The Freight Market is Hot and it is Going to get Hotter

The Freight Market is Hot and it is Going to get Hotter

7 years ago

North American freight markets are witnessing the strongest demand for transportation services in decades. Contract and spot freight rates continue to soar. The contract rate average revenue per mile rose 3.5 percent in 2017. Through the first two months of this year, contract truckload freight rates have jumped 15 percent per mile! “We’ve never seen […]

Trying to Solve the Driver Shortage? – Try Paying them a Salary

7 years ago

Recruiting and retaining qualified drivers has been a challenge for several years. Many young people do not wish to spend so many hours away from friends and family. The Hours of Service and ELD mandates make the job more difficult from a work enjoyment and compensation perspective. They cap the number of hours a […]

The Current State of the LTL Freight Industry

10 years ago

During the Great Recession, the LTL freight industry experienced a “near death” experience as declining freight volumes, excess capacity and falling rates conspired to dramatically reduce revenues and profits. The LTL market shrank from more than $33 billion U.S. at the peak in 2006 to $25.2 billion at the recession’s trough in 2009. As we […]

Developing a Core Carrier Program

10 years ago

In a recent Stifel report, it was noted that the “mother” of all capacity shortages is expected to hit the United States in 2017 as a series of government regulations reduce the supply of fleet equipment by five to fifteen percent. Despite the efforts of carriers to raise pay, upgrade facilities and improve the lifestyle […]

How to Resolve the Current “Tug of War” between Shippers and Carriers

10 years ago

Over the past few weeks, there are a couple of items that have come to my attention that inspired me to write this blog. First, I had the pleasure of sitting in on the annual Masters of Logistics webcast, sponsored by Logistics Management. This is the 23rd year that these high quality researchers have surveyed […]

Time to Face the New Reality of Freight Transportation

11 years ago

Thankfully, the first quarter of 2014 is behind us. The challenging winter across Canada and the northeastern USA and capacity shortages, brought on, in part by the weather, created a difficult environment for both carriers and shippers. Are we in the clear now? With the winter behind us and with the economy improving, can we […]

Trying to Solve the Driver Shortage? – Focus on Health and Wellness

11 years ago

At the January 21 Driving for Profit Seminar in Mississauga, Ontario, the number 61 was placed on the screen. Glenn Caldwell, Vice President of Sales for NAL Insurance, asked the audience if they knew the significance of this number for the trucking industry. As we learned, the number 61 represents the average lifespan of a […]

A Look at the New Paradigm of Freight Transportation

13 years ago

The world of freight transportation is changing rapidly. The signs are there and they are unmistakable. Recognizing and responding effectively to these signals may help determine which shippers and carriers will survive in the years ahead. Let’s examine the components of the new paradigm of freight transportation. The Era is Cheap Oil is Over The […]

Some thoughts on the Driver Shortage Issue

13 years ago

This past week I had the opportunity to speak with some of North America’s leading truckers. Other than the “head shots” in this year’s National Hockey League playoffs, the other number one topic of discussion on everyone’s mind is the issue of driver shortages. I also had an opportunity to read what the Canadian Trucking […]