Trucking News

Unadjusted US tonnage data from the American Trucking Associations shows freight returned to the highways after a frozen February, propelling truck spot pricing to a new ceiling.

The asset-light, long-haul LTL carrier Roadrunner Freight is pursuing 'enterprise’ shippers as well as 3PLs as it re-engineers its network while focusing on service quality and operating margins.

J.B. Hunt will be adding 12,000 new containers in 2021, upping its original order announced in January based on increased shipper demand for intermodal service.

Torch Logistics will use $3.5 million in seed funding to expand its short-haul truckload brokerage to capitalize on e-commerce demand.

A New York City regulator who established a minimum wage for app-based rideshare drivers has been nominated to head the US truck safety watchdog agency.

Four parcel carriers were among the five fastest-growing trucking companies in 2020, thanks to a 44 percent increase in e-commerce spending, SJ Consulting Group data shows.

Darrel Harris joined the former YRC Worldwide in November and will now lead efforts to transform Yellow into a profitable multi-regional less-than-truckload carrier.

A US International Trade Commission vote Tuesday clears the way for a countervailing duty on Chinese chassis and is likely to open the door to tripling the cost of chassis to importers, exporters, truckers, and chassis providers.

Invoice automation provider OpenEnvoy has translated early traction in the logistics industry into a sizable seed round intended to help it scale quickly.

Factoring solutions provider and lender eCapital saw an uptick in revenue in 2020 and is now merging its acquisitions under a single brand as it sees consolidation taking root in the logistics financial services space.

Digital marketplace Convoy is warning US shippers and trucking companies of the risks from what may be the sixth straight year of above-average hurricanes and storms.

Funding for cross-border technology startup Nuvocargo continues a trend of investment into companies targeting the disjointed processes associated with US-Mexico logistics and transportation.

Technology firms driving autonomous trucking forward are seeking the investment and partnerships they need to expand rapidly, anticipating growing demand.

Alabama-based truckload carrier AMX is raising driver pay, but wants to do so in a way that will allow the carrier to maintain increased wages when demand – and rates – recede.

US trucking companies reversed a three-month decline in jobs in March, but they haven’t escaped the employment crater created by the COVID-19 pandemic and recession.

US trucking companies already running at full capacity will soon be receiving even more freight as manufacturing activity expands.

The JOC Truckload Capacity Index rose 2.1 percentage points in the fourth quarter, as some of the largest US truckload carriers expanded dedicated business or replaced older rigs.

Truck driver pay is improving, and that may be keeping more drivers behind the wheel, rather than jumping from job to job.

San Francisco-based Baton, the developer of a software-based drop-zone model linking truckload with final-mile in Los Angeles, has landed a $10.5 million funding round to expand the concept into other North American cities.

Rapid e-commerce delivery requirements, as well as capacity shortages and equipment imbalances, are spurring the growth of transloading near US seaports, speakers at TPM21 said.

A veteran of freight broker GlobalTranz has landed an $8 million funding round to enhance a multi-carrier marketplace and transportation management system for less-than-truckload shippers.

The Commerce Department will push ahead with an anti-dumping duty on Chinese-built marine chassis, which would raise prices on equipment at a time when there are dislocations and shortages in several US ports and rail hubs.

A partnership between TMS provider SupplyStack and visibility company project44 is emblematic of a growing need for European shippers to embed visibility into their shipment management workflow.

Shippers and customers are turning to tracking tools to understand where parcels are in networks and when they will be delivered as e-commerce parcel volumes grow.

Tight truck capacity is a prime reason for the growth of dedicated trucking, but not the only one. Shippers are using dedicated as a tool to influence customers and reshape supply chains.

As the market careened downhill in the first half of 2020, many of the largest truckload carriers began reducing their fleets, and many did not begin adding trucks when demand returned and capacity tightened.

Modal-switching technology tested by MIT and broker GlobalTranz is showing that shippers can save costs by grouping less-than-truckload linehaul freight to multi-stop truckloads.

Although the less-than-truckload sector is experiencing unprecedented growth thanks to changes in the e-commerce supply chain, it is still operating with the shackles of decades past and has largely been shielded from new entrants.

Visibility into inventory levels is helping retailers to better position stocks closer to customers while providing more last-mile delivery options.

The rise of e-commerce is leading to growing competition for long-haul truck drivers from local and short-haul businesses, according to a study from Coyote Logistics and Emsi.

Shippers are adding regional, local, and crowd-sourced carriers to the mix of last-mile providers to mitigate costs and delays, TPM21 panelists said.

US freight demand is “through the roof” after supply chains broke down during February’s winter storms, trucking companies say. More freight may be shifting from spot markets to contractual partners as networks are restored.

Small regional or localized LTL carriers may also be riding the e-commerce wave, providing capacity for local fulfillment and delivery, while their larger competitors carve out middle-mile business.

Greater use of drop trailer pools and e-commerce sales are generating demand for yard drivers — also referred to as hostlers — to handle trailers at warehouses and distribution centers, but those drivers are in short supply.

The transportation and warehousing sector lost fewer jobs than anticipated in February, but trucking companies saw deeper than expected job losses in a storm-wracked month.

Freight broker Tucker Company said COVID-19 pushed truck drivers to make the switch to larger carriers, but the rise in spot trucking rates is likely to swing them back to smaller fleets.

The digitization of truck manufacturing will directly benefit shippers by creating more capacity and making more capacity readily available, a study by IBM suggests.

To secure capacity, truck shippers must offer freight that ‘fits’ a carrier’s network of lanes, vehicles, and drivers, speakers at a virtual TPM21 panel said.

Old Dominion Freight Line in February handled more and heavier LTL shipments than a year ago as shippers hit hard by winter storms searched for truck capacity.

Knight Swift CEO Dave Jackson tells JOC’s virtual TPM21 conference that trailer pools, agility, and long-term thinking is the way carriers and shippers can reduce the wild swings seen in trucking rates since 2017.