TL pricing

Several data points provided by ACT Research on Wednesday showed the trucking market may be shaking off the downcycle.

Knight-Swift Transportation called out several headwinds facing its businesses as reasons to meaningfully lower its 2023 earnings guidance.

Trucking executives are hopeful the first half of 2023 brings a cycle recovery.

Broker Landstar System missed second-quarter expectations but noted pricing metrics are holding firm.

Knight-Swift Transportation rode higher revenues and better margins in all of its divisions to a beat-and-raise second quarter.

Transportation capacity grew for the first time since May 2020, according to a monthly supply chain survey.

Schneider beat estimates and raised full-year expectations Thursday. Management has been “encouraged” by contractual rate renewals so far this year.

Werner Enterprises beat fourth-quarter expectations and announced plans to grow revenue by 10% on average over the next five years.

Schneider provided a better-than-expected earnings outlook for 2022 on Thursday. The company also raised margin targets in two key segments.

J.B. Hunt’s fourth quarter comes in ahead of consensus as the intermodal, brokerage and truckload divisions see notable year-over-year improvements.

AskWaves takes a look at which rate-per-mile metrics to use out of the information public carriers disclose quarterly.

Landstar reports record third-quarter results and calls for a similar performance in the fourth and potentially beyond.

Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker believes rate expectations of truckload management teams haven’t been reflected in 2022 earnings estimates yet.

More trucking heads weigh in on rate expectations for 2022. Following a sizable rate bump this year, it appears that rates could move considerably higher again next year.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Werner Enterprises modestly lowered earnings expectations for the first quarter of 2021 due to downtime caused by recent winter storms. The company expects no change to the tight capacity dynamic for some time.

Schneider National plans to use its strong cash generation capabilities to reinvest in the fleet during 2021. The carrier will also look to allocate growth capital to its dedicated and intermodal offerings.

An interview with flatbed carrier Daseke outlines the company’s operational focus and plan to get back to growth through acquisitions.

Truck broker Landstar System expects high demand and elevated truckload rates to carry through the first quarter of the year. However, the company’s CEO has a bit of a contrarian “pessimistic” view for the second half.

Knight-Swift Transportation reports a big jump in results during the fourth quarter. However, while some may view this as a victory lap, investors appear to be calling the end to the TL trade.

Knight-Swift Transportation capitalizes on strong truckload fundamentals to post much higher year-over-year results. Fourth-quarter numbers came in slightly ahead of expectations and the company’s full-year 2021 guidance remains unchanged.

The trucking sector has been on a historic run of late, with some pointing to an end nearing. Don’t tell that to Deutsche Bank’s Amit Mehrotra, who sat down with FreightWaves to discuss his positive outlook for the new year.

The Cass Freight Index sees sequential weakness in shipments but logs year-over-year improvement with expenditures data advancing.

Recent data points as well as updates from retailers suggest this inventory restocking cycle may take a few quarters to fix, meaning the current supply-demand dynamic in trucking could linger.

Trucking executives were on hand at Stephens Annual Investment Conference this week, making it known that this cycle is different and that the current market dynamics are here for a while.

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.

Landstar System inches its fourth-quarter expectations higher but cautions that this trucking cycle may not be different from those in the past.

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.

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.

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.

USA Truck was able to use a favorable demand backdrop and very tight truck capacity to break a string of four consecutive quarterly losses.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Improving demand and truckload fundamentals are expected to drive third-quarter growth. The carrier’s growing cash balance garners some attention.

Werner Enterprises’ second-quarter result was much better than expected, with the carrier providing a favorable rate outlook.

Werner Enterprises reports second-quarter earnings well ahead of analysts’ forecasts and largely in line with the year-ago quarter.

Management from USA Truck provides upbeat commentary regarding the potential for significantly improved earnings as truckload fundamentals remain firm.

USA Truck’s second-quarter result comes in slightly ahead of expectations, but the carrier extends its losses to four consecutive quarters.

Knight-Swift sees demand improve throughout the second quarter, producing a big earnings beat. The carrier raises its 2020 earnings outlook to a level higher than its original expectation.

Worse-than-expected data from Cass shows year-over-year declines grew in shipments and expenditures. Intermodal pricing falls out of bed.

Virus-related demand headwinds bring fresh declines in February Cass data. Visibility into a potential trucking recovery is further clouded.

The biggest truckload carrier in the U.S. Knight-Swift cuts its fourth quarter 2019 earnings outlook again. The company plans to “revise” its first quarter 2020 guidance in January.

Two of the nation’s largest truckload carriers said they are seeing green shoots in freight demand.

Knight-Swift reported results within its recently lowered guidance range and doubled down on its estimation that the TL capacity correction is underway.

Another shoe drops as the heart of truckload earnings season commences with Knight-Swift saying that it won’t meet analyst expectations.

P.A.M. Transportation Services reported “best second quarter operating income on record”, but signaled future margins may be challenged.