Saia Inc

Less-than-truckload carrier Saia announced Tuesday it was hiring more than 500 drivers and 300 dockworkers.

Truck Talk is a weekly newsletter from FreightWaves that adds context and perspective to happenings in the trucking industry.

Less-than-truckload carrier Saia reported a small decline in volumes during February, reversing the more than 5% increase recorded in January. Excluding inclement weather, the carrier said trends remain consistent with January.

Another supporter of improving less-than-truckload fundamentals was identified this week. UBS analyst Tom Wadewitz initiated coverage of the group with a favorable outlook.

Old Dominion Freight Line reports further improvement in less-than-truckload trends since the positive August inflection. This is the second carrier in as many days to show that metrics have accelerated through the fourth quarter.

Less-than-truckload carrier Saia is the first company to provide an update on shipment trends for the fourth quarter, leaving at least one analyst “encouraged.”

The less-than-truckload industry continues to expand its footprint. Saia Inc. has added terminal capacity again, this time transitioning into a new 200-door terminal in Memphis, Tennessee.

YRC Worldwide reported trends worse than its competitors for the first two months of the third quarter. Recent postings show the carrier is moving forward on its turnaround by rationalizing its terminal network.

ArcBest’s results for the first two months of the third quarter confirm recent positive updates provided by other less-than-truckload carriers.

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 “less bad” trend may be over for less-than-truckload carriers. August updates from a couple of carriers show modest year-over-year improvement for the first time since April’s nadir.

Saia Inc. has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion and has 169 trucking terminals in 44 states.

YRC’s $700 million loan from the Treasury Department raises concerns from industry experts about the survival of the company and whether the deal is worth it.

Deutsche Bank analyst Amit Mehrotra favors a few transportation stocks as the second quarter comes to a close.

YRC Worldwide’s midquarter report was worse than that of its peers and adds to industry speculation that some shippers could be avoiding the carrier.

ArcBest joins other less-than-truckload carriers seeing a May rebound from April lows. A 10% stock bump from a rating upgrade holds into the second trading session.

Less-than-truckload demand appears to have bounced off of an April bottom according to reports from carriers.

While less-than-truckload volumes may not have rebounded sequentially from April, one sell-side analyst sees acceleration in recent weeks as bullish for the industry.

Stifel’s David Ross announces that he is suspending his rating and estimates on YRC Worldwide and questions the company’s ability to survive.

Saia’s first quarter performance placed its recent terminal expansion campaign on full display. Unfortunately, COVID-19 headwinds will mask near-term results.