Filed in LTL

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

This follows an early August decision by a U.S. District Court to dismiss ABF’s lawsuit against those parties.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Abandoning its longstanding commitment to a collective approach in bargaining with the Teamsters, financially ailing ABF Freight System has informed the union it is pulling out of the National Master Freight Agreement and will negotiate a separate contract.

Friday, August 03, 2012

Based on today’s second quarter earnings announcement from less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services provider YRC Worldwide, business conditions are continuing to gradually improve for the Overland Park, Kan.-based carrier.

Thursday, August 02, 2012

A U.S. District Court this week elected to dismiss a lawsuit by less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier ABF Freight System Inc. against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, YRC Inc. and other related entities.

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

While the recession left the national less-than-truck (LTL) carriers reeling, we’re happy to report that this sector is more “in balance” than in past years, with capacity now aligning with demand. For the first time in at least five years, the sector is showing positive operating margins—albeit scant—while rates have started to clearly reflect that equilibrium.

Being nimble, quick, and responsive to constantly changing customer demands has kept many of the nation’s top regional LTL’s alive over the past four years. But this year’s story revolves around the improved scores cross the entire regional category, signaling that this year’s Quest for Quality winners have come out of the Great Recession with a full head of steam.

With pricing power back in the hands of the rejuvenated LTL sector, carriers are now laser focused on margins while concentrating on profitable freight.

Net income of $41.8 million—or $0.74 per share—was up 30 percent annually. And operating income—at $80.1 million—saw a 33.2 percent annual improvement, with revenue—at $1.45 billion—seeing a 7.2 percent improvement.

Shippers are increasingly telling me that the number of options in the less-than-500-pound shipment market confuses them. The one thing that many can understand is that costs continue to climb despite the deregulation of rates. However, enormous savings can be achieved by knowing your shipment weight and distance, direction, and cube as well as the capabilities of your carrier.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Much has been written and said about the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector on this Web site and in the pages of this magazine. Make no mistake, though, the sector these days is in a much better place than where it was not all that long ago.