Trucking

Tonnage began increasing year over year at XPO late in the third quarter and continued to rise in October as the less-than-truckload carrier expands capacity.

Shippers affected by the closure of a free less-than-truckload transportation management system in October have been given a pathway to migrate to another system connected to 15 LTL carriers.

The truckload market is still searching for a single platform that aggregates shipper loads and carrier capacity, a role that investors are backing Chicago-based Newtrul to eventually fill.

Regional stress is running through US truckload markets as demand softens, with price and capacity fluctuations that challenge shippers and carriers.

Growing use of equipment pools and power-only trucking support long-term demand for 53-foot trailers that transcends short-term economic trends, manufacturer Wabash says.

Schneider says the peak season will be muted because shippers moved inventory into warehouses earlier this year, but the weaker volumes do not necessarily mean steep rate cuts for shippers in 2023 contracts.

Less demand for its customers’ goods is cutting into tonnage and shipments at Old Dominion Freight Line, but not the company’s revenue or profit.

Freight congestion, now at inland distribution sites such as warehouses and intermodal rail terminals, and on-time delivery continue to be problems for shippers despite falling trucking costs.

More than two years in development, a standard electronic bill of lading for less-than-truckload shipments promises to streamline the flow of data, providing greater visibility to shippers.

US shippers will find LTL savings in 2023, but the biggest savings will go to those who can accurately forecast demand and fit freight to carrier networks, according to BlueGrace Logistics.

US shippers will win transportation savings in 2023 bids, but large truckload carriers haven’t lost all pricing muscle.

J.B. Hunt believes BNSF Railway’s service has improved in recent weeks, which could lead to faster turns of containers and lower costs for shippers; but when that happens is still an open question.

An increase in US manufacturing output is putting more freight in trucks this fall, contributing to an increase in truck tonnage as measured by the American Trucking Association and others.

A series of freight activity indexes, including the Cass Freight Shipments Index and a for-hire trucking ton-mile index, show shipments are still higher than a year ago, despite recession fears.

A weakening freight market and growing investor unease with holding companies designed to take early stage companies public have led Transfix to put a public listing on ice.

LTL costs to shippers rose 0.3 percent in September and were up 15 percent year over year while truckload costs declined more slowly, according to the latest US producer price index.

US shippers should expect more international acquisitions of domestic US trucking operations as logistics companies work to provide more end-to-end services and visibility.

Spot US truckload rates continued to cool through September, but there are early signs that prices are bouncing back in October.

Shippers need to rethink the entire truckload procurement process, not just use technology that marginally decreases costs by relying too much on predictive pricing, according to a trio of procurement technology experts.

Real, unadjusted jobs in trucking dropped by 21,200 in September, an unusually high number, as contract and spot truckload rates declined.

The long recovery from Hurricane Ian will drive up the ratio of Florida inbound and outbound loads, pushing up southbound truckload spot rates while relief supplies flood the state, writes JOC analyst Jason Miller.

Overhaul has joined a growing group of visibility providers aiming to connect real-time shipment data to cargo insurance solutions.

More shippers are returning to the truckload spot market as rates drop, but experts say they’re using that market more strategically than ever before to reduce transportation costs.

The less-than-truckload industry is reaching its technology inflection point, which it will need to capture rising demand from shippers seeking operators that are easy to do business with.

While there are delays in the production of 53-foot chassis, a slowdown in domestic intermodal demand will likely bring supply and demand into balance in 2023, say domestic equipment providers.

A US court ruling that declared Rhode Island’s truck-only tolls unconstitutional will save tens of millions of dollars in operating and shipping costs yearly for truckers and their customers.

US for-hire truck tonnage jumped 2.8 percent in August from July, according to the American Trucking Associations, as consumers and the US economy remained resilient despite inflation.

Convoy is attempting to differentiate itself within the competitive freight broker landscape by using data gathered from its driver-mandated app to provide more execution-focused visibility insights.

Equipment providers believe the chaos caused by two years of chassis shortages will end sometime next year as excessive street dwell times diminish and new domestic and foreign chassis manufacturers enter the US market.

The US producer price indexes (PPIs) for trucking dropped in August as contract pricing cooled and fuel prices and surcharges came down.

MyCarrier has created automation partnerships with 15 less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers and will handle more than $1 billion in shipper freight spend, factors that induced venture firms to invest $22 million in the company.

The average manufacturing shipping volume rose 1 percent in August year over year, while other industries saw their truck shipments drop 4.6 percent, according to FourKites.

About 20 percent of the 1,800 vehicles serving the Port of Vancouver would be phased out under the clean truck program that has been delayed for a second time.

The decline in outbound per-mile spot rates from US ports dropped more than the US average in August as normal seasonality and abnormal gridlock crimped demand, a JOC analysis shows.

Stung by lower tractor utilization rates and rising costs, truckload carrier US Xpress pares back its technology team and real estate, and focuses on adding truckload contract business.

LTL shipments at Old Dominion Freight Line fell about 3 percent year over year in August, following a more seasonal pattern than August 2021 when shipments jumped 17 percent.

While trucking makes hiring gains in the US, unadjusted warehousing and storage employment has fallen in four of the past five months, contributing to supply chain bottlenecks.

With US warehouses full or filling up, shippers are rethinking broader distribution strategies and basic practices such as how they stack and track goods to find the space they need.

The HOS exemption has been extended five times since it was put in place in 2020 by a presidential emergency order, and it has been modified as the pandemic evolved.

The incoming CEO of XPO Logistics is intent on adding capacity in the form of terminals, trailers, and drivers to meet long-term demand for less-than-truckload services.