Trucking

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.

Lower rates and abundant capacity should promote stability in the truckload market in 2023, but any semblance of normality is conditional, at best, until the broader US economy is on a more stable footing.

US dry-van spot rates appear to be stabilizing, but contract rates are dropping by double-digit percentages as new pricing and service agreements take effect.

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 sharp increase in freight activity seen at the Port of Houston over the past year has prompted national drayage provider RoadOne IntermodaLogistics to acquire a Texas motor carrier.

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.

Firms engaged in last-mile delivery hired fewer workers than expected in December, but still made big employment gains, while real trucking jobs in the US dropped in a typical seasonal pattern.

A new rule proposed by the US Department of Labor could signal the beginning of the end of the independent contractor model in port drayage and other trucking sectors, opponents say.

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.

Some factors, such as the sharper attention both multinationals and smaller mom-and-pop sellers are paying to their supply chains, seem to be charting a new trajectory and are poised to help shape the freight sector this year.

The change in leadership is likely to accelerate strategic changes in planning and capital spending at C.H. Robinson that have been under way since last March at the urging of investors.

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

Carriers are suspending feeder services between Hong Kong and Shenzhen and second-tier ports in southern China from mid-January due to COVID-19 quarantine rules for barge crews heading home for the Lunar New Year holidays.

The need for forwarders to tether quoting and tracking in international freight modes to US surface modes has been highlighted by new offerings from ECU Worldwide and Freightos.

Truck freight demand is falling closer to 2021 levels as 2022 draws toward its close, putting more pressure on truckload and LTL rates.

As the US economy slows, logistics managers are searching not just for lower supply chain costs but a normalization of freight flows and networks, a level of stability and predictability that remains elusive.

Falling spot truckload rates may hit bottom in the first quarter of 2023, followed by contract rates later in the year, if forecasts from third-party brokers hold true.

Total US trucking costs rose in November, with revised US producer price index figures for truckload and LTL services indicating at least a temporary reversal in a months-long decline.

Ryder System is joining the race to deploy more drop-and-hook trailer pools for shippers that need greater flexibility to reduce costs and counter supply chain disruption.

Less-than-truckload shipping volumes in the US are falling in the fourth quarter from all-time highs, but rates are slower to drop as carriers push back on absorbing higher costs.

The traditional increase in bookings for December and January shipments out of Asia is nowhere to be seen as importers in destination markets struggle with surplus stock levels and weakening demand.

J.B. Hunt, Uber Freight, and Convoy are partnering to develop and drive broad industry adoption of a standard process for truckload appointment scheduling.

Hiring expectations fell short across many transportation sectors in November, with real trucking employment dropping while warehousing firms and couriers added workers.

Stubbornly strong industrial output and pent-up demand are expected to keep pressure on trailer manufacturers to increase supply, even during a US economic slowdown.

Several US truckload shippers say they are leery of using the spot market because they wish to maintain strong relationships with their trucking partners rather than be seen as transactional when the market flips in favor of carriers.

The US producer price indexes for long-distance truckload and less-than-truckload took separate routes in October, with LTL pricing essentially unchanged and the truckload index falling.

Greenscreens.ai has seen its roster of truckload broker customers grow to 70 this year, with previous investor Tiger Global putting another $5 million in the Florida-based software vendor.

Freight volumes are dropping month to month but remain higher than a year ago, buoyed by inventory repositioning and easing supply constraints for manufacturers, according to the latest Cass Freight Index.

The investigation by US authorities into whether Pitts Enterprises evaded duties on chassis may have serious ramifications for the South Carolina Ports Authority, which ordered 11,000 chassis from a Pitts subsidiary to launch its own pool next March.

US transportation companies with cash on hand are acquiring asset-based truckers and non-asset freight brokers alike to add services and shipper customers and build network density.

After rising strongly from the third quarter of 2021 through the second quarter of this year, the JOC Truckload Capacity Index dropped slightly last quarter, but demand for equipment is still high.

The acquisition of ReedTMS Logistics not only expands Werner’s brokerage reach, it also delivers shipper customers in the staple food and beverage industries.

US truckload capacity isn’t so much declining as it is shifting, according to data, and that will pose challenges to shippers and carriers trying to access trucks, trailers, and drivers.

For-hire trucking companies added almost 20,000 jobs last month, erasing September’s payroll cut as capacity shifts between trucking sectors.

Two of the United States’ biggest logistics providers say they are focused on controlling costs amid growing concern about the direction of the US economy.

The acquisition of Fastmore Logistics will give Echo Global Logistics more access to international freight forwarders, linking domestic and international cargo networks.