Truckload Freight

Knight-Swift’s acquisition highlights the LTL industry’s sweet spot in the e-commerce supply chain, says a noted consultant.

Also on the podcast: A key agency reviews the outlook for the tight oil market.

Truckload’s operating ratio was better but OR deteriorated for dedicated.

P.A.M. Transportation benefited from a tight truckload market in the second quarter to post record revenue and operating income.

High barriers are a deterrent to starting a less-than-truckload operation. Knight-Swift’s recent acquisition sheds some light on the value in owning assets in the space.

Bulk carrier Trimac Transportation has acquired Southern California cement carrier Double Eagle Transportation.

Freight expenditures surged at the fastest rate on record during June, according to data provided by Cass Information Systems.

Leased owner-operators and company drivers could be looking to strike gold on their own in a strong trucking market, Vise says.

The acquisition modestly bumps Geodis’ brokerage revenue.

Transportation and logistics provider Werner Enterprises announced it has acquired an 80% equity stake in ECM Transport Group for $142.4 million. Werner has the option to purchase the remaining 20% of the 500-truck fleet after five years.

Signs of hope are seen in driver recruitment, according to Tenstreet, as “historic” pay increases continue.

Hirschbach Motor Lines announced that it has acquired Lessors Inc. The deal marks the second combination of two temperature-controlled carriers in the last week.

Heyl Truck Lines announced the acquisition of Holiday Express. The deal combines two Iowa-based temperature-controlled haulers.

The Cass Freight Index surged again in May with continued strength recorded in freight shipments and spend. While the year-over-year comparisons become more formidable in the coming months, the current supply-demand fundamentals are expected to remain in play for some time.

Fleet intelligence provider Omnitracs announced the latest release of its SmartSense technology Thursday. SmartSense for Inattentive Driving+ aims to reduce accidents by identifying distracted driving.

Truckload carrier Western Express will install Platform Science’s full suite of technologies, including the Remote Platform Management system, across its fleet of 3,000 trucks.

At a UBS conference, two execs from the truckload carrier reviewed the market for drivers in the midst of the freight boom.

Matt Silver, VP of partnerships and strategic alliances at Trucker Tools, and Larry Cothran, owner-operator of Cothran Logistics, chat about becoming an owner-operator at FreightWaves’ Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit.

Asset-light trucking and logistics provider Forward Air’s new pay plan incentivizes operators to haul into the country’s more challenging markets.

Carriers are hoping to attract drivers with more pay and improved benefits.

The 20-year battle over broker post-accident liability may be resolved once and for all.

Transport deregulation’s long game has left much of the asset-based carrier field with few players. Will the cycle turn to usher in a cast of competitive newbies?

There was a fair amount of “feel-good” talk regarding inventory build during the fiscal first-quarter retail earnings season. But for several chains, the year-over-year comparisons were easy. Further, sales have continued at an elevated clip, suggesting the massive merchandise restocking is far from over.

Truck broker Landstar System raises its second-quarter guidance as shipments and pricing outpace its initial outlook.

Growth rates throughout the supply chain cooled in May from recent record highs. However, the latest reading on transportation capacity stepped lower again.

Knight-Swift announced Tuesday the acquisition of third-party logistics provider UTXL in a $22.5 million transaction.

The company’s chief retention officer said a far wider range of steps explains the company’s recent success on several fronts.

Bizarre actions behind the wheel during 2020 should raise alarm bells for truckers and fleets, survey’s author says.

Thefts incidents nationwide spiked 35% in 2020, CargoNet said.

Adam Miller, CFO of Knight-Swift Transportation and president of Swift Transportation, joins George Abernathy, president of FreightWaves, during Day 2 of FreightWaves LIVE @HOME to talk capacity, drivers, rates and more.

Commentary from trucking executives at an investor conference suggests the capacity crunch may last well into next year.

People are eager for face-to-face gatherings. But health and safety issues will still call the shots.

J.B. Hunt’s 360 digital freight-matching platform will play a core role in helping the company and its customers thrive in a historically challenging environment, Simpson says.

Freight shipments continue to break records with little signs of slowing. The year-over-year comparisons get tougher in the back half of 2021 but the current supply-demand dynamics may not change all that much.

Carriers continue to push driver pay higher amid a capacity-constrained market to keep their equipment seated and on the road.

Cass freight data released Wednesday shows shipments and expenditures surged again in April.

Werner Enterprises announced Tuesday the board approval of a planned transition that moves its founder, CL Werner, to chairman emeritus, with CEO Derek Leathers becoming chairman.

ORBCOMM, a provider of electronic logging devices and IoT technologies, announced carrier Marten Transport is retrofitting its fleet with ORBCOMM’s dual-mode asset-tracking devices.

EKA Solutions has added capabilities to its Omni-TMS, helping 3PLs and carriers to more quickly take advantage of the SaaS platform.

Flatbed truckload provider Daseke reported first-quarter adjusted earnings better than expected. However, with a more than 5x run-up in share price over the past year, a decent quarterly report without a guidance raise sent the stock lower on Friday.

Hwy Haul has secured a $10 million Series A round of funding to help it rapidly deploy its technology within the fresh produce supply chain.

An April survey of supply chain executives showed “continued downward pressure on transportation capacity” with prices surging to a 2.5-year high.

Truckload shippers are accepting double-digit rate hikes in 2021 and further increases in 2022, Deutsche Bank’s lead transport analyst says.

Company boosts its full-year EBITDA range, and discloses 11-year, $1.8 billion logistics contract with unidentified customer.

Forward Air provided some clarity on longer-term margin expectations during a Friday conference call with analysts. The company beat first-quarter expectations and its new guidance came in much better than expected.

Forward Air reported first-quarter earnings results and issued second-quarter guidance that were both ahead of expectations.

The truckload carrier’s OR went from in excess of 100% to 95.8%.

Schneider National sees several favorable catalysts through the remainder of 2021 that are supportive of its guidance raise. Finding equipment and drivers will be the challenge.

Schneider National’s first quarter comes in ahead of analysts’ expectations and the company raises its full-year outlook by 8% at the midpoint of the range.

Werner Enterprises reported a first-quarter record for operating income Wednesday after the close. Revenue-per-mile guidance in its one-way segment moved higher.

The CEO of Covenant, while reviewing a strong quarter for the truckload carrier, gives his perspective on the labor market the company faces.

First-quarter earnings reports from truckload carriers highlight a booming freight market. A strong consumer, tight truck capacity and elevated rates appear the likely dynamics for the remainder of the year.

Covenant’s overall OR improved by 620 bps from the first quarter of 2020, a significant gain.

Roehl Transport announced its second driver pay increase of the year.

Variant is a company within a company that is being touted as the future of U.S. Xpress.

The company’s revenue rose but operating margins are higher; Variant targets are being met and revenue is 11.8% of total truckload.

SmartHop has tapped Amy Liu, formerly of Uber Elevate, as chief of staff and to help build out its New York office. The company also announced the opening of an office in Bogota, Colombia.

P.A.M. Transportation Services posted a profit in the first quarter of 2021. The bulk of the improvement came on the nonoperating line.

Broker Landstar System blew out analysts’ expectations for the first quarter. The company’s earnings almost doubled from the year-ago quarter, which wasn’t materially impacted by COVID. Landstar’s new guidance calls for more of the same.

GP Transco is the latest carrier to raise driver pay. Base pay alone for company drivers moves 15% higher.

Heartland Express reported a slight miss on first-quarter earnings expectations Wednesday. The carrier pointed to relative strength in March as it exited the quarter, noting that driver pay will need to be raised again.

Knight-Swift Transportation posted a large headline earnings beat in the first quarter but it was less impressive by comparison when excluding nonoperating income. The company now sees over-the-road contract rates increasing in the mid-teen percentage range during 2021.

Cass data published Friday highlights new records as volumes reaccelerate and rates soar.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services updated its long-term division margin targets on its first-quarter call Thursday.

The weather-related closure of three Walmart DCs had an outsized impact on the company.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services announced first-quarter results well ahead of analysts’ expectations.

This dip is likely to be temporary.

The market takes a breather this week with tenders down 7% week-over-week.

Bunn in put in charge of day-to-day operations; Hogan has a diversified portfolio of duties.

The latest increase raises the question: Are we nearing the end of the cycle of increases or just kicking off yet another one?

Tender rejections slip but still elevated.

The announced increases this month are a small sliver of the pay rises that companies are needing to hand down to stay competitive.

Investors plow more money into Plus, which expects to commercialize Level 4 self-driving technology in China this summer.

Driver pay continues to step higher as truck capacity remains very tight and consumer spending high.

Tender rejections return to all-time high.

Forward Air announces its “largest-ever” rate increase to capacity providers.

Refrigerated carriers Leonard’s Express and Holman Transportation join forces in latest truckload acquisition.

The LTL brokerage business is much smaller than that of truckload, but its profitability increased during the quarter.

Tender rejections and spot rates also fall slightly.

Two bullish equity research reports this week on transportation stocks both highlight expectations around consumer spending and what that means for freight demand.

February freight data from Cass shows a deceleration in the growth rates of shipments and expenditures. Recent weather events have only “coiled the spring” for a continuation of high demand and rising rates.

After raising pay earlier in the year, Cargo Transporters has implemented a flexible pay package, allowing company drivers to earn paid time off and bonus payments on a prorated basis.

While the less-than-truckload market is experiencing a boom, it’s not without growing pains, according to Recon Logistics’ pricing and analytics expert Curtis Garrett.

A pair of Canadian trucking companies in the Toronto area, Orbit Freight and Delta Carriers, shut down in close succession before their owner filed for personal bankruptcy.

West Coast carrier Cheema Freightlines announces a pay bump for drivers and plans to expand its fleet in 2021.

Spot rates steady well above $3.00 per mile.

After a fresh round of pay increases at the beginning of the year, some carriers are continuing to raise rates further. Bay & Bay Transportation announced effective immediately it has raised pay for independent contractors by 20 cents per mile.

The remaining assets of bankrupt trucking company Comcar Industries will be liquidated through two trusts, leaving little for unsecured creditors.

Flatbed carrier Daseke announced Wednesday it has reduced debt and refinanced the bulk of its remaining debt. The transaction, which will lower annual interest payments, is the latest in the company’s efforts to improve margins and financial returns.

This article was originally published in The Stockout newsletter on February 3, 2021. To sign up for The Stockout newsletter, click here. We recommend that CPG companies, and others that […]

Booming sales, thin inventories and more stimulus on the way provide the backdrop for potentially setting a new record for retail container imports in 2021. The National Retail Federation raised its outlook again for loaded containers landing at U.S. ports in the first half of the year.

Wells Fargo transportation research analyst Allison Poliniak-Cusic raises expectations for intermodal providers in a new report. Favorable catalysts for the mode are expected to carry into 2022.

This week notched a new all-time high in spot rates.

The size of the Variant fleet reached 900 this week, ahead of schedule. CEO Fuller is touting improvement in OR of 2,000 bps when fully implemented.

J.B. Hunt believes recent winter storms will negatively impact first-quarter operating income by $15 million to $20 million. The company said it had been successful advancing its intermodal service initiatives prior to the storms.

Several of the nation’s largest retailers say inventory positions are improving. However, retail sales continue to outpace efforts to stock up, suggesting trucking demand could stay elevated well into 2021.

Flatbed transportation and logistics provider PS Logistics remains on the acquisition trail, purchasing the assets of Indiana carrier Jason Jones Trucking. The tuck-in deal allows JJT to keep operating under its own name.

Growth in the supply chain came at a faster pace in February, with transportation capacity falling and prices climbing at accelerated rates.

Carrier Averitt Express said it was raising pay for its newly hired regional truckload and flatbed drivers. The company becomes the latest to increase driver pay as the industry struggles to seat tractors.

Former President Richard Kuehn plans to stay on as an adviser for a period of time.