BY GARY FRANTZ, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
MOTOR FREIGHT
Transportation Report
THE U.S. TRUCKING INDUSTRY CHALKED UP A RECORD YEAR IN 2018, ONE
that arguably was the best the industry has seen in decades, if not in its history. Most
truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers set new high-water marks for freight
tonnage, revenues, and profits as the economy surged, e-commerce continued its
rapid growth, and businesses accelerated purchasing of goods as they pulled forward
inventory in advance of the Trump administration’s China tariffs.
“I’ve been in this business 40 years and have never seen a year that busy,” notes
Marty Freeman, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Thomasville,
N.C.-based Old Dominion Freight Line.
That’s proving to be a tough act to follow. First-half 2019 results for the industry
in general, while modestly encouraging, battled against a tough comparison from last
year’s record performance and reflected the impact of other factors as well.
Demand for motor freight services in 2019 has softened. By one industry measure,
whereas last year daily demand found six truckload shipments vying for one truck,
this year there are three. Dry-van truckload spot-market rates in July versus last year
were down nearly 19 percent, and the pricing pendulum has begun to swing back in
the shipper’s favor. Carriers are carefully trimming their fleets and scaling back truck
purchases this year as new capacity brought online to handle last year’s surging volumes is now competing for fewer shipments.
Last year, as truckload capacity tightened, heavier shipments—typically those
around 10,000 to 15,000 pounds—migrated from truckload fleets to LTL carri-
Trucking companies
owned the freight
markets in 2018,
setting new records
for everything from
tonnage to revenues.
Matching that
won’t be easy.
How will 2019 stack How will 2019 stack
up for truckers?
