Trucking News

XPO Logistics’ founder and CEO plans to use money from the sale of non-trucking business units to increase technology spending at its less-than-truckload (LTL) operations, with a focus on pricing.

CRST International’s purchase of NAL Group is evidence that final-mile logistics is becoming an even greater priority for truckload carriers in a time of low freight demand and economic uncertainty.

The success of the newly combined equipment lessor FlexiVan-AIM will rest in part on whether shippers are ready to realize the benefits of data from GPS-equipped chassis, which can be used to improve efficiency of container movements between terminals and distribution centers.

A Southern California drayage software maker has raised more than $10 million to fund development of its marketplace for drivers and shippers, a sign the pace of investment in this once-overlooked freight segment won’t soon slow.

Spot truck rates out of Los Angeles are weaker than usual, thanks in part to the coronavirus that has interrupted freight flows from China. Will restocking spark a pricing whiplash this spring?

Efforts to rein in excess capacity accelerated among large carriers, lowering the JOC Truckload Capacity Index to 85.2 in the fourth quarter. However, even that reading is still high.

DirectChassis Link, one of the three largest US chassis providers, will be exiting the Chicago cooperative chassis pool this year, a blow to those who envision a market in which any chassis can be used on any container.

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.

Truck tonnage increased for the second straight month in January, but a weak manufacturing sector and high inventories are keeping a lid on freight demand.

Truckload carrier Alabama Motor Express sees opportunities to grow by purchasing smaller carriers hit by rising truck insurance premiums.

US shippers are demanding more precise delivery times for their goods, as retail charges for late deliveries and better awareness of truck driver hours of service raise the stakes in visibility.

The long-promised National Freight Strategic Plan should be about more than highways, groups representing US ports and shippers said this week. The question still is how to pay for freight priorities.

XPO Logistics, Old Dominion Freight Line, and Saia are among LTL trucking companies that see encouraging, albeit modest and early, signs for economic growth in 2020.

A survey of delivery drivers projects that missed deliveries and time wasted due to outdated and incorrect maps and navigation aids results in $2.5 billion in added costs.

Mexican truckers are continuing to fight the imposition of state and municipal restrictions and fees on trucks, and they now face a federal legislator’s effort to ban double-tractor trailers from the nation’s roads.

The third-largest US LTL operator commits to ongoing reorganization, and sees glimmers of recovery in US manufacturing activity and freight demand in early 2020.

Roadrunner Freight is cutting transit times and investing in technology and facilities as it attempts to transform itself into a higher-service, customer-focused less-than-truckload carrier.

A federal bill similar to legislation in California and New Jersey that makes it tougher for workers to prove they are independent contractors received the backing of the US House of Representatives Thursday.

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.

Two regional LTL carriers say their new partnership will help increase domestic traffic and set up “international inland” moves in a six-state West Coast network.

In a lackluster market, ArcBest’s ABF Freight finds it necessary to judiciously mix truckload spot and traditional LTL freight, asset-based, and non-asset services.

Trucking companies and brokers expect low rates to persist a while longer despite a surge in December and early January, and there’s no consensus as to when, or if, a sustained turnaround will take hold later this year.

As its US network gets faster and more automated and e-commerce demand keeps growing, UPS is taking aim at small to mid-sized businesses in 2020.

Shippers, as much as carriers, are driving toward electronic or digital bills of lading, as the need for speed and more responsive, detailed customer service increases.

Truck volumes have flattened, not collapsed, a trucking analyst tells SMC3’s Jumpstart 2020 Conference. Truck capacity hit its peak in Q4 2019, and is expected to contract this year.

Mexico’s economy will stagnate this year after experiencing a technical recession in 2019 that saw GDP decline in the first three quarters, but the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is expected to provide a much-needed boost.

The bottom of the current slump in US freight demand is approaching, but new threats, including the China coronavirus, are emerging, speakers at the SMC3 Jumpstart 2020 conference warned.

FlexiVan Leasing has announced a merger with American Intermodal Management, growing its US chassis pool by 12,500 units to 137,500 and acquiring new equipment.

An increase in housing permits and starts will help rebuild US truck volumes this spring, putting increased demand on truck capacity and spot pricing, according to Bobby Holland, vice president and director of freight data solutions at US Bank.

The fate of two high-profile challenges to California’s worker classification bill known as AB5 boil down to an argument the trucking industry has used in the past — federal preemption of state and local attempts to regulate interstate commerce.

Indications that the US manufacturing sector is improving, rather than deteriorating, could point to more freight demand and truck shipments this spring, especially for LTL carriers.

The freight market has returned closer to equilibrium between shippers and truckers than last year, but a murky middle persists over whether business conditions will flip toward carriers later this year.

Dedicated contract carriage, final-mile service, and a digital marketplace helped carry J.B. Hunt through a tough fourth-quarter intermodal and trucking market.

US District Court Judge Roger Benitez ruled that AB5 is preempted by existing federal statutes, delivering a win for the California Trucking Association and dealing a blow to state lawmakers attempting to restructure the worker classification process for truck drivers.

Expect the sale or spin-off of some business to make XPO more a “pure-play” LTL trucking company — smaller, but more focused on US shippers and better positioned to increase shareholder value.

The freight broker GlobalTranz is expanding its reach in the managed transportation services market with the acquisition of Cerasis, a broker that effectively acts as provider of transportation management software and often runs the software for its less-than-truckload, parcel, and final mile customers.

Shippers retain substantial pricing power despite a recent spike in truckload spot rates, which appear to be settling near recent highs that are still below year-ago levels.

Shipper demand, lower modal boundaries, and changing procurement practices lead LTL technology provider SMC3 to add truckload functionality to its bidding software.

“Continuous” truck moves collaboratively arranged by networks of shippers and carriers are the goal of Transplace’s acquisition of Lanehub.

Federal officials are seeking public input on how best to test the emissions output of future heavy duty trucks to ensure levels of nitrogen oxide in the air continue to drop, while maintaining efficiency in the cargo delivery fleet.