Top 40 Truckload and LTL Carriers
Special Report
Elusive turning point
The top 40 truckload carriers are expected to see higher revenue this year as the US economy continues to grow , but the turning point in the nearly two-year freight downcycle remains elusive .
The US long-distance truckload producer price index ( PPI ), an all-inclusive measure of trucking “ selling ” prices ,
“ There were fewer loads and lower fuel surcharges . We saw the same trends in LTL and parcel .”
dropped 24.8 % from May 2022 through June 2023 , when it appeared to hit a bottom .
The PPI edged up 2.1 % in the second half of 2023 , but then dropped 2.9 % in January to a new post-pandemic low . That indicates truckload pricing is struggling to gain traction , an observation backed by pricing data analyzed by the Journal of Commerce .
Preliminary data for March shows shipper-paid , all-inclusive spot rates dropped 3 cents sequentially to $ 2.19 per mile on a weighted basis . Rates on the West Coast rose in March from February , but the East Coast and Midwest saw further declines in spot market rates . The Journal of Commerce analysis is based on actual rates from more than 4,000 lanes from CargoChief , DAT Freight & Analytics , Loadsmart and industry surveys .
Executives at large truckload carriers believe the long tail of small truckload carriers is getting shorter , and that tighter capacity will eventually create a watershed in the truckload pricing cycle .
But there are still many more carriers than before the pandemic . And those small carriers are hauling more freight and driving more miles . A recent survey by Truckstop . com found small carriers drove an additional 3,000 miles on average and handled two additional loads per month in 2023 .
Truckload carriers need a demand catalyst — whether increased consumer spending and imports or higher manufacturing production and construction — to break free from the market ’ s bottom .
email : bill . cassidy @ spglobal . com www . joc . com April 22 , 2024 | Journal of Commerce 37