pricing

Chicago-based third-party logistics and technology-enabled transportation services provider Echo Global Logistics, and Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Blue Yonder (formerly JDA), a provider of AI-driven and end-to-end supply chain management services, said today that they have established a partnership, in which Echo will integrate Blue Yonder’s Dynamic Price Discovery offering, to automate rapid response price quoting and capacity for shippers.

In a mid-quarter update of the Coyote Curve by Coyote Logistics, a subsidiary of freight transportation and logistics services bellwether UPS, provided a wide-ranging overview of the freight market conditions, from three different perspectives: a look back at the second quarter; expectations for the third quarter; and a 2020-2023 forecast.

If a market participant is interested in using trucking freight futures for hedging or profiting, they should understand a few things about pricing before they start taking positions in the trucking freight futures market.

A recent letter penned to leadership at the Surface Transportation Board (STB) by more than 20 rail shipper groups in the manufacturing, agriculture, and energy sectors, and some of the largest freight rail customers in the United States through the Railroad Customer Coalition (RCC), praised the STB’s Rate Reform Task Force for an April report issued by the Task Force comprised of recommendations for potential changes to the STB’s rate review processes and methodologies.

Truckload rates, which measure linehaul rates, headed up 2.7% annually to 138.4 (January 2005=100), extending a stretch of gains going back to November 2017). This reading is in close range of the 144.2 set in December 2018. On the intermodal side, the report said that on the heels of hitting an all-time high of 151.9 in March, April’s reading dipped 1.4% to 149.8 while still growing 5.6% annually.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) recently announced that its Rate Reform Task Force completed a report with its recommendations for potential changes to the STB’s rate review processes and methodologies. Established in January 2018, the STB’s Rate Reform Task Force was tasked with recommending improvements to the STB’s existing rate review processes, as well as to propose new rate review methodologies “that are more attuned to the realities of the current transportation world.”

Truckload rates, which measure linehaul rates, saw a 5% increase to 138.4 (January 2005=100), rising for the 17th consecutive month, and coming in slightly shy of the December 2018 all-time record. And intermodal rates were down 3% compared to January and up 6.2% annually, marking the 29th consecutive month of annual gains.

The company announced yesterday that as part of a “long-planned succession process”, effective May 9, Chief Operating Officer Robert ("Bob") Biesterfeld, will become Chief Executive Officer, as well as being nominated to stand for election to the company’s board of directors. Biesterfeld will replace C.H. Robinson Chairman and CEO John Wiehoff, whom will continue as Chairman of the Board when Biesterfeld becomes CEO.

All regions and trade lanes are expected to report profits for air and ocean carriers in 2019.

The global economy started 2018 with strong, synchronized growth, but the momentum faded as the year progressed and growth trends diverged.

The Atlanta-based transportation and logistics bellwether said the following rate increases will take effect: UPS Ground, UPS Air and International services will head up by an average net of 4.9%; fuel surcharges will apply to Additional Handling, Over Maximum Limits, Signature Requires and Adult Signature Required accessorials; a processing fee of $2.00 per package will be charged when Package Level Detail (PLD) is not provided to UPS prior to delivery; and the rates for certain value-added services and other charges will increase.

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.

FedEx said that rates for FedEx Express are heading up by an average of 4.9% for U.S. domestic, U.S. export, and U.S. import services. And FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery rates are each going up by an average of 4.9%, with FedEx SmartPost rates also rising.

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.

March freight shipments and expenditures continued to show annual and sequential growth in April, according to the most recent edition of the Cass Freight Index Report from Cass Information Systems, which was released this week. Freight Index May 2018, Cass Freight Information