Topic: Motor Freight

While LTL executives are bullish on the new administration’s “America First” emphasis, shippers should expect rate increases in the 3% range amid a “rational” pricing landscape.

The average price per gallon at $2.577 rose 0.7 cents, following gains of 0.7 cents and 0.5 cents, respectively, the previous two weeks.

FTR said that it is likely that the current market environment for shippers will lead to what it said would be rate and supply trouble this year, due to a steady increase in capacity utilization, which it expects to occur through 2017 and come to a head in early 2018.

United States trade with its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico rose 0.4 percent annually to $87.1 billion, according to data issued by the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), which was released this week.

Seasonally-adjusted (SA) for-hire truck tonnage in January at 138.8 (2000=100) was up 2.9 percent compared to December and up 2.6 percent annually. The annual gain was ahead of a 0.2 percent annual December decline, and the January SA was down 8.9 percent compared to February 2016’s all-time high of 142.7.

Fourth quarter revenue headed up ten percent annually to $3.68 billion. And net income came in at $27.3 million, or $0.22 per share, which was well ahead of a net loss of $62.8 million, or a loss of $0.58 per share, for the same period a year ago.

For January, the most recent month for which data is available, shipments were up 3.2 percent annually at 1.005 and down 6.4 percent compared to December. This follows a 3.5 percent annual gain in December, a 0.3 November decline, and a 2.7 percent gain in October, which marked the first time it headed up in the previous 20 months.

Polar opposite lobbying efforts of two major factions of the trucking industry again are on a collision course over proposed use of twin 33-foot trailers nationwide – again.

DAT North American Freight Index fell 2.5 percent in January, following an 8 percent December increase, snapping a six-month stretch of gains. But even though the post-holiday drop-off remained in effect, January truckload spot market activity was up 56 percent annually.

Driving this alliance is what the companies described as a first of its kind concept that, at its core, will address trucking rate volatility by listing and trading contracts that are based on trucking line haul rates, with the contracts that are financially settled through DAT’s major U.S. freight lane data.

With a 0.7-cent increase, the average price per gallon checked in at $2.565 per gallon. The average price of diesel dropped a cumulative 3.9 cents over the previous four weeks.

For December, the most recent month for which data is available, the TCI was 2.9, which is down from November’s 4.38 and October’s 4.58. FTR said this decline correlates to soft conditions that impacted the sector over the second half of 2016.

YRC Freight and YRC Regional, collectively the second- and seventh-largest less-than-truckload carriers in the nation, have made field operational organizational changes for better efficiency and safety oversight, effective Feb. 1.

The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported this week that the average price per gallon of diesel gasoline dropped for the fourth straight week, with a 0.4 cent decline to $2.558 per gallon.

YRC Freight and YRC Regional, collectively the second- and seventh-largest less-than-truckload carriers in the nation, have made field operational organizational changes for better efficiency and safety oversight, effective Feb. 1.

Roadrunner Transportation Services (RRTS), an asset-light conglomerate of logistics companies that collectively ranks as the 14th-largest less-than-truckload carrier in the nation with previously stated revenue in excess of $500 million, is caught in the middle of an accounting fiasco.

Quarterly revenue was up 5.5 percent at $16.9 billion, while earnings per share at $1.63 came in below Wall Street expectations of $1.69 and full-year earnings per share was $3.87, with full-year revenue up 4.2 percent to $60.9 billion and setting a new company record.

The firm’s “Global Transportation and Logistics M&A Deals Insights Q3 2016” report” stated that total second half 2016 deal value of $53.3 billion was off by 22 percent compared to the first half of 2016, with total deal activity for all of 2016 down 6 percent annually at $122 billion.

Seasonally-adjusted (SA) for-hire truck tonnage for the month at 133.8 (2000=100) was off 6.2 percent compared to November’s 142.7, which was up a revised 8.4 percent (from an original reading of 8.2 percent) over October. The December SA was well below the February’s all-time high of 144.

The companies said this collaboration will provide McLeod PowerBroker (its integrated freight brokerage operations management system and a complete accounting software solution) users with access to project44’s less-than-truckload (LTL) API-based offerings.