Trucking News

The $1.025 billion acquisition gives RXO growth not otherwise available in a weakened brokerage market and narrows UPS’s focus to package deliveries.

US importers are pulling forward orders to avoid potential congestion, but trucking and intermodal networks are still slack, speakers said at the launch of CSCMP’s State of Logistics report.

The average US transactional dry-van truckload rate rose “a fraction” above its year-ago level Wednesday, following strong year-over-year gains in spot market volumes, according to DAT Freight & Analytics.

Despite a 7.1% unadjusted month-to-month increase in mostly contractual truck tonnage, more data is needed before the American Trucking Associations will call it a “recovery.”

Produce shipments by weight have dropped in 2024, and that’s helped maintain “adequate” truckload capacity in most parts of the US, the Department of Agriculture said.

This year’s truckload spot rates are hugging the baseline set in 2023 as the freight recession drags on; a major increase seems unlikely anytime soon.

The preliminary agreement avoids a strike that could have created traffic jams along the US-Canada border, disrupting trade and manufacturing. 

Shippers need to consider contingency plans for truck shipments crossing the US-Canadian border in case Canada’s Customs and Immigration Union calls a strike this week.

Last month’s actual trucking employment gain was lower than expected as the US economy added more jobs in service industries such as hospitality and healthcare. 

Saia’s 18.6% year-over-year gain in LTL shipments in May underscores the ongoing impact of Yellow’s bankruptcy, while larger ODFL reports smaller “Yellow-free” gains in volume.

Yellow still has 130 terminals that could be sold, but they’re not quite ready for the auction block, bankruptcy court testimony revealed this week.

One of the first “digital-native” brokerages, Transfix is shifting its focus to selling software as a service to other brokers, including NFI.

Earnings records show several big LTL carriers are expanding their tractor and trailer fleets in the post-Yellow market to keep pace with terminal expansion.

The post-pandemic resilience of small fleets has been attributed in part to driver reliance on apps such as the one Convoy built, which Flexport purchased last November.

The intermodal logistics provider is ramping up transloading capabilities in the US Southeast to meet increased demand from importers.

The issue of whose chassis to use to haul a container remains unclear as more truckers opt to use their own, but ocean carriers and pools also look to supply the market.

Amid growing interest in making the truckload appointment scheduling process more efficient, the US visibility provider has added weight to an initiative started in late 2022.

US shippers are playing a direct role in keeping the for-hire truck market soft as they tactically shift freight to in-house fleets, according to Cass Freight Index.

Amid a range of efforts to automate and standardize truckload appointments, a new provider has launched a neutral platform to reduce manual work and errors associated with the process.

Like many of its LTL competitors, XPO is using former Yellow terminals to build density in major freight markets such as Baltimore-Washington, D.C.

Average US truckload pricing has hardly risen since last June, while less-than-truckload costs continue to climb due to tighter capacity.

Increased negative sentiment toward inventory growth among surveyed shippers points to “no-build-and-hold” leaner inventory strategies that would dull freight demand.

The expedited surface transportation provider said it has kept customers and is adding business but needs to “aggressively” address profitability after a first-quarter loss.

The Journal of Commerce Truckload Capacity Index dropped to its lowest level since 2017 as large truckload carriers cut trucks loose, but excess capacity remains.

Candor Expedite’s new service is designed to let perishables shippers use lower-cost freight modes and reduce product spoilage.

The exercise equipment maker alleged in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission that the forwarder failed to meet its obligations under a carrier haulage agreement.

A rise in US imports is fueling optimism, especially among ocean carriers, but manufacturing’s malaise is tempering hopes for a broader transportation recovery.

The third-largest US LTL provider is joining competitors renovating and opening terminals acquired from Yellow and expects to complete that work by early 2025.

Continued year-over-year contraction in truckload shipments and shipper spending in the first quarter means the next pricing upswing is likely to be slow, rather than sudden.

Although electric trucks are improving, the electricity and charging networks needed to power them are not ready, Pitt Ohio’s Taki Darakos told a US House committee.

The impact of companies relocating manufacturing to Mexico is beginning to be felt, with Ryder’s freight volumes rising all along the US-Mexico border.

The LTL carrier said it will open 15 to 20 terminals this year in a cadence that will help improve efficiency in its network.

The federal grants lean heavily on further electrification of heavy-duty trucks, but also look to other methods for reducing emissions.

The transportation holding company has set a multi-year “medium-term” LTL revenue target of $2 billion, nearly double its 2023 LTL revenue.

Cost and pricing pressures are tightening truckload margins, but Knight-Swift CEO Adam Miller sees supply and demand getting “closer to a balance.”

The second-largest US LTL provider is protecting its “excess capacity,” and investing in terminals, equipment and people while waiting for improved freight demand.

With Class 8 truck orders dropping, ACT Research believes rising US freight demand will hit tightening truck capacity sooner rather than later.

XPO, Estes and Saia are starting to reopen terminals they acquired from bankrupt Yellow, adding to LTL trucking capacity as they pursue new business.

Knight-Swift and rival J.B. Hunt both say shippers are pushing hard for lower truckload and intermodal rates in service contracts as freight demand remains soft.

A machine learning-based platform will access data on more than 400,000 vehicles to help shippers evaluate the performance and cost of in-house trucking operations.