Adrian Chapman

🚛 A major overhaul is coming to LTL freight classification.📦 With the recently announced effective date of July 19, 2025, the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. will shift a significant number of NMFC codes to a streamlined, density-based model for LTL classification, aimed at simplifying the process and reducing disputes between shippers and carriers. 🔹 What's Changing? The new NMFC model prioritizes density, grouping similar items to make classifications clearer and more consistent. This change is expected to eliminate ambiguity and improve rate predictability for most commodities. 🔹 What Does This Mean for Your Business? Now's the time to ask: Are your current pricing agreements ready for these changes? With a focus on density, many shipments could see a shift in classification. This could lead to potential cost increases or savings, but only if shippers are proactive. Have you reviewed if your commodity codes are in scope for the change to anticipate adjustments? The last thing you want is unexpected pricing changes impacting your margins. 🔹 and for the Carrier Community? Here’s where I think this gets the most interesting. More than 2,000 current NMFC codes are in scope to be moved to density-based classification. Do the carriers have the bandwidth to go to each of these shippers and re-underwrite their shipment profiles? How many even have the capacity to identify their shippers by commodity? Hopefully most, but I am certain it’s not 100%. In the event they do, will they address those where the carrier has “won” and the rate has gone up? Or only correct where it’s gone down? I firmly believe the carriers want a fair rate for a fair service. How we get there in this new environment is what is still left to be seen. Ultimately, this is a productive step forward—just one that leaves many kinks to be worked out. We're closely monitoring these changes as they develop because there's still a lot in flux. Kudos to the NMFTA for starting early conversations to help the industry adjust. If you're wondering how these changes could impact your operations—or if your current rates are at risk—our team is here to guide you through it. #LTL #supplychain #news

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🗣️ Important Update for the Trucking Industry: NMFTA Listening Sessions! The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) is gearing up for significant changes to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) code set to take effect in 2025. To ensure these updates meet industry needs, NMFTA is holding listening sessions to gather feedback from professionals across the field. Don’t miss this opportunity to make your voice heard in shaping the future of freight! Learn more about the upcoming changes and how you can participate! #TruckingIndustry #NMFTA #FreightNews #LogisticsUpdate #IndustryFeedback #ProfessionalInsights

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LTL shippers: I highly encourage you to watch the NMFTA’s Shippers Only Listening Session on NMFC changes coming in 2025. It is linked in the comments below.   Big changes are indeed coming to LTL classification.   This listening session will help you prepare. Specifically, a very large and set of proposed changes will be issued on 01/30/25. These changes will be considered and voted upon at a public meeting on 03/03/25. Approved changes will then be implemented on 05/03/25. The proposed changes provide for classifying commodities by a 13-sub class-by-density scale when density is the primary transportation characteristic. These changes will include: 🔴 132 existing 11-sub items with CL60-CL400 ratings such as Plastic Articles, Athletic Goods, and Furniture will be extended to 13 subs. The two new subs will provide CL55 and CL50 ratings which allow shippers with very-dense handing units to get a lower class than the current CL60 minimum. 🔴 3,814 single-class items such as Poker Chips CL70, Brake Drums CL60, and Greenhouses CL200 will be cancelled and move under an exiting or new 13-sub item as noted above. Classes will range from CL50 for 50 PCF and above, to CL400 for less than 1 PCF. 🔴 129 modified density scale items such as Asphalt with 3 subs (CL55 for >=30 PCF, CL65 for >=22.5 but < 30 PC, and CL85 for <22.5 PCF will be cancelled and move under an existing or new 13-sub item as noted above. 🔴 1,198 sub-provision items such as Camera Tripods (CL200 if setup, CL100 if knocked down) will be cancelled and move under an existing or new 13-sub item as noted above. 🔴 In all, roughly 75% of the 7,000 NMF items in the NMFC could potentially be impacted with these changes. The list of items potentially impacted is extensive. See the comments for a link to this list. You can search the NMFC items you ship to see if they may be impacted. The LTL industry is rapidly moving towards the day where shippers must know the weights and dimensions of their handling units (pallets, crates, etc).  While this will undoubtedly cause some disruption, the best plan of attack is to get in front of these changes and be prepared. Put in a plan now to capture accurate handling unit dimensions and weights. There are many topics to cover with these changes, and I will address them in future posts. One unexpected issue is that the NMFC’s Mixed Commodity rule will not be changed, at least not yet. That means if you ship multiple commodities on a pallet, you may still have to itemize each commodity in order to be correct. This will depend upon the carrier(s) you use. Note sure why the NMFTA chose not to modify this rule to align with their other changes. While you may feel otherwise, these are all very positive changes for shippers. Classification will be simpler, invoicing issues will reduce, and you can gain the benefit of reduced freight charges as you learn to build denser and more-squared off pallets.  

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Does size matter? It does in trucking. Price and service levels vary. 𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 can provide extremely high levels of service.  I talked to a multi-billion dollar shipper who told me a story about an owner operator who gets all his freight on a lane because the driver does the multi-stops, knows the business, and never makes excuses. He had to show up at the man’s house to make him take a vacation. “Your freight will be there for you when you get back.” Now that’s a relation-shipper. There are people like Dan The Driver Roe who are phenomenal owner operators. He puts in the work. He is a trucker. Then there are the fly-by-nights. They don’t know the business. Maybe a good driver, but not an entrepreneur. The great ones are able to land direct shipper customers. Shippers often shy away from working with small fleets and o/o’s because it becomes too much to manage all of those MC’s. My take: technology is going to make this a non-issue in the next 5-10 years. 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 & 𝐌𝐢𝐝-𝐒𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 There is a sweet spot for many shippers here.  As one shipper told me, “My freight needs to matter.” He was saying he wants to be a top customer.  He also needs to get capacity. Small fleets may have a few trucks. They often run locally. Or specialized.  One we work with moves telephone poles. Their trailers have a big claw on them.  The riches are in the niches. Mid-Size fleets have a blend of niche with economy of scale. Insurance captives, fuel aggregators, etc. keep costs down. It’s not unusual to talk to the third or fourth generation. I consider a small fleet less than 25 trucks.  Mid-size means 50-300. Obviously, the numbers are fuzzy. 𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 are about 300 to 1,000 trucks. Often times they have additional services like a brokerage arm.  They may have a maintenance shop or other businesses.  (And yeah, the smaller carriers can do these things, too.) They are not beholden to stockholders, like the mega are.  And they often provide a “small-company” service feel. 𝐌𝐞𝐠𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 The behemoths out there. There are good ones! But there are some that don’t enjoy a great reputation.  Of the 329,000 trucking companies, only about 120 of them have over 1,000 trucks. But, they have almost 19% of the capacity. Talk about the Pareto Principle! These fleets are true corporations. Some are publicly traded. That means you can get great insights from their stock holder updates. It’s important to follow these companies because their market views are impactful due to their dominance. Which fleet size is best to work with? It really depends on what you need, but the small and mid-size tier is where I play the most, so a truthful answer from me demands that I admit my bias. I’m sure the overall economy across various industries follows similar trends. A healthy freight marketplace has carriers of all sizes running profitably. #trucking #freight #procurement

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I don't know who needs to hear this, but fines are typically the wrong way to handle thing Try incentive based pricing instead I understand that the trucking and brokerage net margins are very slim. A huge drag on that margin is cost to serve (some of you call it cost per load). Quantify those costs, and share the gain to incentivize those behaviors. As an example - it costs the average broker about $37 to match a shipment (find a truck and convince them to take it), ~$22 to track it. Instead of fining a carrier for not, pay a carrier to do it. They'll feel better, you'll feel better, and you'll get better outcomes (read this as make more $$$$$$$$). See also - posts on aligning incentive to behavior because the biggest challenge in this being successful is your people not wanting to "give up" GP -- when you as the business are taking the real margin hit. There's a follow up on AI on this one too bruh

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There is a lot of excitement in the trucking community that the current freight recession is over (heavily influenced by the articles from FreightWaves). While I’ve publicly said I expect a substantial increase in dry van truckload spot rates next year, it’s important to remember that a significant rebound of freight volumes will take some time to materialize (this isn’t an overnight thing). This can be seen in the most recent quarterly version of the trucking ton-mile index (now that September’s data is complete). One chart. Thoughts: •Q3 2024 came it 0.1% above Q2 2024; I feel good at this stage declaring Q2 2024 the bottom of the current freight recession, which began in late Q2 to early q3 2022. •While we saw very high levels of containerized imports, which appeared in sectors such as electrical goods wholesaling posting record inflation adjusted sales, it’s critical to remember that many freight-centric sectors of U.S. manufacturing continue to perform poorly relative to peak freight demand in the first half of 2022. These include: Wood products: https://lnkd.in/gNmwNRd5   Paper: https://lnkd.in/gYDt3kcK Plastic & rubber: https://lnkd.in/g8ya9dAw Nonmetallic mineral products: https://lnkd.in/gJEH2Gh5 Machinery: https://lnkd.in/gy2NrYza •It will take time for manufacturing activity in these industries to rebound. As I’ve said repeatedly, late Q1 to early Q2 2025 is when I truly expect demand conditions to get strong enough for spot rates to show the type of sustained increase needed to pressure contract rates. Implication: I get carriers are excited that brighter days are ahead in 2025. However, we need to be reasonable and understand it takes time for the manufacturing ecosystem to see sustained demand increases. Moreover, I have severe concerns about 2026, as I expect folks are going to be in for a very nasty inflation surprise… #supplychain #supplychainmanagement #shipsandshipping #freight #trucking

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Now that we are halfway through July, I wanted to look at where the dry van truckload spot market was at. Using data from DAT Freight & Analytics, I’ve calculated the dry van spot market cycle indictor as broker buy contract rates less dry van TL spot rates divided by the average of the two series. One chart below. Thoughts: •Historically, when this ratio falls below 10%, we tend to see a bull market pricing cycle begin, which is picked up well the Bureau of Labor Statistics primary service producer price index for general freight trucking, long-distance, truckload (https://lnkd.in/gUXXNHrd). Conversely, anytime we see the series move above 15%, we enter a bear market pricing cycle. Key dates for bull cycles labeled in black, bear cycles in red. These dates mirror swings in observed contract & spot rates picked up by BLS. •The bad news for carriers is that July’s reading of 15.8% is well away from the 10% threshold. As such, there aren’t signs of the market being ready to turn. •For the market to turn, we need more freight demand. Unfortunately, as I’ve been noting frequently, demand conditions just aren’t great now. For example, Cass Shipments, which tracks the trucking ton-mile index quite closely, fell in June to the lowest level since the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic (https://lnkd.in/gAZb34hZ).  As I’ll share next week, machinery manufacturing and wholesaling is especially weak. Implication: I continue to see few signs that the dry van truckload sector will enter a bull market pricing cycle in 2024. It increasingly looks like any capacity tightening felt in June was just a return of seasonality. Continued weakness in pricing and freight demand reinforces my emphasis on why domestic manufacturing activity must be front and center in discussions about freight demand, with less attention given to retail sales. #supplychain #supplychainmanagement #freight #trucking #economics #markets

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Excessive truckload detention is a drain on our entire supply chain!! Carriers and drivers most often suffer the financial burden, but the reality is that even freight brokers, manufacturers, shippers & receivers are negatively impacted. When network efficiency improves...everyone wins!! Join Tenstreet, LLC's True Load Time initiative and unlock powerful facility performance intelligence to help your teams accurately predict, price & plan truckload wait times for loading/unloading. #EfficientLogistics #RealWaitTimes #HowMuchisYourTimeWorth #Transparency #ModernPlanning #InformedBidding #Benchmarking

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Hot take on RXO, Inc. acquisition of Coyote Logistics Makes a ton of sense. Coyote tech was out of date and RXO is best in class. That’s a area other bidders would have had to invest heavily in that’s solved. Also their ability to still service TFI International Inc. and XPO LTL business has great synergies for all three businesses. Moreover, the RXO/XPO family of companies have shown that biz integration is a core competency. They’re as likely as any company to actually realize the value (unlike most M&A efforts). Finally - this is the starting gun that a bunch of companies and firms needed to get the M&A markets in logistics moving again. 2H is going to be spicy 🥵

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🚛💨𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲? Let’s talk about it! Dump truck prices are soaring, transparency is key, and getting paid on time is everything for owner-operators. 🚜💸 Iron Sheepdog is bridging the gap between productivity, transparency, and cash flow, ensuring drivers and customers alike stay on track. 💪 From solving 30–60 day payment delays to improving project efficiency, this platform is setting the standard for the industry. The future? 🌟 Think expanded commodities, unmatched leadership, and maybe even going public! 👀 𝘞𝘩𝘰’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? Mike Van Sickel MBA, DBIA Ashley Rogers Ryan Dunkle Kevin Perez Christian Cortes Jeremy Cole Harrison Roberts Jake Liebler Nick Jones Hamilton Brown #IronSheepdog #LogisticsRevolution #DumpTruckLife #ConstructionTech #FutureOfTrucking

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As we continue to review 3rd quarter 2024 LTL carrier earnings, Old Dominion is up next. They released earnings on October 23rd. ODFL continues to churn out a best in class operating ratio, with its continued separation from their peers quite the impressive feat in this tough LTL market. How do that do it? By simply doing what they do. Let’s take a peak:   🔴  Revenue was down moderately at -3.0% over last year, with shipment counts down -1.9% and tonnage down -3.2%.  🔴  Their OR worsening from 70.6 to 72.7.  🔴  Weight/shipment remains weak, dropping -1.4%. Avg haul was flat, dropping modestly by -0.4%. Freight mix appears quite stable at ODFL. 🔴  Rev/cwt excluding fuel was up 4.6%, a nice bump in this tough market. ODFL is still getting solid pricing action in the face of declining fuel surcharge revenues. That kept revenue/shipment with fuel rather flat.  🔴  On a sequential basis, shipment counts were down -1.0% and tonnage down -3.2%.   Revenue was down -1.9%. ODFL appears to be losing a bit of market share, but not significant. 🔴  ODFL continues to provide 99% on time service with a 0.1% claims ratio. 🔴  Mastio rankings were recently announced, and ODFL was again for the 15th year in a row the #1 National carrier. Leadership noted ODFL came out #1 overall in 23 of 28 categories and maintained their sizeable lead over their national competitors.  🔴  Leadership feels they are seeing a floor right now in terms of business levels, that maybe the are coming to and end of this down cycle. Declining interest rates and getting the election behind us are fueling this viewpoint. 🔴  ODFL does feel more LTL shifted to TL during this down-cycle, with the Yellow closure. Thus, when freight levels improve, we could see accelerated benefit for LTL carriers as a greater amount of freight shifts back to LTL. This is one of the reasons ODFL and other carriers are bullish about the future. 🔴  ODFL noted they have dimensioners in most of their major service centers and are dimensioning about 75% of the freight in their network. They expect the upcoming NMFC changes to be a positive, even a strategic advantage for ODFL relative to their competition. So are we finally hitting a bottom in the soft LTL freight environment as ODFL seems to be seeing? Or do we have more quarters of soft business and not enough revenue to leverage against for OR improvements? To get a deeper dive on the ODFL 3Q24 earnings release plus additional commentary and insight from the LTL Observers, check out the 🚛Let's Talk 🚛newsletter. A link to the newsletter is in the comments.

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"The holiday shipping season is here, and with it comes the inevitable surge in freight claims. Managing these claims efficiently can be a challenge, but Freightclaims.com has you covered! 📦 The company is transforming freight claims management for the digital age. Michael Schember and Brad Berlin offers a streamline claims process, enhanced efficiency, and reduced stress for 3PL's. 🎯 Freight Bites is proud to feature industry leaders, who are paving the way for smarter and more efficient logistics. 🔗 Read the full article in the latest Freightbites newsletter. Stay informed and ready this holiday season — subscribe to Freightbites for insightful articles and the latest trends delivered straight to your inbox! #Logistics #SupplyChain #FreightClaims #HolidayShipping #ClaimsManagement #Automation #FreightTech #Efficiency #SupplyChainSolutions #Freightbites

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The freight cycle may be recovering, with FTR noting the market has bottomed out amid rising business starts. Experts suggest that sustained positive growth over the coming months will be essential for indicating a true market turnaround. #ftr #freight #freightindustry #freightbroker #trucking #truckinglife #truckingindustry

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The OTR Market only exists today because people like Uber Freight are allowing us to. Tick....tick..... tick..... it's only a matter of time before Uber Freight stops acting like another brokerage and starts acting like Uber. Groundbreaking and ingenuity is their trademark of doing the impossible but when it came to the freight market they fell short only by focusing on the wrong goals. They wanted to be a logistics company when technology is their strongest asset? I would never have written this five years ago, but today it is more apparent than ever that companies like Uber have the secret ingredient to highly disrupt the transportation market to a crippling level. The key ingredient they are missing is the knowledge to stop acting like a freight broker and start acting like a massive sourcing center of labor like they single-handedly reinvented the driver-for-hire market. When they figure this out they will have endless resources to cripple the market with on-demand pricing and real-time market rates coupled with an almost endless labor force. In 2021 over 1.6 million local driving jobs were created in America alone enticing thousands of drivers away from OTR and into local jobs. Dozens of local and warehousing companies saw a massive boost in growth to annual sums well over a billion dollars. Others saw opportunities and either chose to seize them and grow or play it cautiously and missed the bubble. Either way, the opportunity is still there but not as apparent post-covid. Uber was one of the companies that saw huge growth and took that opportunity to grow substantially in the grocery and food sector by using their savvy to grow their younger labor force. Now in 2024, we are watching the new normal continue in the freight market with little indicators of upward movement even during the pre-summer peak season in full swing. With the current OTR and long-haul markets crippled from the previous 6 quarters, it's prime time for Uber Freight to learn the basics of onboarding owner-operators and small fleet owners like a mega carrier so they can keep up with the pace. This could easily replace the dated market rates and surges with the true market rate in real-time. When they get the talent to onboard drivers like a carrier with the technology of Uber, we are all in trouble in the OTR world. Keep in mind that there are no front runners or market owners in transportation. There are 160k companies all fighting for the same routes and the same customers. It's easy to imagine one company running away with the talent in the market and becoming the new leader of global transportation when you overlay their model on top of the freight model. It's simply a few key elements that are keeping this beast at bay, but it's coming. We could easily be looking at a world of "true-on-demand shipping" within the next five years or less. The real question here is: 1. Will Uber breakaway from the traditional model, 2: will carriers learn younger drivers?

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Where are dry van truckload prices at? With DAT’s most recent data released this week, as well as the BLS’s PPI for general freight trucking, long-distance, truckload [primary services], I wanted to share my thoughts. Two charts below. Thoughts: •Top chart shows DAT’s dry van spot rates (red) and what they call contract rates (black) (including fuel). Both continue to move in parallel. Historically, every major market shift (2014, mid-2017, mid-2020) has corresponded to a sharp uptick in dry van spot rates, inclusive of diesel prices. We just aren’t seeing any signs of such an uptick now, which further solidifies my view that we can write of 2024 as the year the market could turn. It’s time to turn the page to 2025. •Bottom chart shows the producer price index for the commoditized portion of dry van TL freight (which includes fuel). That index continues to move sideways. Historically, as with spot rates (but to a much lesser extent [at least in 2014 and 2017-2018), we will see these rates spike when market cycles change. The BLS’s data likewise is corroborating this hasn’t happened yet. Implication: despite a lot of excitement with the election outcome, the brutal reality is that the dry van truckload sector needs a significant infusion of freight to get out of the current “limbo” conditions where we have seen one cycle end but have yet to see another cycle begin. To continue to echo the prediction I’ve made for several months, the soonest I see the market meaningfully changing towards carriers’ favor would be late Q1 to early Q2 2025. We will need to closely watch demand signals over the coming months, especially data on manufacturing new orders. For the late Q1 to early Q2 market turn to materialize, we will need to see a rapid uptick in new orders over the next few releases from ISM. #supplychain #supplychainmanagement #freight #economics #trucking 

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Hey Congestion Pricing Supporters - Please Read This with an “Open Mind!” For all those who support congestion pricing, including me, please have an open mind and read this Op-Ed from my former supervisor and MTA Chair Joe Lhota. Food for thought! Let’s not get so defensive and learn from our mistakes. It should NOT be all about the money.     The New York Daily News published an op-ed by former Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair Joe Lhota about congestion pricing and MTA funding. Mr. Lhota was the Republican candidate for NYC Mayor in 2013 and served as NYC Deputy Mayor for Operations.   “As a transit supporter, I think that congestion pricing is a horrible way to fund a mass transit capital plan. The MTA needs a steady stream of revenue to fund its capital program. By definition, the primary goal of a congestion pricing program is to reduce traffic congestion.   The goal of the MTA and the goal of the congestion program are at complete odds with each other. The more successful that the program is, traffic will be reduced and less revenue will be generated. Unless, of course, you think, like the mindless apparatchiks at the MTA, that you can just keep increasing the congestion pricing charge to maintain the steady stream of revenue.   The arguments against congestion pricing to fund mass transit are irrefutable. It is a bad idea because fee-based revenue streams are notoriously volatile, and are typically only used for one-time or supplemental funding.   Other than the unintended consequence of destroying the Big Apple’s economic vitality, the strongest argument against congestion pricing is that it will not even fix our congestion, the source of which is not just the cars, trucks, e-bikes, mopeds, bikes and scooters themselves, but their drivers: double parking, placard abuse, bike and bus lane violations, driving the wrong way on one-way streets, and failure to stop at stop signs and even red lights are rampant.” https://lnkd.in/eiG8KiGC #NYC #MTA #CongestionPricing #Transit #Revenue #Financing #DailyNews #OpEd #Funding #BigApple #CapitalPlan Image below: UTRC CCNY Mayoral Transportation Forum (from left): Moderator Matthew W. Daus and 2013 NYC Mayoral Candidates Adolfo Carrión, Jr., John Catsimatidis, Joe Lhota, and George McDonald

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To recap the 2Q24 earnings for publicly-traded LTL carriers, I felt it appropriate to come up with one word or phrase to define each carrier. Also, for comparison purposes, I felt it appropriate to look at a 2-year comparison, 2Q22 vs 2Q24. This takes out some of the noise from the Yellow Corp closure. Essentially, this gives us a peak into how each carrier took advantage of the Yellow Corp situation.   🔴 ABF: Transactional.  Transactional pricing weighed heavily on results, and still does. Their OR worsened by 4.3 points to 89.8, they experienced a large shift in freight profile (huge drop in shipment size), but maintained their revenue market share. 🔴 FedEx Freight:  Right-sizing. Finding a way to prosper while shrinking their network. Their OR held steady at 78.1, they improved their yields noticeably, but they did lose revenue market share. 🔴 Forward Air: Under construction. While the newly-merged operation undergoes its reconstruction, costs are up and business has dropped. Their OR worsened 7.9 points to 92.5, they lost major market share, and yield change was poor as price cuts were used to keep customers. 🔴 Knight Swift: Super-sizing. Explosive network and business growth while building out a national footprint. Their OR worsened by 4.6 points to 89.2, but they added major market share via new longhaul business while maintaining yields. 🔴 Old Dominion: Steady. As I have alluded before: death, taxes, and ODFL. While their OR deteriorated 2.4 points to 71.9, they maintained market share and yields. 🔴 Saia: Concerning. Costs from terminal expansion have begun to impact profits. Their OR worsened by 2.9 points to 83.3 but they have won serious market share gains while maintaining yields. 🔴TForce Freight: Fat. Their CEO feels there is too much fat that still needs to be cut. Their OR slipped 1.9 points to 92.3 and they experienced major market share losses with a big shift in profile (weight/shipment up bigly) and poor yields.  🔴 XPO: Transforming. This carrier is being re-built with the addition of Mr. Dave Bates. Their OR held steady, and good market share gains wave been won while maintaining yields. The industry is clearly down when compared to 2022, which was a banner year for carriers. When including Yellow Corp, tonnage and revenue is down 23%, and weight per shipment is down 3%. Even excluding Yellow Corp from the mix, tonnage and revenue among the remaining carriers  is down 11%. The 2nd quarter of 2022 was about as good as it has ever been for LTL carriers, as seen by their mostly robust OR figures. ORs were at historic lows and business was strong. Maintaining an OR within several points of those marks while keeping market share and yields steady is quite the accomplishment. There are some sharp operators in this industry indeed. But continued softness could begin to really test their mettle.

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Carriers Choose Shippers (Not Driven By Brokers) On Auto Hauler Exchange 💥 "And then I'm here in Metro Detroit, and I see auto hauler after auto hauler driving with 4 or 5 empty spots on their trailer. So my mindset was, 'Let's just open up every opportunity.' 🚗 If I can have access to see 15 other shippers (in that market), I'm going to have the ability to fill out my truck, and allow my drivers to generate more revenue by maximizing the capacity on their trailer. In the broker model, if I've got one shipper that I'm partnered with, I'm going to block other opportunities until I get that shipment. 👀 I don’t care if that truck’s full or not; brokers can say what they want. That’s not their main concern. Their main concern is making a profit on that singular shipment. ⚡ What our marketplace provides for, is it allows the carrier to decide which shippers they’re going to work for (in every community that they operate in). There’s nobody telling them who they can and cannot work for. 🛑 There’s nobody telling them, 'No, you can only pick up 2 cars from this shipper, and then you have to race over here and pick up 2 cars from this shipper, because I need those 4 cars picked up.' Our marketplace democratizes that opportunity where they pick and choose which opportunities they put on their truck on a day-to-day basis." ⭐ Royce Neubauer, CEO, Auto Hauler Exchange https://lnkd.in/gmajMnDn 🎬 Are Brokers Stripping Freight To The Bone? https://lnkd.in/g_m_QBJH 🚀 Follow ATI Auto Business https://lnkd.in/guaSsFWJ #automotive #dealers #shippers #carriers #carshipping #logistics

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🚛 Turning Accountability Issues into Opportunities at HTG 🚛 Hey LinkedIn! Let’s tackle another big challenge shippers face with freight brokers: Accountability Issues. When things go wrong, it’s our time to shine by stepping up, taking responsibility, and proving we’re reliable partners. 🌟🤝 Accountability Issues: When the unexpected happens, we don’t play the blame game. Instead, we step up and own it. It’s the perfect opportunity to show our clients that we’re dependable and committed to finding solutions. Think of it as turning a fumble into a touchdown. 🏈➡️🏆 Taking Responsibility: We believe in transparency and accountability. By addressing issues head-on, we build trust and strengthen our relationships with clients. It’s like turning a rainy day into a rainbow. 🌧️➡️🌈 Consistency is Key: Imagine your favorite restaurant – you want the same great meal every time, not a surprise on your plate! That’s the level of reliability we aim for at HTG. 🍽️➡️✨ So, what’s your take on turning accountability issues into opportunities? Let’s chat in the comments! 🚀💬 #HTG #Accountability #FreightManagement #Logistics #BusinessGrowth #ReliablePartners

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