Loaded and Rolling: Morgan Stanley report says carriers, brokers ‘hungry for freight’
A report published Wednesday by Morgan Stanley Research highlights demand expectations and how carriers and brokers are hungry for freight.
Loaded and Rolling: Interview with Variant’s Josh Smith; Bank of America transportation outlook
Josh Smith, vice president at Variant and over-the-road operations at U.S. Xpress, spoke to FreightWaves about the Variant program and how technology and operations are vital to success in trucking.
Loaded and Rolling: Werner CIO on tech partnership; FTR Trucking Conditions improve
On Tuesday, FreightWaves interviewed Werner Chief Information Officer Daragh Mahon about the company’s recent partnership with Samsara, diving into how AI and updated legacy systems are transforming Werner’s 8,500-truck fleet.
Loaded and Rolling: Congress debates age-old question; Class 8 orders’ December finish
A Republican-backed bill introduced by U.S. Rep Brian Mast, R-Fla., seeks to exempt underage truck drivers from rules that prohibit them from hauling containers to and from marine terminals.
Loaded and Rolling: J.B. Hunt and Wabash make a deal; Susquehanna trucking outlook
Wabash and J.B. Hunt Transport have signed a multiyear deal that will supply J.B. Hunt with 15,000 trailers. The size and scope of the pact are significant, as the past two years saw pandemic-related supply chain disruptions throttle up new trailer orders, causing the average age of existing trailers to rise.
Loaded and Rolling: Scope 3 emissions; World Economic Forum vs. empty miles
On Tuesday, FreightWaves interviewed Josh Bouk, president of Trax Technologies, about the recent Securities and Exchange Commission rule-making recommendation back in March 2022 regarding scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 is a part of a larger greenhouse gas emissions overhaul by the SEC, the intent being for companies to disclose their impact on the environment.
Loaded and Rolling: C.H. Robinson CEO out; Daimler Truck CEO’s outlook
Bob Biesterfeld, president and CEO of C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., stepped down Tuesday. FreightWaves’ Mark Solomon wrote that according to a person familiar with the matter, this departure had been planned months in advance and mostly was a matter of timing.
Loaded and Rolling: Inventory levels impact truckload contracted rates
Persistently higher inventory levels are causing a drag on truckload tender volumes as 2023 begins. 2019 and 2018 SONAR data indicates we may approach levels of pre-pandemic seasonality, but higher truckload capacity will continue to negatively impact rates until enough truckload supply leaves the market.
Loaded and Rolling: Party like it’s 2019; ATRI data on crashes
Outbound tender rejection rates, a measure of the percentage of truckload shipments tendered to carriers by shippers, have reached a record at 5.05%. For trucking, this will be a cause of mostly stress instead of celebration.
Loaded and Rolling: Contract rates disappoint, so does BLS trucking job data
Uber Freight recently released a report on contracted rates. Its consensus is that contract rates are indeed falling, but like a game of contracted musical chairs, we still do not know when the music will stop.
Loaded and Rolling: Sooner drones and trucking technicians
Atoke, a town of 3,000 people nestled in the Choctaw reservation in southeast Oklahoma, used to be home to herds of buffalo and bison (there is in fact a difference). Now this reservation, a hidden 11,000-square-mile parcel of land, has become one of the largest drone delivery testing sites in the world, according to FreightWaves’ Jack Daleo.
Loaded and Rolling: Freight-matching battle; Kodiak autonomous tests
One of the most interesting takeaways in the chart above details how traditional freight brokerages that have built and marketed their own apps have taken the lead in downloads over third-party load boards.
Loaded and Rolling: Hurricanes and FEMA freight; power-only grows in importance
urricane season can frequently — and unexpectedly — change the trucking dynamic. Part of this involves the positioning of equipment in anticipation for hauling FEMA freight.
Loaded and Rolling: Container volumes and trucking; FedEx misses financial guidance
Inbound container volumes into the U.S. bode poorly for future trucking volumes. Trucking is the critical node for transporting goods, handling over 70% of freight in the U.S. at a given time.
Loaded and Rolling: ATA truck tonnage data; Podcast on freight journalism
The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.8% in August after a disappointing 1.5% drop in July. The ATA data primarily relates to contracted freight tonnage volumes and is a useful indicator of shipping activity.
Loaded and Rolling: Class 8 equipment outlook; railroads avoid strike
The outlook for trucking companies buying new or used Class 8 trucks can best be described like a 2005 Facebook relationship status — “It’s complicated.”
Loaded and Rolling: Supply chain tech index; truck driver appreciation
FreightWaves, in partnership with MerQube, an index provider, on Tuesday released a supply chain tech index. This index is composed of companies identified by FreightWaves and MerQube as supply chain tech companies and traded on developed market exchanges.
Loaded and Rolling: U.S. Xpress pivots from Variant; Truckload volumes’ post-Labor Day slump
U.S. Xpress is going through a reorganization following a recent round of layoffs. The technology-driven Variant program will be merged into a larger Highway Services group, which will include the legacy over-the-road business and the USX freight brokerage.
Loaded and Rolling: Driver training surges; trucking M&A remains strong
Driver training schools are seeing an influx of those interested in joining the trucking industry.
Loaded and Rolling: Trucking and CPG sales, White House freight data exchange
For many over-the-road drivers, a major source of their meals can come from C-store locations built into truck stops like Love’s, Flying J and Pilot.