Truckload

Analysts have told the Journal of Commerce they expect spot market pricing to bottom out and remain flat for some time before rising again, most likely at a slow pace.

Smaller US truckload carriers and the companies that provide them with access to working capital are under increasing pressure as cargo demand slows.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

The American Trucking Associations reports truck tonnage levels were still high in July, running counter to reports that trucking demand is weakening ahead of the fourth quarter.

The largest truckload acquisition to date this year would put Heartland at about 11th on the Top 25 Truckload Carrier rankings prepared for JOC.com.

Large truckload carriers are adding capacity, whether by purchasing trucks or acquiring trucking companies, and that's pushing the JOC Truckload Capacity Index to its highest level ever.