The LTL Freight Industry in North America in 2017

The LTL Freight Industry in North America in 2017

8 years ago

The following is my annual report on the state of the LTL Freight Industry in the United States and Canada. Revenues Stagnated Again in 2017 Here are links to the top 100 carriers in Canada (http://www.todaystrucking.com/top100) and the top 25 LTL carriers in the United States (http://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/u48801/truck-tables_1_0.jpg). The strong surge in revenue that […]

Canada’s Freight Transportation Industry Continues to Consolidate

8 years ago

It was sad to read that Meyers Transport, a Canadian motor carrier that has served the needs of shippers in Ontario for 90 years, closed its doors on January 20. Meyer’s Transport has been one of those “salt of the earth” family run businesses that has been a part of the Canadian trucking scene for […]

LTL Shippers Need Effective Strategies to Address Rate Increases

8 years ago

Some large LTL carriers have announced rates increases this fall. Old Dominion, XPO Logistics, YRC Freight and UPS Freight have all declared 4.9 percent GRI rate increases on non-contract LTL freight that took effect in September. In survey after survey, shippers have claimed that cross reductions are their number one priority. How can these two […]

Understanding the Canadian Freight Market – Part 4 – Cross-Border Freight Transportation

8 years ago

The last blog in this series examined road and rail transportation within Canada; this blog will focus cross-border freight transportation. Please note that there are a set of processes and procedures (http://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog?view=entry&id=241 ) that must be followed in order to move goods successfully between the United States and Canada. Please refer to the second blog […]

Understanding the Canadian Freight Market – Part 3 – Intra-Canada Freight Transportation

8 years ago

This blog will focus on road and rail transportation within Canada; the next blog will look at cross-border freight transportation. Rail Transportation As outlined in the first blog in this series, Canada is large land mass with limited population. As a result, Canada’s two class 1 railways, along with the country’s short line carriers, play […]

The Current State of the LTL Freight Industry in North America

9 years ago

Every few years I like to take a look at the segment of the freight industry where I got my start, the LTL sector. As I reviewed the landscape for this year’s blog, I am struck by the significant changes taking place in both the United States and Canada. Revenue Growth Stagnated Here are links […]

New Pricing Processes Could Revolutionize the LTL Freight Industry

9 years ago

It was just a few years ago that the airline industry appeared to be teetering on the abyss. During this tumultuous period, many airlines merged or went out of business. Passengers had the upper hand and played one carrier off against another to their best advantage. One of the tools that helped salvage the industry […]

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 […]

A Shipper’s Guide to Preparing for Dimensional LTL Pricing

10 years ago

Freight costs have historically been calculated on the basis of gross weight in kilograms or pounds. By charging only by weight, lightweight, low density packages become unprofitable for freight carriers due to the amount of space they take up in a trailer or container in proportion to their actual weight. Dimensional weight is also known […]

The “Fun” is Back in the LTL Freight Industry

10 years ago

As I look at the LTL freight transportation today, it is hard to believe that just a few years ago, this was one of the most battered sectors of the freight industry. The LTL freight industry took a tremendous pounding during the Great Recession as business volumes contracted by about twenty-five percent. As operating margins […]