Guide to Trucking
Special Report
Already elevated US LTL costs spike in April
US long-haul less-than-truckload( LTL) producer price index( PPI)
320
300
280 200 260
240
220 212
200 L Jul Jan 2025 Jul Jan 2026
Apr, 2026
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics © 2026 S & P Global total LTL revenue SJ Consulting reported for 2020. The LTL sector’ s topline has been above $ 50 billion for five straight years.
Long-term growth
The Top 25 LTL rankings, published by the Journal of Commerce since 2008, show extraordinary growth by the Top 25 and the overall LTL sector over time. Total LTL revenue was $ 33.3 billion in 2008 before dropping to $ 25.2 billion in the 2008 – 09 recession.
Since then, US LTL revenue has more than doubled, rising 105 % in 16 years. LTL revenue has dropped in eight of those 16 years, making the industry’ s overall gain even more impressive. No subsequent drop has matched the 24 % revenue freefall of 2009.
The long-term growth indicates LTL is playing a larger role in supply chains, spurred in part by the growth of e-commerce in recent years.
The annual Journal of Commerce Top 25 US LTL Carrier rankings, prepared by SJ Consulting, reflect a market that has settled after the 2020 – 22 surge in
( PPI), jumped 12 % sequentially and 20 % year over year in April.
Shipper Score examines 24 metrics, including dwell time, appointment compliance, payment timing, accessorial frequency and damage claims. Those metrics and others directly affect LTL pricing, service levels, and overall network efficiency, Healy said.
To benefit, shippers will have to overcome a deep-rooted reluctance to
Jon Tetzlaff / Shutterstock. com
share certain internal operating data. Healy said FreightFacts will not collect any confidential rating or product information.“ We’ re really just collecting basic operational data,” he said.
“ A lot of shippers are just interested in how their own warehouses are performing,” said Healy.“ They may have a dozen or so warehouses, and they don’ t score themselves. I don’ t know any shipper who tracks truck dwell times at their own docks.”
US LTL pricing is rising faster than demand, with publicly-owned carriers reporting contractual rate gains in the mid-single-digit range in the first quarter. And the stage is set for further increases when industrial demand really kicks into higher gear, whether in the third or fourth quarter or in 2027.
US truck shippers will need more levers to pull as they try to rein in or at least slow rising transportation costs. Better operational data and scores would provide some leverage, Healy said.
“ Shippers are curious about blind spots and getting visibility to what’ s affecting their ability to negotiate freight rates,” he said, adding that while their own dock operations may work like clockwork, delays at vendor or customer docks may cost shippers. Some of that information from vendors and consignees will be supplied by carriers or 3PLs.
“ A shipper is only half of every shipment, and they don’ t often have good visibility into either side of the transaction,” Healy said, with those other sides being suppliers and consignees.
email: bill. cassidy @ spglobal. com www. joc. com July 6, 2026 | Journal of Commerce 33