<div>U.S. domestic intermodal growth slackened slightly as the economy slowed in the second quarter, but the transport of international containers on the rails has its healthiest showing in the period since 2008, according to the Intermodal Association of North America. Domestic intermodal volume rose 12.5 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, a slight deceleration from the 14.9 percent growth in traffic seen in the first quarter. Still, the second quarter was the third straight quarter of double-digit growth. International traffic increased 3.9 percent between April and June from the same period in 2011, a significant improvement from the 2.9 percent...

U.S. domestic intermodal growth slackened slightly as the economy slowed in the second quarter, but the transport of international containers on the rails has its healthiest showing in the period since 2008, according to the Intermodal Association of North America. Domestic intermodal volume rose 12.5 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, a slight deceleration from the 14.9 percent growth in traffic seen in the first quarter. Still, the second quarter was the third straight quarter of double-digit growth. International traffic increased 3.9 percent between April and June from the same period in 2011, a significant improvement from the 2.9 percent growth seen in the first quarter. Total intermodal traffic rose 5.2 percent in the second quarter and is up 5.5 percent in the first half of 2012. &ldquo;I would characterize the state of the industry as &lsquo;steady as she goes,&rsquo; &rdquo; IANA CEO and President Joni Casey said. She said the industry is not seeing the historical peaks in volume, and instead is experiencing steady volume growth through the year. Intermodal rail volume accounts for roughly 10 to 15 percent of all U.S. surface transportation moves, and the sectors make us about a quarter of rail traffic. &ldquo;From the (first quarter) to (the second quarter) seasonally adjusted domestic volumes registered a scant 0.1 percent gain, the smallest in over three years,&rdquo; the report said. Unless there is a major U.S. economic slowdown, IANA said intermodal volume will grow 5 to 6 percent in 2012 from the previous year. The IANA reports comes after U.S. intermodal volume hauled by major railroads in July hit an all-time record . Intermodal train speeds improved in the first half of the year, with the average train running at 32 mph so far in 2012 compared with 31 mph in the same period in 2011. Terminal dwell times have fallen to a point near the lows experienced when volume plummeted during the recession. Shippers continued to shift away from using trailers, with volume carried by the equipment down 10.2 percent year-over-year in the second half. The usage of 40- and 45-foot trailers saw the sharpest decline, as loads using the equipment plummeted 34.8 percent in the same period. Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com . Follow him on Twitter @szakonyi_joc .

Rail News

North-American rail

Intermodal providers

US Domestic Intermodal Growth Slows, But International Moves Rise

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A portion of the money will be used for Project 11, which will ultimately allow an additional 1,400 vessels of all types to call the port each year by deepening portions of the channel to accommodate larger ships. </div>

A portion of the money will be used for Project 11, which will ultimately allow an additional 1,400 vessels of all types to call the port each year by deepening portions of the channel to accommodate larger ships. 

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">Port Houston will receive $131 million from the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) fiscal year 2025 work plan, with 25% of that helping to fund the so-called Project 11, the multi-year endeavor that will widen the Houston Ship Channel to accommodate two-way traffic of neo-Panamax vessels. The other $98 million will be used for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the key ship channel, Port Houston said. The $33 million for <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/houstons-new-port-chief-plots-terminal-fluidity-as-key-to-container-growth-5719796">the widening project</a> brings it to about 87% funding, with $162 million in federal monies left to come. “This means that Port Houston is no longer obligated to pay the costs to dredge these locally preferred plan (LPP) elements of Project 11,” Port Houston told the Journal of Commerce. The port said Project 11 is expected to be completed in October 2029, pending the receipt of the balance of federal funding. It will ultimately allow an additional 1,400 vessels of all types to call the port each year, deepening portions of the channel to 46.5 feet to accommodate larger ships.  “We are waiting to see the president’s budget specifics released for FY26, which could come this week,” the port said. “We hope to see funding included in it for Project 11 and/or [operations and maintenance] for the next fiscal year.” As Project 11 continues, the Houston-area’s Cedar Port industrial park and barge port is pursuing an unrelated dredging project that could increase <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/stakeholders-look-to-advance-possible-houston-area-dredging-project-6009979">container competition on the Gulf Coast.</a>Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:Laura.Robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>.  </div>

Port Houston will receive $131 million from the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) fiscal year 2025 work plan, with 25% of that helping to fund the so-called Project 11, the multi-year endeavor that will widen the Houston Ship Channel to accommodate two-way traffic of neo-Panamax vessels. The other $98 million will be used for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the key ship channel, Port Houston said. The $33 million for the widening project brings it to about 87% funding, with $162 million in federal monies left to come. “This means that Port Houston is no longer obligated to pay the costs to dredge these locally preferred plan (LPP) elements of Project 11,” Port Houston told the Journal of Commerce. The port said Project 11 is expected to be completed in October 2029, pending the receipt of the balance of federal funding. It will ultimately allow an additional 1,400 vessels of all types to call the port each year, deepening portions of the channel to 46.5 feet to accommodate larger ships.  “We are waiting to see the president’s budget specifics released for FY26, which could come this week,” the port said. “We hope to see funding included in it for Project 11 and/or [operations and maintenance] for the next fiscal year.” As Project 11 continues, the Houston-area’s Cedar Port industrial park and barge port is pursuing an unrelated dredging project that could increase container competition on the Gulf Coast. Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com . 

Maritime

Container Shipping News

North American ports

Port News

Port Houston secures $131 million in federal funds for ship channel work

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The US Court of International Trade on Wednesday stated that President Donald Trump’s tariffs exceed his authority. </div>

The US Court of International Trade on Wednesday stated that President Donald Trump’s tariffs exceed his authority.

<div class="phx-topic">A federal trade court’s striking down of President Donald Trump’s series of tariffs against most of its trading partners resets shipping expectations after months of whiplash but adds yet more uncertainty for importers. The US Court of International Trade on Wednesday blocked Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose a 10% tax across most countries and the 145% tariff hanging over US imports from China amid a 90-day reprieve. The decision will almost certainly be appealed, adding uncertainty to importers. “The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs,” the court stated. The decision, if upheld, would draw a close to more than six months of uncertainty on the future of US tariffs and retaliatory measures against US exporters. The Trump administration may find other ways to impose leverage in trade negotiations. Anticipation of Trump’s second term and his reelection spurred importers to frontload cargo for months, before pulling back on orders after he announced a 145% tariff on April 9. The US and China agreed on May 12 to a 90-day cooling off period in which reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods were reduced to 30%. Before the decision Thursday, container lines warned that container space from Asia to the US would be tight through June as they worked to restore capacity removed following the plunge in bookings out of China. The peak season ahead of the winter holidays generally begins in June and runs through August. This is a developing story. </div>

A federal trade court’s striking down of President Donald Trump’s series of tariffs against most of its trading partners resets shipping expectations after months of whiplash but adds yet more uncertainty for importers. The US Court of International Trade on Wednesday blocked Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose a 10% tax across most countries and the 145% tariff hanging over US imports from China amid a 90-day reprieve. The decision will almost certainly be appealed, adding uncertainty to importers. “The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs,” the court stated. The decision, if upheld, would draw a close to more than six months of uncertainty on the future of US tariffs and retaliatory measures against US exporters. The Trump administration may find other ways to impose leverage in trade negotiations. Anticipation of Trump’s second term and his reelection spurred importers to frontload cargo for months, before pulling back on orders after he announced a 145% tariff on April 9. The US and China agreed on May 12 to a 90-day cooling off period in which reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods were reduced to 30%. Before the decision Thursday, container lines warned that container space from Asia to the US would be tight through June as they worked to restore capacity removed following the plunge in bookings out of China. The peak season ahead of the winter holidays generally begins in June and runs through August. This is a developing story.

Air Cargo Carriers News

Container lines

Trans-Atlantic

Forwarding

Trans-Pacific

Marine terminals

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Federal court ruling blocking tariffs resets shipping outlook

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Pallet is building tools to automate functions such as data entry, email and web portal integrations across ordering, quoting and tracking in the logistics industry. </div>

Pallet is building tools to automate functions such as data entry, email and web portal integrations across ordering, quoting and tracking in the logistics industry.

<div class="phx-topic">A technology provider developing logistics workflow automation products has landed a $27 million funding round, a continuation of venture capital into artificial intelligence-based tools targeting shippers, carriers and intermediaries. The company, Pallet, said in a statement Tuesday that administrative workflow spending accounts for approximately 10% of all logistics costs. It is building tools to automate functions such as data entry, email and web portal integrations across ordering, quoting and tracking in the logistics industry. Pallet, founded in 2019, said it will use the funding to expand its product and engineering teams and scale its AI workforce to meet demand across its freight broker, forwarder, carrier and shipper customer bases. Its customers include Google, Meta, SpaceX, CEVA Logistics and Uber Freight. Pallet is far from the only company getting industry traction and investor attention with AI tools, often called AI agents. In the past six months, AI-focused <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ai-continues-its-advance-across-truckload-fleets-drayage-6004118">logistics technology startups Optimal Dynamics</a>, Augment, FreightHero, Freightmate AI, Vooma and HappyRobot have all landed venture funding rounds. And virtually every <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/incumbents-upstarts-strive-for-lead-in-agentic-ai-arms-race-5943100">established logistics software vendor</a> or tech-focused intermediary, including <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/next-phase-of-digital-forwarding-on-collision-course-with-ai-revolution-5952015">Flexport</a>, Shipwell, PortPro, FourKites and project44, has marketed itself as having agentic tools that make its products more usable. “The next wave of iconic companies will come from applied AI — purpose-built systems that solve real, high-friction problems in massive industries,” said Marc Bhargava, managing director at General Catalyst, the venture firm that led the round into Pallet. Notable among the investors in Pallet’s funding round are Girish Rishi, former CEO of supply chain software provider Blue Yonder, and Dan Lewis, founder of the now-defunct digital freight broker Convoy. The funding round takes total investment into Pallet to $50 million. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

A technology provider developing logistics workflow automation products has landed a $27 million funding round, a continuation of venture capital into artificial intelligence-based tools targeting shippers, carriers and intermediaries. The company, Pallet, said in a statement Tuesday that administrative workflow spending accounts for approximately 10% of all logistics costs. It is building tools to automate functions such as data entry, email and web portal integrations across ordering, quoting and tracking in the logistics industry. Pallet, founded in 2019, said it will use the funding to expand its product and engineering teams and scale its AI workforce to meet demand across its freight broker, forwarder, carrier and shipper customer bases. Its customers include Google, Meta, SpaceX, CEVA Logistics and Uber Freight. Pallet is far from the only company getting industry traction and investor attention with AI tools, often called AI agents. In the past six months, AI-focused logistics technology startups Optimal Dynamics , Augment, FreightHero, Freightmate AI, Vooma and HappyRobot have all landed venture funding rounds. And virtually every established logistics software vendor or tech-focused intermediary, including Flexport , Shipwell, PortPro, FourKites and project44, has marketed itself as having agentic tools that make its products more usable. “The next wave of iconic companies will come from applied AI — purpose-built systems that solve real, high-friction problems in massive industries,” said Marc Bhargava, managing director at General Catalyst, the venture firm that led the round into Pallet. Notable among the investors in Pallet’s funding round are Girish Rishi, former CEO of supply chain software provider Blue Yonder, and Dan Lewis, founder of the now-defunct digital freight broker Convoy. The funding round takes total investment into Pallet to $50 million. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Supply chain

Logistics Technology News

New investment for AI platform signals ongoing surge for logistics venture funding

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The largest asset-based truckload carriers are churning their way through a muddy market bottom extended by economic uncertainty, searching for signs of rising demand. </div>

The largest asset-based truckload carriers are churning their way through a muddy market bottom extended by economic uncertainty, searching for signs of rising demand.

<div class="phx-topic">The 25 largest US truckload carriers cut their way through the second year of a cyclical freight downturn in 2024, with soft freight demand and low rates pushing their combined revenue down 3.9% year over year to $37.9 billion, according to the SJ Consulting Group/Journal of Commerce Top 25 US Truckload Carrier rankings. Excess capacity made it difficult for truckload carriers to gain traction in the market, except through acquisitions. The largest truckload carriers reduced their capacity throughout the year, parking or selling underutilized trucks and dropping the Journal of Commerce Truckload Capacity Index (TCI) to its <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/large-truckload-carriers-make-capacity-cuts-but-trucks-reenter-the-market-6004177">lowest level in a decade</a>. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="e1610a4f-b93f-45aa-ae0c-d560b848ec49"></dynamic-object></div>Last year, revenue decreased at 17 of the Top 25 truckload carriers, an improvement compared with the 20 carriers in the rankings that <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/journal-of-commerce-rankings-top-40-truckload-carriers-still-weak-after-2023-plunge-5225496">lost revenue in 2023</a>, according to SJ Consulting data. Since 2022, the Top 25 truckload carriers have lost 12.1% of their revenue, which hit $43 billion in that peak year of the COVID-19 pandemic boom. This year isn’t expected to bring much improvement for truckload carriers, large or small. Heading into 2025, truckload executives were optimistic about the prospects for a rebound in demand and pricing. Nearly six months into the year, much of that optimism is gone. “There’s no sustained, steady demand coming this year,” said Jason Miller, the Eli Broad endowed professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University. Surges in US imports did nothing to lift the truckload sector out of the doldrums in 2024, and they’re not likely to do so in 2025, especially when the timing and extent of such surges shifts with the volatile trade policy of the Trump administration. “Temporary spikes are not enough to change the market direction,” Miller told the Journal of Commerce. Yet some believe the direction of the market is heading upward, albeit slowly. The latest RXO Curve forecast from logistics provider RXO noted that contract rates measured by the Cass Contract Rate Index turned positive year over year in the first quarter, rising 1.4%. Spot rates at RXO were up 9.1% year over year in the first quarter. Even so, for spot or contract rates, “a steep ramp upwards is unlikely,” RXO said. <h3>Highs and lows </h3>The Top 25 truckload carriers in the rankings represent a small fraction of the total number of truckload carriers. There were 53,705 long-distance truckload carriers in operation across the US in 2022, according to the latest US Economic Census, a five-year census of businesses in the US and a benchmark for economic activity.The census data, released in April, does not include one-truck owner-operators. Only 248 of the 53,705 carriers in the US Economic Census had more than 250 employees. From 2017 through 2022 — the last two economic censuses — the overall number of truckload providers increased 68.3%. The number of truckload firms with more than 250 employees increased 12.2% with the addition of just 27 carriers in that period. In that same five-year period, the number of firms with five employees or fewer increased by 70.1% to 26,941 companies. That reflects growth during the 2018 trucking boom and then the explosion of new carriers from 2020 through 2022. The Top 25 truckload carriers, all companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue, may be outnumbered by small carriers, but they haul large volumes of freight for large shippers, making them almost a separate industry sector of their own. The largest carriers in the rankings were J.B. Hunt Transport Services, with $4.1 billion in truckload-related revenue; Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, with $3.5 billion; and Schneider National, with $2.6 billion, according to SJ Consulting Group research. Last year was the second at the top of the rankings for those three companies, yet they each lost revenue compared with 2023. J.B. Hunt’s truckload revenue dropped 5.4%; Knight-Swift’s truckload revenue, excluding US Xpress Enterprises, dropped 4%; and Schneider’s topline fell 3.3%, according to the data behind the rankings. Ryder System climbed from eighth in the rankings to fourth place, increasing its truckload-related revenue 37% year over year. The increase does not represent Ryder’s total revenue, which increased 7% last year, but its truckload-related revenue as defined by SJ Consulting Group. The <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ryder-acquires-cardinal-logistics-adding-dedicated-trucking-muscle-5244728">acquisition of Cardinal Logistics</a> in 2024 fueled that growth. Multiyear strategic initiatives also are driving Ryder’s growth, Robert E. Sanchez, chairman and CEO, told Wall Street analysts during a first-quarter earnings call in April. “The key driver of expected earnings growth in 2025 is incremental benefits ... related to our contractual lease, dedicated, and supply chain businesses,” Sanchez said. <h3>Ups and downs </h3>In addition to Ryder, the Top 25 carriers that increased revenue last year included Covenant Transportation Group (6.6%), Stevens Transport (5%), Universal Truckload (3.9%) and PS Logistics (1.7%), according to SJ Consulting Group data. An underlying lesson from Ryder is that diversification can be an effective strategy in dealing with a soft freight market and cautious customers. Many of the truckload carriers in the Top 25 rankings are pursuing more dedicated business rather than one-way truckload, or even, in the case of Knight-Swift, breaking into the less-than-truckload (LTL) market. The company that lost the most in terms of revenue was Daseke, a specialized heavy-haul conglomerate owned by TFI International. Daseke’s revenue dropped 17.8% year over year to $1.1 billion, according to SJ Consulting Group, which attributed the decline to lower demand for infrastructure and industrial project work for specialized trucking. However, Daseke retained its position as the 12th largest carrier in the rankings, a sign of how much revenue the overall market and the Top 25 group lost in 2024. The 17 carriers that lost revenue in 2024 saw that revenue drop 9% on average in 2024. Still, the combined revenue of the Top 25 truckload carriers was higher than in any year before 2022. From 2020 through 2022, that combined revenue shot up 38.7% and then dropped 12.1% through 2024. Altogether, nine carriers moved lower in the rankings last year, while six moved higher, and seven retained their rankings. Three new companies joined or rejoined the Top 25: Covenant Transportation Group, Universal Truckload and Anderson Trucking Services. The base level of revenue needed to get into the rankings fell from $722 million in 2023 to $565 million last year, a 21.8% decline. That’s an indicator of the depth of the demand-driven malaise in the truckload market. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.<div class="wrapper-full"><table><colgroup><col width="13.89%"></col><col width="41.12%"></col><col width="15.99%"></col><col width="15.99%"></col><col width="13.01%"></col></colgroup><caption>Journal of Commerce Top 25 US Truckload CarriersAnnual revenue, including fuel surcharges, in millions of US dollars</caption><thead><tr><th>2024 Rank</th><th>Carrier</th><th>2023 Revenue</th><th>2024 Revenue</th><th>YoY Change</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="align-right">1</td><td>J.B. Hunt Transport Services</td><td class="align-right">$4,332</td><td class="align-right">$4,097</td><td class="align-right">-5.4%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">2</td><td>Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings</td><td class="align-right">$3,683</td><td class="align-right">$3,535</td><td class="align-right">-4.0%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">3</td><td>Schneider National</td><td class="align-right">$2,640</td><td class="align-right">$2,552</td><td class="align-right">-3.3%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">4</td><td>Ryder System</td><td class="align-right">$1,785</td><td class="align-right">$2,446</td><td class="align-right">37.0%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">5</td><td>Prime</td><td class="align-right">$2,524</td><td class="align-right">$2,283</td><td class="align-right">-9.5%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">6</td><td>Penske Logistics</td><td class="align-right">$2,200</td><td class="align-right">$2,230</td><td class="align-right">1.4%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">7</td><td>Werner Enterprises</td><td class="align-right">$2,282</td><td class="align-right">$2,100</td><td class="align-right">-8.0%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">8</td><td>Landstar System</td><td class="align-right">$2,323</td><td class="align-right">$2,075</td><td class="align-right">-10.7%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">9</td><td>U.S. Xpress Enterprises1</td><td class="align-right">$1,698</td><td class="align-right">$1,500</td><td class="align-right">-11.7%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">10</td><td>CRST International1</td><td class="align-right">$1,668</td><td class="align-right">$1,597</td><td class="align-right">-4.3%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">11</td><td>Crete Carrier Corp.1</td><td class="align-right">$1,342</td><td class="align-right">$1,346</td><td class="align-right">0.3%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">12</td><td>Daseke1</td><td class="align-right">$1,277</td><td class="align-right">$1,050</td><td class="align-right">-17.8%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">13</td><td>Western Express1</td><td class="align-right">$1,054</td><td class="align-right">$1,062</td><td class="align-right">0.8%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">14</td><td>Heartland Express</td><td class="align-right">$1,207</td><td class="align-right">$1,048</td><td class="align-right">-13.2%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">15</td><td>PS Logistics</td><td class="align-right">$1,008</td><td class="align-right">$1,025</td><td class="align-right">1.7%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">16</td><td>NFI Industries</td><td class="align-right">$1,100</td><td class="align-right">$1,001</td><td class="align-right">-9.0%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">17</td><td>CR England</td><td class="align-right">$1,089</td><td class="align-right">$1,000</td><td class="align-right">-8.2%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">18</td><td>Ruan Transportation1</td><td class="align-right">$937</td><td class="align-right">$900</td><td class="align-right">-3.9%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">19</td><td>Stevens Transport1</td><td class="align-right">$765</td><td class="align-right">$803</td><td class="align-right">5.0%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">20</td><td>Hirschbach Motor Lines</td><td class="align-right">$808</td><td class="align-right">$777</td><td class="align-right">-3.8%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">21</td><td>Marten Transport</td><td class="align-right">$874</td><td class="align-right">$759</td><td class="align-right">-13.2%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">22</td><td>Covenant Transportation Group</td><td class="align-right">$696</td><td class="align-right">$742</td><td class="align-right">6.6%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">23</td><td>KLLM1</td><td class="align-right">$867</td><td class="align-right">$780</td><td class="align-right">-10.0%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">24</td><td>Universal Truckload</td><td class="align-right">$557</td><td class="align-right">$579</td><td class="align-right">3.9%</td></tr><tr><td class="align-right">25</td><td>Anderson Trucking Service1</td><td class="align-right">$675</td><td class="align-right">$565</td><td class="align-right">-16.3%</td></tr><tr class="phx-row-total"><td colspan="2">Total Top 25 US Truckload carriers</td><td class="align-right">$39,391</td><td class="align-right">$37,852</td><td class="align-right">-3.9%</td></tr></tbody><tfoot><tr><td colspan="5">1 SJ Consulting estimates</td></tr><tr class="phx-table-source"><td colspan="5">Sources: Company reports and SJ Consulting estimates. Prepared by SJ Consulting Group, Inc.© 2025 S&amp;P Global.</td></tr></tfoot></table></div></div>

The 25 largest US truckload carriers cut their way through the second year of a cyclical freight downturn in 2024, with soft freight demand and low rates pushing their combined revenue down 3.9% year over year to $37.9 billion, according to the SJ Consulting Group/Journal of Commerce Top 25 US Truckload Carrier rankings. Excess capacity made it difficult for truckload carriers to gain traction in the market, except through acquisitions. The largest truckload carriers reduced their capacity throughout the year, parking or selling underutilized trucks and dropping the Journal of Commerce Truckload Capacity Index (TCI) to its lowest level in a decade . Last year, revenue decreased at 17 of the Top 25 truckload carriers, an improvement compared with the 20 carriers in the rankings that lost revenue in 2023 , according to SJ Consulting data. Since 2022, the Top 25 truckload carriers have lost 12.1% of their revenue, which hit $43 billion in that peak year of the COVID-19 pandemic boom. This year isn’t expected to bring much improvement for truckload carriers, large or small. Heading into 2025, truckload executives were optimistic about the prospects for a rebound in demand and pricing. Nearly six months into the year, much of that optimism is gone. “There’s no sustained, steady demand coming this year,” said Jason Miller, the Eli Broad endowed professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University. Surges in US imports did nothing to lift the truckload sector out of the doldrums in 2024, and they’re not likely to do so in 2025, especially when the timing and extent of such surges shifts with the volatile trade policy of the Trump administration. “Temporary spikes are not enough to change the market direction,” Miller told the Journal of Commerce. Yet some believe the direction of the market is heading upward, albeit slowly. The latest RXO Curve forecast from logistics provider RXO noted that contract rates measured by the Cass Contract Rate Index turned positive year over year in the first quarter, rising 1.4%. Spot rates at RXO were up 9.1% year over year in the first quarter. Even so, for spot or contract rates, “a steep ramp upwards is unlikely,” RXO said. Highs and lows The Top 25 truckload carriers in the rankings represent a small fraction of the total number of truckload carriers. There were 53,705 long-distance truckload carriers in operation across the US in 2022, according to the latest US Economic Census, a five-year census of businesses in the US and a benchmark for economic activity. The census data, released in April, does not include one-truck owner-operators. Only 248 of the 53,705 carriers in the US Economic Census had more than 250 employees. From 2017 through 2022 — the last two economic censuses — the overall number of truckload providers increased 68.3%. The number of truckload firms with more than 250 employees increased 12.2% with the addition of just 27 carriers in that period. In that same five-year period, the number of firms with five employees or fewer increased by 70.1% to 26,941 companies. That reflects growth during the 2018 trucking boom and then the explosion of new carriers from 2020 through 2022. The Top 25 truckload carriers, all companies with more than $500 million in annual revenue, may be outnumbered by small carriers, but they haul large volumes of freight for large shippers, making them almost a separate industry sector of their own. The largest carriers in the rankings were J.B. Hunt Transport Services, with $4.1 billion in truckload-related revenue; Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, with $3.5 billion; and Schneider National, with $2.6 billion, according to SJ Consulting Group research. Last year was the second at the top of the rankings for those three companies, yet they each lost revenue compared with 2023. J.B. Hunt’s truckload revenue dropped 5.4%; Knight-Swift’s truckload revenue, excluding US Xpress Enterprises, dropped 4%; and Schneider’s topline fell 3.3%, according to the data behind the rankings. Ryder System climbed from eighth in the rankings to fourth place, increasing its truckload-related revenue 37% year over year. The increase does not represent Ryder’s total revenue, which increased 7% last year, but its truckload-related revenue as defined by SJ Consulting Group. The acquisition of Cardinal Logistics in 2024 fueled that growth. Multiyear strategic initiatives also are driving Ryder’s growth, Robert E. Sanchez, chairman and CEO, told Wall Street analysts during a first-quarter earnings call in April. “The key driver of expected earnings growth in 2025 is incremental benefits ... related to our contractual lease, dedicated, and supply chain businesses,” Sanchez said. Ups and downs In addition to Ryder, the Top 25 carriers that increased revenue last year included Covenant Transportation Group (6.6%), Stevens Transport (5%), Universal Truckload (3.9%) and PS Logistics (1.7%), according to SJ Consulting Group data. An underlying lesson from Ryder is that diversification can be an effective strategy in dealing with a soft freight market and cautious customers. Many of the truckload carriers in the Top 25 rankings are pursuing more dedicated business rather than one-way truckload, or even, in the case of Knight-Swift, breaking into the less-than-truckload (LTL) market. The company that lost the most in terms of revenue was Daseke, a specialized heavy-haul conglomerate owned by TFI International. Daseke’s revenue dropped 17.8% year over year to $1.1 billion, according to SJ Consulting Group, which attributed the decline to lower demand for infrastructure and industrial project work for specialized trucking. However, Daseke retained its position as the 12th largest carrier in the rankings, a sign of how much revenue the overall market and the Top 25 group lost in 2024. The 17 carriers that lost revenue in 2024 saw that revenue drop 9% on average in 2024. Still, the combined revenue of the Top 25 truckload carriers was higher than in any year before 2022. From 2020 through 2022, that combined revenue shot up 38.7% and then dropped 12.1% through 2024. Altogether, nine carriers moved lower in the rankings last year, while six moved higher, and seven retained their rankings. Three new companies joined or rejoined the Top 25: Covenant Transportation Group, Universal Truckload and Anderson Trucking Services. The base level of revenue needed to get into the rankings fell from $722 million in 2023 to $565 million last year, a 21.8% decline. That’s an indicator of the depth of the demand-driven malaise in the truckload market. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .Journal of Commerce Top 25 US Truckload Carriers Annual revenue, including fuel surcharges, in millions of US dollars 2024 Rank Carrier 2023 Revenue 2024 Revenue YoY Change 1 J.B. Hunt Transport Services $4,332 $4,097 -5.4% 2 Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings $3,683 $3,535 -4.0% 3 Schneider National $2,640 $2,552 -3.3% 4 Ryder System $1,785 $2,446 37.0% 5 Prime $2,524 $2,283 -9.5% 6 Penske Logistics $2,200 $2,230 1.4% 7 Werner Enterprises $2,282 $2,100 -8.0% 8 Landstar System $2,323 $2,075 -10.7% 9 U.S. Xpress Enterprises1 $1,698 $1,500 -11.7% 10 CRST International1 $1,668 $1,597 -4.3% 11 Crete Carrier Corp.1 $1,342 $1,346 0.3% 12 Daseke1 $1,277 $1,050 -17.8% 13 Western Express1 $1,054 $1,062 0.8% 14 Heartland Express $1,207 $1,048 -13.2% 15 PS Logistics $1,008 $1,025 1.7% 16 NFI Industries $1,100 $1,001 -9.0% 17 CR England $1,089 $1,000 -8.2% 18 Ruan Transportation1 $937 $900 -3.9% 19 Stevens Transport1 $765 $803 5.0% 20 Hirschbach Motor Lines $808 $777 -3.8% 21 Marten Transport $874 $759 -13.2% 22 Covenant Transportation Group $696 $742 6.6% 23 KLLM1 $867 $780 -10.0% 24 Universal Truckload $557 $579 3.9% 25 Anderson Trucking Service1 $675 $565 -16.3% Total Top 25 US Truckload carriers $39,391 $37,852 -3.9% 1 SJ Consulting estimates Sources: Company reports and SJ Consulting estimates. Prepared by SJ Consulting Group, Inc. © 2025 S&P Global.

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<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The company’s deal for E2open shows it is betting it can thread the needle between keeping its customers happy while targeting the customers of those customers.</div>

The company’s deal for E2open shows it is betting it can thread the needle between keeping its customers happy while targeting the customers of those customers.

<div class="phx-topic">WiseTech Global, in spending $2.1 billion to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/wisetech-notches-biggest-acquisition-with-21-billion-deal-for-e2open-6011581">buy E2open this week</a>, is placing a massive bet that it can overcome three forces that have historically hindered major logistics software acquisitions. First, the history of large technology companies built on the back of minor acquisitions successfully integrating with another large company is incredibly small. For evidence of the difficulty in doing so, WiseTech need look no further than the very company it acquired. <div class="wrapper-narrow float-right-element"><img src="/images/phoenix/6013202_0.1.jpg"></img></div>E2open in the mid-2010s was a supply chain planning specialist catering to large multinational manufacturers. It then went on a five-year acquisition binge in the late 2010s and early 2020s, focused primarily on logistics and trade compliance technology, culminating in the $1.7 billion purchase of BluJay Solutions in 2021. The nesting doll of complexity that arose from that acquisition — with BluJay itself the combination of multiple software providers — certainly weighed heavily on E2open’s business. WiseTech’s model has been to buy, and buy frequently, but this gambit represents a bigger bite than the company has ever taken. <h3>Playing both sides </h3>A second force that the Australian company will have to reckon with is whether the deal to acquire E2open — whose tools are primarily aimed at shippers — will upset the relationship WiseTech has with its extensive third-party logistics provider (3PL) customer base. In its February first-half financial report, WiseTech said 24 of the top 25 global 3PLs now use the company’s products. While WiseTech is undoubtedly a critical backbone for these 3PLs, who use it for core functions such as transportation management, trade compliance and accounting, there is also no shortage of grumbling about the cost of the system, as well as the pace of integration and new product development. WiseTech spends a huge proportion of its operating profit on enhancing its platform each year, but the reality is that as a software company grows larger, the wants of the customer base often outpace the ability to satisfy those demands. Adding E2open, and its vast suites of products across supplier collaboration, planning, forecasting and logistics, only adds to the complexity. As WiseTech directly targets shippers, there’s the possibility that some 3PL customers grow weary of slow development timelines and wary of the software provider’s closer ties to their own customers. On the other hand, adding E2open’s product could allow WiseTech to bolster its shipper-focused service offerings to the benefit of those 3PLs. A good case in point is Infor Nexus, which began in the early 2000s as a platform aiming to disintermediate 3PLs by providing shippers with order management, global transportation management and visibility tools to replace the services they traditionally got from forwarders. In the end, Infor Nexus also became a supplier to 3PLs, enhancing their ability to serve shippers. Still, the E2open deal creates complexity and risk. <h3>Platform for all? </h3>Perhaps nowhere is that risk more evident than in the notion that software providers can cater effectively to all parties. In its statement about the E2open acquisition, WiseTech noted that the deal increases its total addressable market by allowing it to reach into adjacent markets it never previously served. But building “software for everyone” has been a difficult needle to thread historically. While the logistics industry speaks glowingly about collaboration and win-win scenarios, the reality is more pragmatic. Shippers generally buy tools that give them leverage against their suppliers and transportation partners, and 3PLs do the same to give themselves leverage with carriers and shippers. There are examples of logistics software vendors selling products to multiple buyer categories — WiseTech competitor Descartes is a good example, as is Infor Nexus — but only when specific product lines are sold to specific types of buyers. But WiseTech doesn’t seem interested in that segmented sales approach. In the statement, the company said the deal “accelerates and deepens WiseTech’s plans to create a multi-sided marketplace connecting asset-based carriers, logistics providers, importers, exporters, shippers and many other logistics and supply chain participants.” If any company is equipped to build that marketplace, it’s likely WiseTech, whose strong position in the 3PL market will be enhanced by adding E2open’s network of carriers and intermediaries. But that doesn’t make the challenge any less daunting. By taking on $3 billion in debt (equivalent to approximately 13% of WiseTech’s market capitalization) to finance the E2open deal and other potential acquisitions, WiseTech has gambled that it can make a multi-headed hydra of software work, that it can keep its current customer base happy while chasing those customers’ customers, and that it can create an almost utopic marketplace with critical mass in a forever fragmented industry. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

WiseTech Global, in spending $2.1 billion to buy E2open this week , is placing a massive bet that it can overcome three forces that have historically hindered major logistics software acquisitions. First, the history of large technology companies built on the back of minor acquisitions successfully integrating with another large company is incredibly small. For evidence of the difficulty in doing so, WiseTech need look no further than the very company it acquired. E2open in the mid-2010s was a supply chain planning specialist catering to large multinational manufacturers. It then went on a five-year acquisition binge in the late 2010s and early 2020s, focused primarily on logistics and trade compliance technology, culminating in the $1.7 billion purchase of BluJay Solutions in 2021. The nesting doll of complexity that arose from that acquisition — with BluJay itself the combination of multiple software providers — certainly weighed heavily on E2open’s business. WiseTech’s model has been to buy, and buy frequently, but this gambit represents a bigger bite than the company has ever taken. Playing both sides A second force that the Australian company will have to reckon with is whether the deal to acquire E2open — whose tools are primarily aimed at shippers — will upset the relationship WiseTech has with its extensive third-party logistics provider (3PL) customer base. In its February first-half financial report, WiseTech said 24 of the top 25 global 3PLs now use the company’s products. While WiseTech is undoubtedly a critical backbone for these 3PLs, who use it for core functions such as transportation management, trade compliance and accounting, there is also no shortage of grumbling about the cost of the system, as well as the pace of integration and new product development. WiseTech spends a huge proportion of its operating profit on enhancing its platform each year, but the reality is that as a software company grows larger, the wants of the customer base often outpace the ability to satisfy those demands. Adding E2open, and its vast suites of products across supplier collaboration, planning, forecasting and logistics, only adds to the complexity. As WiseTech directly targets shippers, there’s the possibility that some 3PL customers grow weary of slow development timelines and wary of the software provider’s closer ties to their own customers. On the other hand, adding E2open’s product could allow WiseTech to bolster its shipper-focused service offerings to the benefit of those 3PLs. A good case in point is Infor Nexus, which began in the early 2000s as a platform aiming to disintermediate 3PLs by providing shippers with order management, global transportation management and visibility tools to replace the services they traditionally got from forwarders. In the end, Infor Nexus also became a supplier to 3PLs, enhancing their ability to serve shippers. Still, the E2open deal creates complexity and risk. Platform for all? Perhaps nowhere is that risk more evident than in the notion that software providers can cater effectively to all parties. In its statement about the E2open acquisition, WiseTech noted that the deal increases its total addressable market by allowing it to reach into adjacent markets it never previously served. But building “software for everyone” has been a difficult needle to thread historically. While the logistics industry speaks glowingly about collaboration and win-win scenarios, the reality is more pragmatic. Shippers generally buy tools that give them leverage against their suppliers and transportation partners, and 3PLs do the same to give themselves leverage with carriers and shippers. There are examples of logistics software vendors selling products to multiple buyer categories — WiseTech competitor Descartes is a good example, as is Infor Nexus — but only when specific product lines are sold to specific types of buyers. But WiseTech doesn’t seem interested in that segmented sales approach. In the statement, the company said the deal “accelerates and deepens WiseTech’s plans to create a multi-sided marketplace connecting asset-based carriers, logistics providers, importers, exporters, shippers and many other logistics and supply chain participants.” If any company is equipped to build that marketplace, it’s likely WiseTech, whose strong position in the 3PL market will be enhanced by adding E2open’s network of carriers and intermediaries. But that doesn’t make the challenge any less daunting. By taking on $3 billion in debt (equivalent to approximately 13% of WiseTech’s market capitalization) to finance the E2open deal and other potential acquisitions, WiseTech has gambled that it can make a multi-headed hydra of software work, that it can keep its current customer base happy while chasing those customers’ customers, and that it can create an almost utopic marketplace with critical mass in a forever fragmented industry. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

WiseTech makes $2 billion gamble on overturning complicated software history

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The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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