Quest for Quality National LTL: Pulling away from the pack

While the national LTL market had been slowly, but surely, pulling itself out of its recession-induced slump, the sector now seems to have hit a bit of a leveling-off period in terms of growth. In fact, revenue has been fairly flat across the board due to some longer-haul LTL freight being siphoned off by truckload carriers at the heavy end and by parcel carriers being increasingly aggressive in the 70-pound to 500-pound range.

However, as our John Schulz reported in last month’s extensive State of Logistics Report, this trying period for the sector has certainly helped shippers separate some of the stronger-performing carriers from the underachievers who are trying to compete with the best and win back that freight they may have lost to the TL and parcel players over the past few years.

And while it’s been a tough road back for many LTLs, we’re happy to report that Logistics Management readers have certainly been able to identity a group of long-haul carriers that have stood out among their peers in terms of overall service performance despite the mounting challenges.

In our National LTL category this year we find FedEx Freight posting the top overall weighed average score of 47.11. FedEx Freight lead the way in all but one attribute category, putting up 11.90 in On-time Performance, 9.31 in Value, 8.48 in Information Technology, and 8.53 in Equipment & Operations. Con-way Freight, another perennial strong performer according to our readers, put up an impressive 45.85 weighted average and made top marks in Customer Service (8.96).

FedEx Freight also posted the top score in the Muli-regional category this year with a lofty 47.80 overall weighted average. Once again, the carrier dominated the category posting highest marks in On-time Performance (11.94), Information Technology (8.59), Customer Service (9.32), and Equipment & Operations (8.47). Old Dominion Freight Line posted the second highest weighted average (46.69), while UPS Freight made its way back into the winners’ circle in this category with a 45.24.

In the hotly contested Surface Package category this year, UPS takes the top spot by just a few tenths of a point after FedEx Ground put up the top score last year. Year after year, this category is almost too close to call. UPS logged top numbers in On-time Performance (12.51), Information Technology (9.12), and Equipment & Operations (8.82), while FedEx Ground put up top scores in Value (10.18) and
Customer Service (9.41).

2013 Quest for Quality Winners Categories NATIONAL LTL | REGIONAL LTL | TRUCKLOAD | RAIL/INTERMODAL | OCEAN CARRIERS | PORTS | 3PL | AIR CARRIERS and FREIGHT FORWARDERS	home page