truckload

Carrier executives continue to yearn for supply/demand equation to even out as inventory slowly rebuilds. In the meantime, capacity for fleet growth remains limited due to constraints on equipment and qualified drivers. Does this recurring news actually signal a return to normal?

The confluence of COVID-induced disruptions to supply chains and unpredictable trucking demand levels will mean sharply higher truckload rates well into 2021, a leading TL executive is predicting. Mark Rourke, president and CEO of Schneider, the nation’s second-largest truckload carrier, said the nation’s supply chains are in “a highly unique period” in our recent history.

DAT reported that posted loads, for the week, headed up 15.6%, following a slower trajectory the previous week, with spot van and refrigerated rates regaining momentum that had been building up in previous weeks.

The objective of the program is to evaluate and recognize—in the form of a list published on a monthly basis—less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload carriers in the project44 network that, project44 said “have demonstrated excellence in performance, consistency, delivery of high-fidelity data and shipment visibility across multiple loads.”

DAT said that its DAT Truckload Volume Index, which reflects the change in the number of loads with a pickup date during that month, with the actual index number normalized each month to accommodate any new data sources without distortion, with a baseline of 100 equal to the number of loads moved in January 2015, fell 19% from March to April and was off 8% annually.

The most recent edition of the DAT Truckload Volume Index, which was recently issued by Portland, Oregon-based freight marketplace platform and information provider DAT presented a bit of a mixed bag for spot truckload volumes and rates, with reefer and dry van volumes and rates up for the first three weeks and the final week of the month less than seasonal trends.

Tampa, Fla.-based non asset-based 3PL BlueGrace Logistics announced this week it has acquired freight broker Anthym Logistics. This represents the company’s first external transaction since partnering with Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm, in 2016, which was done to leverage investment capital to help drive growth for BlueGrace.

Company officials said that this SLA speaks to project44’s “commitment to results” while also providing a money-back guarantee. And they added that through the new carrier coverage SLA, the company guarantees that 90% of a shipper’s contracted truckload carriers in North America and Europe will be live within 30 days of starting implementation.

FreightWeb is financially backed by Madrona Venture Group and 8VC, with the latter having also backed Flexport, Flexe and other logistics technology-focused companies. The company is led by Will Payson, whom serves as co-founder and CEO, and its team has a combined 50 years of logistics experience in previous leadership roles at FedEx and Amazon, as well as various carriers and brokerages.

Indianapolis-based Celadon, which ranked as the 18th-largest TL concern with $706 million in revenue in LM’s annual rankings, abruptly ceased operations on Dec. 9, giving its more than 3,200 drivers the worst possible gift barely two weeks before Christmas.

Spot truckload rates benefitted from Thanksgiving coming later in November this year, coupled with typically hectic end of month activity, for the week of November 24 through December 1, according to data issued this week by Portland, Oregon-based DAT, a freight marketplace platform and information provider and a subsidiary of Roper Technologies.

Truckload pricing, which measure linehaul rates, increased 0.9% annually, to 135.9, in June, and intermodal pricing was up 3.9% in June, to 142.0.

Earlier today, Scottsdale, Arizona-based Emerge, a provider of its proprietary Private Freight Marketplace (PFM) and TMS focused on accelerating productivity and increasing visibility for supply chain stakeholders, announced it has raised $20 million in a seed round, which was led Greycroft Partners, a venture capital firm based in Los Angeles and New York, in addition to participation from other investors as well.

The pricing train for truckload and intermodal freight movements continues to accelerate at a rapid clip, according to data in the most recent editions of the Truckload Linehaul Index and Intermodal Index from Cass Information Systems and Broughton Capital.

Rate gains for both truckload and intermodal activity remains an ongoing theme, based on data in the the most recent editions of the Truckload Linehaul Index and Intermodal Index from Cass Information Systems and Broughton Capital.