Quest for Quality 2020: National and Multi-Regional LTL

Just before the pandemic, a combination of an improving industrial economy and manufacturers rebuilding lower inventory levels had top executives from the $44 billion less-than-truckload (LTL) market crossing their fingers in hopes of a financial rebound this year.

As Logistics Management (LM) reported in early March, after more than 14 straight months of declining tonnage in the industrial portion of the economy, LTL carriers were indeed upbeat as international trade worries and overall geopolitical concerns were beginning to wane.

Fast-forward to August, and we now find National and Multi-regional LTL carrier management holding their collective breath to see if their hard work during the pandemic to balance capacity and services levels will meet rising shipper needs across all industries as we slowly roll into recovery.

“As I went about my reporting in July, leading LTL carrier executives and analysts were saying that there’s an ongoing debate as to which sector will recover faster—retail or manufacturing—as most LTL carriers ideally enjoy a 50/50 split in revenue between the two markets,” says contributing freight transportation editor John Schulz. “At this stage, they can only watch things unfold one day at a time.”

And as the industry makes its way through this roller coaster ride, one thing is certain: the readers of LM report that these 10 carriers have what it takes to deliver world-class service across the nation no matter the disruption.

This year we find FedEx Freight pulling in with an impressive 45.99 weighted average to lead the National LTL category. FedEx Freight put up top scores in On-time Performance (10.98), Information Technology (8.79), and Equipment & Operations (8.83) this year. XPO Logistics posted top marks in Value (9.25), while ABF Freight’s 9.21 gave the carrier top spot in Customer Service.

In our Multi-regional LTL category for 2020, Old Dominion Freight Line led the way in weighted average (49.87). Old Dominion’s 12.15 in On-time Performance was the top mark across all three categories, while the carrier also saw impressive numbers in Information Technology (8.97), Customer Service (10.18), and Equipment & Operations (9.53)

This marks the third year in a row that UPS just squeaks by FedEx with a weighted average of 48.83. Year after year, these two carriers put up impressive and almost identical numbers in all five our attribute categories.