Trucking

The appointment of a new CEO for the US’s largest logistics provider comes six months after the dismissal of ex-CEO Bob Biesterfeld, who was let go amid slowing freight demand, rate declines and investor unrest.

The American Trucking Associations said Julie Su’s track record of supporting California’s A.B. 5 law and a lack of support for the trucking industry has failed to reassure them she would be a successful Secretary of Labor.

Container carrier Evergreen argues the FMC ignored “critical facts” when applying the incentive rule in a December case and, in doing so, inadvertently set a precedent that detention cannot be charged on a holiday weekend.

An index based on truck counts at large truckload carriers dropped nearly 5% in the first quarter from late 2022 as those carriers adjusted to a softer market and lower contract and spot rates.

The long drop in truckload spot market rates has eased, revealing a soft bottom for pricing, but more demand is needed to fuel any upswing benefiting truckers, observers say.

More freight density, a tighter point-to-point network and better data have enabled successive rounds of transit time cuts at Roadrunner, which company executives claim is gaining shipments.

Pricing for refrigerated truckload service is shooting up along the US-Mexico border and outbound from California, in some cases by more than 20 cents per mile from April’s averages, as fruit and vegetable crops start moving to market.

Trailer marketplace technology provider vHub estimates a quarter of truckload trailers are out of network for the nation’s carriers, with an abrupt shift in demand exacerbating that dislocation.

Greater demand for manufactured goods, especially automotive parts, is spurring Mexico-to-US cross-border trucking, with more nearshoring of production on the horizon.

Flexport has lured a key figure in the development of Uber Freight and Coyote Logistics in a move likely to shake up the domestic third-party logistics market.

Many businesses are being forced to tighten controls over how goods are shipped and who they ship them with, but the technology that helps them may also be used against them, according to industry sources.

Excess capacity is lingering in US freight markets because fewer carriers than expected have gone bankrupt so far this year, analysts say.

US trucking companies added jobs for the second straight month, but the employment wave hasn’t reached package delivery firms or warehouses.

New York-New Jersey port truckers who worked five days per week last year are now down to about half that amount, sending spot drayage rates well below levels seen in 2021 and 2022.

Canada’s largest trucking holding company is acquiring smaller LTL operators on both sides of the US border, expanding its network and services via “tuck-ins” in a soft freight market.

Shippers are moving more freight in the US Southwest, and paying more to do so, despite weak trucking markets elsewhere in the country, according to U.S. Bank.

Transportation observers believe the dueling complaints could have implications for the US spot truckload market because DAT is a primary source of available loads that brokers and carriers use to fill their pools of owned or third-party capacity.

International air express carrier DHL is building out its US footprint to gain greater density and reach in its largest market, its CEO for the Americas says.

Echo Global Logistics, Coyote Logistics and prominent transportation management system vendors Oracle and e2open are among new members adding momentum to a truckload appointment scheduling initiative.

Funds will go to projects that focus on reducing emissions from port-related truck idling, particularly in communities adjacent to ports.

Yellow, the largest Teamsters employer in the US less-than-truckload sector, says it is willing to negotiate a new contract a year early as it tries to remove roadblocks to consolidating its network.

Package volumes at the largest US package carrier by revenue fell farther than expected in the first quarter, especially in March, thanks to shifts in spending, UPS executives said. 

The Intermodal Association of North America is adding its voice to the chorus of opposition against a federal push to reclassify independent workers.

An unadjusted 9.3 percent gain in tonnage from February reversed a slide in freight volumes but paled in comparison with increases in 2022 and 2021, data show.

Transportation and logistics companies continue to grow by acquiring competitors, and although the wave of acquisitions may have crested there is still plenty of opportunity in a soft market.

Despite negative trends being felt in some parts of the US manufacturing landscape, it’s not all bad news for trucking because other sectors are poised to have volumes at or above 2022 levels, writes analyst Jason Miller.

With contract rates down as much as 16 percent in March, producer price index data indicates truckload carriers are making more use of accessorial charges.

The market bottom remains untouched as the all-inclusive average spot rate paid by US truckload shippers fell again in March, declining in lockstep with other truckload pricing measures.

The 50 largest US trucking companies maintained a two-year double-digit growth streak and may add to that in 2023, despite a slower US economy.

The number of for-hire trucking firms entering the US market is nearly as large as the number leaving on a monthly basis, which is helping to keep capacity loose despite the departures.

There is still room for spot rates to fall, but rates and freight demand are likely to turn later in the second half, analysts say. 

In preparation for produce season and retail sales, for-hire trucking companies are adding to their payrolls for the first time since October, although warehousing employment is still declining.

The move comes less than two months after GPA said it would stop offering evening truck hours at Savannah as volumes moving through the port have slowed significantly in recent months.

To reduce costs, FedEx’s system-wide network overhaul will create a stronger North American “ground-air” trucking network, including FedEx Freight, and increase its use of US intermodal rail, the company says.

As it studies truck driver detention, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hopes data from electronic logging devices may help pinpoint solutions for drivers, carriers, and shippers.

Yellow calls Teamster complaints about its restructuring plans baseless and inaccurate, and urges “serious discussion” as accusations escalate.

Historic highs in global freight volumes and rates in the first half of last year helped insulate third-party logistics providers (3PLs) from a market collapse in the second half.

Far greater ambition will be required by European Commission policy makers if targets to double the market share of rail freight by 2050 are to be achieved, according to rail freight operators.

The Teamsters union promises a tougher approach in contract talks with ABF Freight and TForce Freight, and is opposing major network changes proposed by Yellow, its largest freight employer.

US big-box retailers are receiving fewer imports while inventories remain elevated and US consumer confidence teeters, boding poorly for a significant second-half rebound in Asia container imports, writes JOC Executive Mark Szakonyi.