases.

While there is no strong demand trigger for LTL freight on the horizon, providers continue to add terminals and lanes to growing networks.

Some analysts see green shoots that could signal higher US freight demand, but those encouraging signs remain fragile in an uncertain economy.

A drop in consumer confidence, spurred by higher inflation and tariff fears, makes a significant increase in freight demand and truck rates less likely until late in 2025.

Dayton Freight Lines and A. Duie Pyle are partnering to provide next-day service from the East Coast to all parts of Ohio as shippers demand more speed.

A 5.8% jump in the less-than-truckload producer price index in January accompanied growth in US manufacturing orders and output.

New freight classifications that will take effect this summer could raise costs for less-than-truckload shippers that don’t begin working with carriers now, speakers at the SMC3 conference said.

Speakers at SMC3’s Jump Start 25 conference see advance signals of better demand growth for freight in 2025, but the pace and extent of that growth are still uncertain.

Changes in supply chains, rising manufacturing demand and even the collapse of Yellow have more LTL trucking firms looking for business on the US-Mexico border.

A “pivot” from LTL acquisitions and terminal openings may signal greater belt-tightening by trucking companies in a continuing soft market.

The announcement comes less than a month after FedEx said it would spin off FedEx Freight, which would be the largest standalone LTL provider in North America by revenue.

With plenty of truck capacity still available, US shippers are trying to tamp down rising truck rates without driving off their current truckload carriers.

A handful of companies unveiled new products in the last week intended to enable decision-making based off the visibility data they provide.

The US producer price index shows LTL pricing has been flat since September, but carriers continue to push for annualized increases in service contracts.

The acquisition is part of a surge in logistics M&A transactions aimed at simplifying access to systems and services for shippers and brokers.

Pitt Ohio’s acquisition of Sutton Transport is the latest in a string of acquisitions rebuilding the LTL sector from the middle out, and more regional acquisitions are expected.

More uptake of transactional pricing in the less-than-truckload market is a sign that some carriers are targeting smaller or more infrequent LTL shippers.

The LTL sector will try to hold its ground on pricing until improvements in US manufacturing lift demand.

Disentangling FedEx’s LTL and parcel units will take time, but it will rearrange the less-than-truckload market — and most likely raise LTL shipping costs.

The largest US less-than-truckload provider is set to become a separate, independent company as FedEx pivots to focus on its parcel delivery business.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in US District Court alleges the fourth-largest US freight broker e Worldwide Express engaged in a campaign of retaliation with a former agent.

A 30% increase in the total value of transportation and logistics acquisitions over the last six months signals a stronger market for M&A emerging in 2025, PwC says in a market report.

The direct sale of 12 terminals to Estes and R+L Carriers accelerates repositioning among the largest LTL carriers ahead of an anticipated increase in demand in 2025.

For-hire trucking companies are adding workers again, but not enough to handle any big surge in freight volumes, as prospective employees look for more local jobs.

Daily shipment counts decreased at most large LTL providers early in the quarter as freight demand slowed and carriers remained choosy about what they hauled.

The acquisition of a majority stake in Roadrunner by an investment group sets the stage for further growth at the carrier as the LTL sector readies for expansion in 2025.

General rate increases ranging from 4.9% to 7.9% are setting expectations for higher contract pricing as less-than-truckload carriers attempt to recoup the costs of network expansion.

Shippers, brokers and trucking executives at a Traffic Club of Chicago forum all said the long freight downturn isn’t finished — but are hopeful it’s nearing an end.

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

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

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