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?
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.
Carriers continue to push driver pay higher amid a capacity-constrained market to keep their equipment seated and on the road.
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.
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.
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.
P.A.M. Transportation Services posted a profit in the first quarter of 2021. The bulk of the improvement came on the nonoperating line.
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.
The weather-related closure of three Walmart DCs had an outsized impact on the company.
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?
Driver pay continues to step higher as truck capacity remains very tight and consumer spending 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.
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.
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.
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 ship refrigerated goods, pay close attention to Marten Transportation’s results each quarter. Marten, which reported its fourth quarter last week, is listed seventh on the […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
TruckLabs founder and CEO Daniel Burrows joins Kevin Hill, executive publisher at FreightWaves, to discuss fuel efficiency for trucks and post-COVID changes in the automotive supply chain.
Fuel card provider WEX Inc. continues to see gradual sequential improvement but at a pace below analysts’ expectations. The company’s fourth-quarter result was slightly below expectations and its first-quarter revenue guidance disappoints. Shares are off 4% in early trading.
Cass freight data released Thursday shows a huge surge in freight spending with solid growth in shipments. The report indicated that 2021 is unlikely to produce the “rate relief” to shippers that 2019 provided.
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.
A fire that began inside an engine compartment at Kreilkamp Trucking in Wisconsin caused $1 million in damage after it engulfed a storage facility containing three trucks and bulk commodities.
Titanium Transportation Group becomes one of the largest trucking companies in Canada after acquiring International Truckload Services.
A Wall Street research firm calls the performance “remarkable.”
The trucking and logistics company gained from strong demand and tight supply.
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.
Schneider National posted fourth-quarter results ahead of analysts’ forecasts on Wednesday. The company’s 2021 outlook is largely in-line with the current consensus estimate.
SONAR is the leading freight forecasting platform. Two recently added SONAR indices are proving very useful to SONAR subscribers. Learn more.
Only a week removed from the $800 million purchase of UPS Freight, TFI International is back at it. On Monday, the company announced the acquisition of van and flatbed carrier Fleetway Transport.
Another issue in the earlier trial: Did the driver blow his horn?
An interview with flatbed carrier Daseke outlines the company’s operational focus and plan to get back to growth through acquisitions.
Flatbed truckload company Daseke beats earnings per share estimates in the fourth quarter but revenue and operating ratios slide. 2021 guidance provides a bit of a mixed bag.
In what amounted to an “encore,” the end of the Q&A didn’t mean an end to the discussion on Variant and its role in USX’s future.
Fuller: Variant initiative was 9.4% of truckload revenues in fourth quarter
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.
Truck broker Landstar System set records in the fourth quarter. The company is expecting the high-demand environment and improved truckload pricing to carry through at least the first quarter.
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.
Operating ratios for all its segments improved in the final three months of the year.
Wall Street reacts negatively to the latest earnings report, but Covenant suggests it’s playing a long game.
An economic outlook report from truckload carrier U.S. Xpress calls for tight truckload dynamics to remain in place at least through the third quarter. The forecast calls for contractual rates to increase as high as 15% in the year.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services’ fourth quarter came in better than expected. However, the company said it was reviewing long-term margin targets across all segments. Intermodal margin forecasts may be reduced but other units could see upward revisions.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services’ fourth quarter outpaces analysts’ forecasts. Brokerage, truck and final-mile divisions benefit from revenue surge.
Fourth-quarter results for Heartland Express displayed a revenue dip on driver employment headwinds but operating income jumped 35%. The company mentions getting back into M&A.
U.S. Xpress announced Monday that Jake Lawson has joined as chief commercial officer and Justin Harness will head the dedicated division.
Interview with Daseke’s leadership team covers recent changes and the return to M&A.
Temperature-controlled carrier Nagle Toledo announced a 17% pay increase for its drivers. The company was one of the first to start paying drivers a straight salary.
UBS equity research analyst Tom Wadewitz’s 2021 outlook calls for a continuation of healthy freight activity during the first half of the year with a little more uncertainty in the back half.
While the pace of growth in the supply chain cooled during December, transportation and warehouse capacity remains tight and prices are high.
Flatbed carrier Daseke announced several moves Tuesday. The company’s CEO has resigned, former founder Don Daseke will be renominated to the board and institutional shareholder Lyons Capital will occupy a board seat.
Former executives at Forward Air along with an activist investor have been acquiring shares since October in efforts to make changes to the management team, board and capital allocation strategy, which may include divesting “non-core assets.”
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.
Innovation chief McLelland says the questions for the industry go from the very big to the very small, and not all can be anticipated yet.
A couple more truckload carriers have announced pay increases for drivers ahead of the new year. Beacon Transport and Bay and Bay Transportation are the latest.
The FMCSA’s final rule allowing third-party instructors to provide both instruction and qualifying testing for the same applicant isn’t likely to materially alter trucking’s capacity shortfall, according to analysts.
Indianapolis-based third-party logistics provider FitzMark announces the completion of a majority recapitalization. The transaction allows the brokerage consolidator to further pursue organic growth plans and acquisitions.
Roehl Transport joins the list of truckload carriers increasing driver pay to keep trucks rolling during a high-demand environment.
Sell-side research analysts have made their bets on trucking in 2021. Some believe a continuation in consumer spending and inventory restocking will benefit truckload carriers while others see less-than-truckload carriers gaining traction as the industrial economy advances.
The Cass Freight Index sees sequential weakness in shipments but logs year-over-year improvement with expenditures data advancing.
Schneider National announces a per-mile pay increase of 4 cents for most drivers beginning in late January. Earlier this year, the company announced an increase in team driver pay.
Truckload carrier Titan Transfer adds another fleet to the portfolio with the acquisition of JTL Carriers.
Average rate for team drivers up by 9 cents per mile, company says
U.S. Xpress brings on the team at MIT to study greater efficiency. A member of that team discusses the program’s activities in this podcast.
TFI International carrier Transport America has been shifting its fleet to offer more dedicated services in the hopes of attracting and retaining truckers.
A November supply chain survey shows the rates at which transportation capacity is shrinking and pricing is climbing are increasing.
Temperature-controlled carrier KLLM Transport Services is rolling out “one of the largest” increases to driver pay in the company’s more than 55-year history.
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.
Cash payout to class members small; but debt forgiveness more than $1,300 per driver
J.B. Hunt Transport Services announces several changes to the executive roster on Tuesday, including the appointment of John Kuhlow as the company’s permanent chief financial officer.
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.
