LTL general rate increases buck pricing concerns for industry
Less-than-truckload carriers continue to take general rate increases even as the overall demand picture remains murky.
Stay Up to Date on the LTL Industry
Less than truckload (LTL) refers to shipping services for relatively small loads of freight (typically between 150 and 15,000 pounds). One of the main benefits of the LTL industry is cost efficiency. LTL trucking allows shippers to combine several loads going to the same facility into one truck, creating economies of scale, with each shipper only paying for the space they use. On the flip side, LTL shipping can take longer to plan and organize. Shipments may also take longer since the truck has to be filled before it leaves and may have to make multiple stops or transfers on the way to a given destination .
The explosion in online shopping sparked by the pandemic has made a marked impact on the LTL industry. As online shopping grows, demand for LTL trucking has increased significantly, putting stress on an already-burdened industry. To better understand the state of the LTL industry, we teamed up with BlueGrace Logistics to survey shippers about their approaches to LTL trucking in today’s environment.
Download our report to learn more: Evolution of LTL
Less-than-truckload carriers continue to take general rate increases even as the overall demand picture remains murky.
A federal bankruptcy court has denied a request to reconsider its ruling on withdrawal liability claims against Yellow Corp.
Keith Wilson, the owner and CEO of Portland, Oregon’s, Titan Freight, has won a surprise victory as that city’s mayor.
Forward Air continues to refresh its leadership team, hiring a new chief commercial officer on Wednesday.
Forward Air lowered full-year earnings guidance on Monday and said it wouldn’t address press reports that it is up for sale following a messy merger.
ArcBest missed third-quarter expectations and is guiding to more than 500 basis points of less-than-truckload operating ratio degradation in the fourth quarter.
ArcBest sees weak trends in both its asset-based and asset-light segments during the third quarter.
Less-than-truckload carrier XPO beat third-quarter expectations and outlined a plan for outsize yield and margin growth.
XPO beats third-quarter expectations, reporting 200 basis points of margin improvement in its less-than-truckload unit.
Moran Transportation announced it has acquired fellow less-than-truckload transportation provider RMX Freight Systems.
A federal bankruptcy judge overseeing Yellow Corp.’s liquidation has corrected a mistake in an earlier opinion, which could significantly alter how much Yellow owes to pension funds.
Less-than-truckload carrier Saia saw a modest backup in financial results during the third quarter but reasserted confidence that it’s on the right path with its terminal growth strategy.
Less-than-truckload carrier Saia’s less favorable freight mix and higher cost structure from a terminal expansion weighed on its third quarter.
Knight-Swift Transportation beat the third-quarter consensus estimate but provided a mixed earnings outlook for the next two quarters.
Continued weakness in freight demand weighed on Old Dominion’s third quarter, but the less-than-truckload carrier said current sequential trends are the best in two-and-a-half years.
Old Dominion Freight Line’s third-quarter came in slightly ahead of analysts’ lowered expectations, but its volume trends remained soft.
TFI CEO Bedard said on an analyst call that he wasn’t sorry the company bought UPS Freight, but he was plainspoken about its issues.
Canadian transport and logistics company TFI International’s third-quarter earnings missed consensus forecasts by 18 cents per share.
Less-than-truckload carrier Saia said it will open three terminals in October, pushing its new terminal count to more than 20 this year.
Yellow’s Chapter 11 plan before a federal bankruptcy court includes up to $100 million in payments to employees holding paid-time-off and commission claims.
After mounting pressure from some shareholders following an ill-fated merger, sources have confirmed to FreightWaves that Forward Air is working with investment bankers to sell the company.
Daylight Transport and Old Dominion Freight Line garnered the top rankings in consulting and research firm Mastio’s 2024 survey of shippers.
Investment firm Alta Fox has joined some of Forward Air’s other investors that are calling on the expedited trucking company to consider a sale following its controversial acquisition of Omni Logistics.
A Wednesday court filing showed bankrupt Yellow Corp. will begin accepting indications of interest for its remaining terminals next week with the hope of closing the property sales in January.
A Delaware bankruptcy court denied a request to stay the deposition of Teamsters union leader Sean O’Brien regarding his involvement in failed negotiations with Yellow Corp. last year.
Saia announced plans to open three more terminals in September, which is part of a larger plan to open 18 to 21 this year.
Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Bascome Majors cut his earnings forecasts for less-than-truckload carriers following a soft August.
A Delaware bankruptcy judge said Friday that Yellow is on the hook for withdrawal liabilities but that the amounts will be capped.
Shortly after testifying about the days leading up to Yellow’s 2023 bankruptcy, its former head, Darren Hawkins, has taken on a new role leading the North American Chassis Pool Cooperative.
Some less-than-truckload carriers reported weaker tonnage trends in August but continued to capture increases in yields.
Teamsters union leader Sean O’Brien will have to appear at an in-person deposition that could determine the fate of up to $244 million in WARN Act claims against Yellow’s estate.
Less-than-truckload booking platform MyCarrier announced Wednesday it has acquired supply chain payments platform Curant.
Less-than-truckload carrier Saia is still recording volume growth even though a year has passed since Yellow Corp. closed and the comparisons have gotten tougher.
A soft macroeconomic environment has resulted in lighter shipments for ArcBest and a delay in the company’s freight swap.
A shareholder-backed bankruptcy plan for Yellow Corp. would satisfy all allowed unsecured claims and leave shareholders with a real estate investment trust to manage the remaining properties.
Newly-formed Jack Cooper LTL is rumored to be in talks to purchase less-than-truckload carrier Standard Forwarding.
AFS Logistics tapped Andy Dyer as its next CEO but made no mention of the departure of its former leader.
Yellow Corp., which is close to submitting a final Chapter 11 plan, can retain real estate broker CBRE to sell its remaining terminals, a Delaware bankruptcy court said Friday.
Less-than-truckload carrier Estes said Thursday it has closed on seven additional terminals that were being leased by bankrupt Yellow Corp.
Activist investor Ancora has called on Forward Air’s board to consider a sale of the company and to begin engaging with potential buyers.
Activist investor Clearlake Capital holds a 13.8% equity position in Forward Air and signaled it may look to make changes at the company.
XPO is reportedly again in talks to divest its European transportation business as it seeks to focus solely on its North American less-than-truckload operations.
BRW has been created through an acquisition as a combined brokerage and truckload and LTL carrier.
Less-than-truckload carrier Saia is adding six locations acquired from Yellow Corp. in Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming in August.
Creditors to Yellow’s estate say professional fees are racking up while its advisers delay a realistic Chapter 11 plan in hopes of producing an unlikely recovery for shareholders.
Forward Air said Wednesday it will continue to focus on integration and revenue opportunities following a messy merger with Omni Logistics.
RXO did not see significant improvement in its key financials, but it highlighted where things were better.
Less-than-truckload provider Roadrunner said Wednesday it will now serve locations in western Canada.
3PL RXO saw its revenue decline in the second quarter, but gross margin was higher.
Yellow’s non-pension-affiliated creditors as well as its shareholders may soon know the fate of their stake in the defunct less-than-truckload carrier’s estate.
ArcBest misses second-quarter expectations as losses at its asset-light business continue.
ArcBest reported second-quarter results on Friday, which came in light of analysts’ expectations.
Less-than-truckload carrier XPO bested second-quarter expectations on Thursday as tonnage and yields continued to move higher.
Less-than-truckload carrier XPO beat second-quarter expectations as tonnage and yield increases were complemented by effective cost management.
Dave Bozeman, one year into the job as CEO of C.H. Robinson, cites a new operating model as the company’s earnings surprise to the upside.
Knight-Swift announced its third less-than-truckload acquisition on Tuesday, purchasing Los Angeles-based Dependable Highway Express for an undisclosed sum.
In an earnings call with analysts, TFI International CEO Alain Bedard gave a strong critique of the company’s LTL cost structure.
Growth-related costs and a less favorable freight profile led to Saia’s second-quarter results coming up short of expectations.
A first look at less-than-truckload carrier Saia’s second-quarter earnings report.
Knight-Swift Transportation said the trough of the freight cycle has likely passed and that it is now focused on growing its less-than-truckload business.
Old Dominion Freight Line beat second-quarter expectations Wednesday as it continues to ready its network for an improving freight economy where it plans to win market share.
Less-than-truckload carrier Saia announced two new terminal openings on Monday and said it will now open 18 to 21 terminals this year versus a prior expectation of 16.
ABF Freight head Seth Runser has been named president of ArcBest. He will be succeeded by the less-than-truckload carrier’s engineering vice president, Matt Godfrey.
Less-than-truckload carrier XPO said it has expanded its cross-border service with the launch of XPO Mexico+.
Forward Air said Wednesday that interim Chief Financial Officer Jamie Pierson will assume that role on a permanent basis and that it has added James Faught as chief accounting officer.
Forward Air’s review of the first quarter shows the company has a little more breathing room to upcoming debt covenants.
Less-than-truckload carrier Tony’s Express of Fontana, California, has filed for bankruptcy protection, nearly three months after it terminated 200 truck drivers, dock and warehouse workers, and office personnel via text message.
Parcel analyst Satish Jindel predicts FedEx will opt later this year to spin off the Freight unit to the public market.
Less-than-truckload carrier Saia continues to open terminals acquired from bankrupt Yellow Corp.
Forward Air confirms it has implemented workforce reductions and other restructuring initiatives.
S&P Global cut its debt rating on Forward Air for the second time in four months.
Industry expert Satish Jindel offers perspective on Forward Air’s controversial merger with Omni Logistics.
ArcBest’s efforts to improve freight mix are producing big swings in its operating metrics, a May update revealed.
Less-than-truckload carrier XPO reported a modest increase in volumes during May, but yields took a notable step higher.
Old Dominion’s volume metrics continue to lag peers, largely by design.
Forward Air’s shareholders approved the conversion of Omni’s nonvoting shares to voting common stock, giving the group 35% control of the combined entity.
Less-than-truckload carrier Saia reported an acceleration in its volume metrics for May, sending its share price up 14% on Tuesday.
Yellow Corp. gets to exclusively oversee its liquidation for another 90 days, keeping shareholders’ hopes for recovery alive.
Midwest Express and Sterling Transportation have launched a strategic partnership to better compete on the national stage.
Two rating agencies have cut the debt rating of beleaguered Forward Air.
Forward Air announced it has hired two-time YRC Worldwide chief financial officer Jamie Pierson.
An amended class action complaint from Forward Air’s shareholders has been filed in a Tennessee court.
Well-known transportation equity research analyst Amit Mehrotra is leaving Deutsche Bank, which for now at least is ending equity coverage of transportation companies.
Less-than-truckload carrier Saia has tapped Matthew Batteh, vice president of finance, as its new chief financial officer.
Forward Air’s first quarter missed expectations, sending shares 30% lower in pre-market trading Thursday.
FedEx Freight, the less-than-truckload unit of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), is closing seven service centers in the U.S. as the division continues to make alignments to its freight network.
Less-than-truckload carrier XPO will open the bulk of the terminal portfolio it acquired from defunct Yellow Corp. this year.
Less-than-truckload carrier XPO says robust yield improvement is still on the horizon even after it laps easy post-Yellow repricing comparisons.
Less-than-truckload carrier XPO easily surpassed analyst expectations for the first quarter as significantly higher yields amplified modest tonnage gains.
RXO looked to various metrics to push a message that things are getting better at the 3PL.
ArcBest saw big first-quarter tonnage declines as it continued to swap transactional business for contract freight.
ArcBest missed first-quarter expectations on Tuesday.
TFI CEO Alain Bedard thinks the company’s U.S. LTL operations are booking too much light freight.
Saia and other less-than-truckload stocks sink for a second time in a week as quarterly reports disappoint.
Knight-Swift Transportation said Wednesday it will cut costs and focus the bulk of its investments away from truckload-related offerings in the near-term.
An in-line earnings report and tepid guidance from Old Dominion sent shares of less-than-truckload carriers lower Wednesday.
Forward Air has named Ceva’s Shawn Stewart as its new CEO.
Less-than-truckload carrier Estes plans to add nearly 1,000 doors in 2024 as it brings former Yellow sites online.
The outcome of nearly 25,000 claims by employees that Yellow Corp. gave inadequate notice before mass layoffs may not be resolved this year.
Less-than-truckload carrier XPO said it has opened three of the 28 terminals it acquired from defunct Yellow Corp.