CFI Logistics

Truckload market waits for “freight recession” to end

Shippers hoping to capitalize on excess capacity in the trucking industry are advised to act fast as top trucking executives say they expect boom times in the second half of this year. Meantime, those executives are bracing for a so-so first half followed by what they hope will be a solid second half of 2023.

There has been a blockbuster acquisition and further consolidation at the top of the North American truckload market.

Inflationary pressures are increasing chances of another large bankruptcy—or perhaps more—in trucking this year, a top industry executive tells LM. Greg Orr, executive vice president of U.S. Truckload of Montreal-based TFI and president of CFI, a major truckload carrier, says he’s beginning to see effects of higher prices on everything from heavy trucks to fuel.

The severe winter weather conditions around many parts of the United States are clearly having an impact on domestic freight transportation operations. That has been made clear in the form of various customer advisories from many brand name carriers, including: XPO Logistics, UPS, FedEx, Union Pacific, BNSF Railway, and many others.

CFI, a truckload unit of Montreal-based TFI International, is expanding its capabilities and resources supporting shipments between the United States and Mexico into a single entity called CFI Mexico. The announcement accompanies CFI’s 35th anniversary of intra-Mexico and cross-border truckload freight services.

COVID-19, introduction of USMCA, and added tariffs all pose hurdles to efficiency for shippers in North American trade lanes.

Two subsidiaries of TFI International, a transportation and logistics holding company, Dallas-based TForce, a customized final-mile logistics services provider, and Joplin, Mo.-based CFI Logistics, a trucking and logistics services provider, have partnered up to create a dedicated final-mile delivery network comprised of truckload transportation assets and logistics expertise to support high-velocity, time-definite supply chain operations.