LTL

With ‘every dollar under scrutiny,’ FedEx Freight is squeezing its trucking division, gaining financial improvements that better position the carrier for the next economic rebound. 

Shippers that often use spreadsheets and small transportation teams to bid and execute freight shipments are the target of a new software tool from technology provider Shipwell.

Trucking is a tale of two sectors in early 2023, with truckload carriers making more significant contract rate concessions than less-than-truckload companies, according to the US producer price index.

Several US shippers tell the Journal of Commerce they are getting rate concessions from their less-than-truckload carriers, but the price cuts are far from universal and may depend on how shippers bid.

An actual decrease in truck tonnage last month was masked by a seasonal adjustment to an American Trucking Associations index, but US freight volumes aren’t yet on the road to recovery.

Long-haul rail freight in Europe, the main alternative to road transport, is being undermined as the cost of electricity far outstrips diesel, say combined transport stakeholders.

Shippers are still tendering approximately the same number of shipments, but they’re shipping less freight per shipment, the head of expedited LTL carrier Forward Air says.

Primarily an industrial transportation sector, the LTL business is moving into retail and is also becoming more involved in transloading at US port cities. 

Old Dominion Freight Line “has its fingers crossed” that the decline in less-than-truckload volumes is turning and an increase in freight demand will be seen in March or the second quarter.

An expedited linehaul service using team drivers will cut transit times connecting Pitt Ohio’s eastern territory with California within three days. 

The promise of economic improvement in the second half of this year and 2024 has LTL trucking companies adding terminals, doors, and services despite the current slowdown.

The expansion of truck parking along US highways is a primary objective of the "SHIP IT" act, along with providing incentives to attract and retain more drivers.

Truckload and LTL freight volumes have dropped, but a turn will come sometime in mid-2023, industry executives said at the SMC3 Jumpstart conference in Atlanta.

Less-than-truckload rates are rising despite economic headwinds as accessorials, general rate increases, and a trend toward higher freight rate classes support a high pricing floor.

The largest US family owned LTL trucking company is adding terminals, including one in Southern California, as Webb Estes moves into the president’s office. 

The acquisition of competitor Land Air Express expands Forward Air’s nationwide ground airport-to-airport network and capacity, Forward’s CEO says.

Shippers can expect some rate relief and improved LTL service in 2023 as demand softens and shipping patterns normalize, which for carriers will take some of the shine off the sector’s recent golden glow.

The largest US point-to-point LTL carrier is speeding service from Southern California to Chicago, reducing the transit time to one to three business days as demand for velocity remains high.

The contraction in US manufacturing that began in late 2022 will help pull down truck tonnage — and perhaps pricing — in the first half of 2023.

US less-than-truckload carrier Roadrunner is arming drivers in its network with a booking application that feeds into its new internal operational systems.