Stay Up to Date on the Truckload Industry
Truckload shipping refers to the movement of freight in the amounts necessary to fill an entire semi-truck or intermodal container. This is in contrast to less than truckload (LTL) shipping, where freight from multiple sources is mixed and transported in one truck or shipping container.
Trucking industry regulations change often and are overseen by three different bodies: the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA). Any of these three agencies may create new rules and regulations for general freight trucking throughout the year. In addition, states can also issue their own general freight trucking regulations.
View our truckload freight indexes or learn more about the future of truckload freight.
The Cass Freight Index returns positive trends for shipments in October. The expectation is strong volumes will continue with the outlook for higher expenditures on the horizon.
Knight-Swift announces Adam Miller will lead Swift Transportation in addition to his role of CFO at the parent company.
Landstar System inches its fourth-quarter expectations higher but cautions that this trucking cycle may not be different from those in the past.
Trucks will haul goods to and from LA air gateway and service centers.
Between drug clearinghouse and shut CDL schools, Fuller sees far fewer eligible drivers in the market
Tender volumes climb to another all-time high on Monday.
Management from Schneider National expects tightness in the trucking markets to continue. Inventory restocking will keep truck demand elevated and new capacity is entering the market at a slower pace than in previous cycles.
Flatbed carriers Hornady Transportation and Builder’s Transportation Co. announce the completion of their merger. The deal is part of parent company Daseke’s operational overhaul.
This Carrier Outlook Report — presented in partnership with SkyBitz, DDC FPO, and Transflo — is the fourth installment of a quarterly publication. This report provides a look back at 2020 and a forecast for the remainder of the year. Carrier survey results and SONAR data are included.
Freight forwarder guides customers through online shopping shift and transport capacity choke points.
Management from J.B. Hunt sees the current inventory replenishment cycle sustaining a high freight demand environment through the first quarter of 2021.
Garner Transportation Group president and CEO is the second woman to chair the American Trucking Associations.
Tender volumes climb to another all-time high.
One of the toughest obstacles for a new trucking company can be finding affordable insurance. Robert Haley, VP of Transportation for USI Insurance Services, and Pierre Laguerre, founder and CEO of Fleeting, discuss tips on risk mitigation for new carriers at FreightWaves LIVE @HOME.
While some truckload carriers posted significantly better-than-expected results, most saw their shares sag as the bullish trucking trade cooled heading into the third-quarter earnings season.
Business “rebounded dramatically” in the quarter, Jacobs says.
No more need to build information technology from the ground up when available cloud-based solutions can cheaply and efficiently modernize a trucker’s operation, experts tell the FreightWaves LIVE @HOME audience.
ArcBest CEO Judy McReynolds talks about the company’s customer service model and how it has helped them thrive throughout the pandemic at FreightWaves LIVE @HOME on Thursday.
Heartland Express raises driver pay 6% across the board and as high as 12% for some.
Shipwell CEO Greg Price explains during FreightTech Venture Summit the importance of winning over venture capitalists at the onset of presenting your idea.
Start small and simple, VC experts say.
Volatility compresses as peak season begins
Flatbed carrier Daseke Inc. cruises past third-quarter forecasts. Operations are likely to improve again in 2021 but high-margin third-quarter project freight could create some tough comparisons.
DispatchTrack optimizes routes and delivery schedules for its clients, which enhances their customer delivery experience.
USA Truck’s third-quarter performance was something management had been foreshadowing for the last few quarters. They were adamant that earnings would improve if the market would cooperate.
Flatbed carrier Daseke Inc. posted a third-quarter result that highlighted the company’s restructuring efforts and easily surpassed analysts’ expectations.
The strength in truckload fundamentals didn’t really show in Schneider National’s third-quarter report. Lower revenue per truck, intermodal rail congestion and brokerage malaise overshadowed the announcement of a $2 special dividend.
Schneider National announces a $2 special dividend answering the mounting questions around the carrier’s future cash deployment. After the $355 million payment, the company still has ample cash to pursue other initiatives.
Werner Enterprises sees the current tightness in the truck market continuing into 2021 as inventory restocking will take multiple quarters to accomplish and drivers are in short supply.
Werner Enterprises’ third-quarter result comes in ahead of analysts’ forecasts.
Revenue and earnings beat estimates; improved OR might not stick but there are broader goals at the company
Biden victory may seriously jump-start transport-funding negotiations, group says.
Company had forecast an OR in the low 90s and got there; tractors reduced but Parker says it’s part of the plan
Tenders and rejections remain elevated as peak season begins.
OR improved for the company; on analyst call, Fuller says there will be bumps in the road on the way to a new operating model.
Q3 performance contrasts with loss in corresponding quarter last year
Management from truck broker Landstar sees no near-term letup in tight truck market fundamentals. The company’s fourth-quarter guidance brackets its EPS record set in the fourth quarter of 2018.
In assessing customer service in transportation, data is necessary but not sufficient.
Truck broker Landstar System handily beats its guidance, which was raised in early September. The company posted its second-best third quarter ever.
Knight-Swift Transportation’s third-quarter report provides an earnings beat, a 2020 guidance raise and a better-than-consensus first take at 2021 earnings as the carrier sees “strong freight conditions” continuing.
Demand is reducing inventories while sales remain strong, leaving no cushion before sales ramp up as they do in November and December.
Knight-Swift Transportation raises its 2020 outlook and provides 2021 guidance that is well ahead of recently raised expectations.
OMERS Private Equity is considering selling Kenan Advantage Group, the tank truck carrier and logistics provider, according to a report in Bloomberg.
P.A.M. Transportation Services sees a “marked improvement” as its auto manufacturing customer base gets back to work. The carrier expects “upward rate pressure” as truck capacity tightens.
Fleetpal is built on VMRS, the universal coding system, allowing it to track and segment equipment failure and operating costs efficiently.
Werner, STG Logistics and ZIM add board members; Port of Oakland, Avetta and Raymond James make appointments.
Markets consolidate as peak season nears.
The Cass Freight Index booked 7% sequential gains in shipments and expenditures during September.
Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services move 9% lower after the company fails to meet recently raised analyst expectations. Intermodal service headwinds and elevated costs were the culprits.
Bottom line on operating and net income largely unchanged; revenues up but costs were too
Landstar System announces the opening of a new driver center for its independent owner-operators in Carnesville, Georgia. The 8,000-square-foot facility provides classrooms, a business center, laundry, showers and break rooms.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services misses 3Q estimates by 9 cents per share. Revenue and operating income climb 5% but a variety of cost inflation and a tough truck brokerage market weigh on the quarter.
Income per share beat consensus but total and truckload revenue disappoints; stock falls in after-market trading
Total revenue at the company, the first carrier to report third-quarter earnings, was up more than 20%
FlockFreight pools together LTL freight and ships it via shared truckloads in full truckload containers instead.
Sikh driver community is very active, sending in big number of comments on FMCSA’s fact-finding mission
Data and commentary point to an earnings blowout for trucking companies in the third quarter with the likelihood of similar results in the fourth quarter. However, headwinds surrounding driver recruitment and retention present a hurdle to the rally.
Denny Slagle retired as Volvo Group executive vice president and Mack Trucks president in 2018.
Capacity remains very tight.
Soaring demand and a lack of truck capacity have industry participants calling for double-digit rate increases in 2021. UBS transportation equities analyst Tom Wadewitz outlines his bullish call in a note to clients.
The Smart Load Board is a free freight marketplace built into KeepTruckin’s platform that provides intuitive freight matching and strong data privacy.
Carriers, logistics businesses and technology providers make the cut in 2020.
Cargomatic set off a prodigious chain of events after its launch in Los Angeles.
TFI International’s acquisition spree continues. The Canadian transportation and logistics company adds another bulk carrier to its portfolio with the purchase of Grammer Dry Bulk.
Canadian trucking and logistics company Mullen Group announces the acquisition of customs warehouse operator International Warehousing and Distribution Inc.
Flatbed carrier Daseke says it moved to stop a cyberattack as ransomware group claims to have breached subsidiary E.W. Wylie.
Their inability to guarantee coverage is the primary reason why small carriers have been confined to the spot market, and as a result, they’ve earned rates that are often less than half of the rates paid to larger carriers.
FreightWaves Chief Strategy Officer JT Engstrom chats surface transportation outlook with Ryder’s head of transportation management at The Future of Logistics Real Estate summit.
Research by digital brokerage shows carriers that got funds consistently bid lower for loads in April
Calls for the top of the trucking market may be premature.
U.S. Xpress’ industry forecast calls for the truckload market to experience high driver turnover, declining capacity and “overwhelming” volumes through 2021.
Demand for drivers described as ‘insatiable’ as Schneider appears to be leading the way in hiking compensation
Truckload giant appears to be out ahead of others as driver market tightens
Cowen raises price projection for the truckload carrier after its announced third-quarter forecast
Covenant also announces it reached agreement with Triumph over sale of TFS factoring unit
Truckload carrier also sees strong third quarter
Cass data for the month of August shows significant acceleration in demand and rates but the comparisons to 2019 still lag other data sources.
Werner’s Leathers said some customers struggling to get product in time for peak.
With many data points sitting at cycle highs, several industry participants are calling for the trucking market’s bull rally to last well into 2021.
Have tender rejections peaked?
FreightWaves CEO and Director of Freight
Convoy has rolled out a program aimed at helping shippers secure freight capacity along lanes without the need for an RFP or long-term contract.
Walmart pushes suppliers, carriers to get their inbound delivery act together.
Radiant Logistics reports new revenue and earnings records in a fiscal fourth-quarter update. The company has delayed its annual filing and conference call with analysts, citing delays associated with the pandemic.
Katharina Rath will be tasked with driving German logistics giant’s “global transformation process.”
Bullish backdrop for trucking remains.
Suppliers face noncompliance fines of 3% of cost of goods.
More than 20 years of investment and dedication to the U.S. wind energy industry pays off for Anderson Trucking Service even during the worst of times.
Landstar System raises earnings outlook on higher truck volumes and pricing improvements. New third-quarter expectations are 25% higher than the midpoint of the previous guidance range.
Tightening truckload and intermodal markets have carriers expecting the hot freight market to carry forward. One carrier is calling for large rate increases in 2021.
ArcBest’s results for the first two months of the third quarter confirm recent positive updates provided by other less-than-truckload carriers.
Canadian trucking and logistics firm TFI International buys U.S. bulk carrier CCC Transportation, its third acquisition from bankrupt Comcar Industries.
Deutsche Bank’s Amit Mehrotra becomes increasingly bullish on the future of trucking. The analyst is forecasting earnings growth at the publicly traded carriers much higher than that of his peers.
The trucking market continues to firm.
Whether you’re an employer looking to fill freight-related positions or a job-seeker, Freight.Careers.com is the go-to website.
Mullen Group shores up its cross-border less-than-truckload business as it acquires the outstanding shares of British Columbia carrier Pacific Coast Express Limited.
Strong spot market fundamentals and low inventories prompt UBS analyst Tom Wadewitz to raise truckload carriers’ earnings estimates for the second half of 2020.
The strength in the trucking market marches on.
Schneider has announced it will test Daimler Trucks’ eCascadia electric truck while Navistar and Volvo Trucks ink deals to expand charging opportunities.
Now is a good time for carriers that boosted their balance sheets with PPP loans to leverage that by investing in technology.
