Trucking

The third-largest less-than-truckload provider in the US stopped operations Sunday, cutting into industrywide excess capacity and increasing pressure on pricing for LTL shipments. 

Word of layoffs among non-union staff at Yellow spread Friday, and shippers report less-than-truckload (LTL) pricing is already moving higher in anticipation of a shutdown of the third-largest US LTL carrier.

In its latest attempt to avert a potential bankruptcy, unionized trucking company Yellow is trying to raise funds through the sale of Yellow Logistics.

The FMC commissioner wants to implement uniform empty return dates and define “container availability” as when the container is available for pick up, among other proposals.

Yellow says its talks with the Teamsters union are “ongoing,” but the less-than-truckload carrier needs to keep customers to stay alive.

Freight volumes were down almost 12% in the second quarter at Old Dominion Freight Line, but the less-than-truckload carrier says it will continue to reinvest in capacity.

Teamster local leaders endorsed a new five-year pact with LTL carrier TForce Freight, while the union eyes talks with Yellow.

A tentative agreement removes the threat of a disruptive strike that would have roiled supply chains, giving UPS Teamsters several weeks to vote on the new contract.

Several large LTL carriers, including XPO and Estes, are adding terminals as freight flows change and customers shift business among carriers as questions linger over Yellow’s future.

The company expects a slight increase in truckload demand during the peak season amid uncertainty about the duration of the freight recession and the potential impact of Yellow's financial troubles.

The missed payment erases a measure of optimism that existed after creditors, including the US government, last week gave Yellow more time to resolve its restructuring dispute with the Teamsters in return for heightened financial oversight.

DAT and freight broker Convoy had challenged each other in federal court over business practices related to Convoy attempting to set up a rival load board.

Truckstop is building on its 2022 purchase of carrier monitoring provider RMIS with the acquisition of freight-matching technology provider FrieightFriend.

A Teamsters strike against UPS Aug. 1 and a shutdown of Yellow are not inevitable, but shippers are bracing for disruption and higher costs.

Truckers are having difficulty locating available chassis in Chicago because many units have been taken off the street to be serviced after heavy usage over the last two years.

DHL will spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the region over the next five years as the company targets customers looking to globalize their business and diversify sourcing.

US businesses may have passed the inventory peak, but data shows stockpiles remain high, and a weak wholesale retail market is depressing imports and surface freight shipments.

Yellow’s lenders, including the US government, gave the company short-term waivers for certain loan conditions, extending its “runway” for winning Teamster support for a restructuring plan.

The problems flared in recent weeks after Ocean Network Express shifted a vessel service out of Jacksonville’s other primary container terminal, Dames Point, causing a volume imbalance between the two terminals.

For-hire trucking companies have been expanding their workforce since February, but a soft freight market is cutting into weekly hours worked by drivers and dockworkers, BLS data shows.

The largest US truckload operator will continue to add terminals to its LTL network as it absorbs truckload carrier U.S. Xpress.

UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are battling on the brink of a potential strike, with both sides claiming the other has walked away from the negotiating table.

The ABF-Teamsters contract is the first of three major negotiations the union is conducting this summer to make it past the finish line, with UPS and TForce Freight talks still ongoing.

In a letter Thursday, less-than-truckload provider Yellow asked President Biden to intervene personally in its dispute with the Teamsters and break an impasse it claims threatens 22,000 union jobs. 

Time is ticking away for less-than-truckload carrier Yellow, which is suing the Teamsters while its cash reserves shrink, and UPS, which got a new deadline for contract talks from the Teamsters.

US inventory levels are still high, depressing demand for trucking services and keeping a rebound in check, analysts said at the SMC3 Connections conference.

Nuvocargo will use the new funding to expand its service footprint to all major over-the-road border crossings between the US and Mexico.

The largest unionized trucking employer in the US is taking its restructuring fight with the Teamsters to court, claiming union leadership is agitating for its demise.

Freight demand is supporting a buildout of Roadrunner’s direct LTL network after cutbacks in 2022, with new lanes connecting shippers with Las Vegas and the Port of Virginia.

The largest US trucking company will close 29 terminals to better match its footprint with lower freight demand as it prepares for a “reset.”

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and UPS say they’ve made progress on non-economic issues, but there’s still heavy lifting ahead for the largest labor pact in the US private sector.

Leaders within the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have endorsed a tentative contract reached with ABF that would set a high bar for other unionized carriers in the largely non-union less-than-truckload sector.

Despite a sharp decline in rates amid slowing demand and higher costs, total revenue for truck transportation companies remains elevated, and that could keep capacity in the market longer, writes Professor Jason Miller.

Despite disagreement over Yellow’s restructuring plans, the Teamsters union is taking a first step toward opening contract talks by surveying 22,000 union members online.

Air conditioning, heat shields and air intake vents are coming to UPS package cars as the Teamsters and their largest employer move closer to a tentative five-year labor agreement. 

Flexible transactional pricing is helping ArcBest LTL subsidiary ABF Freight increase shipment volumes and attract new shippers despite reduced demand from core customers. 

Data from analysts and carriers shows less-than-truckload providers are staying disciplined when it comes to pricing despite a freight recession and softer US economy.

Yellow claims its ability to “continue as a going concern” is being impaired by Teamster opposition to its restructuring.

Trucking analysts believe the downward pressure on rates has ended — or is close to ending, but an upward surge isn’t necessarily on the horizon, either.

US consumers are still spending, but at a slower rate, and that’s pushing major restocking of goods further toward the back half of 2023, analysts and retailers say.