March 2023

M A R K E T

The Cass Freight Shipments Index dropped 2% in January from December but rose 4.3% year over year (y/y), Cass said on Tuesday, February 14th. The truckload sector gained freight as intermodal and LTL volumes declined. (JOC February 2023)
US For-Hire Truck Tonnage index rose 0.7% in January to 116 after increasing 1% in December. However, it remains down from its three year high of 119 in (BLS February 2023)
The US transportation industry lost fewer jobs in January than most analysts The industry lost 288,600 jobs in January, compared with 295,900 jobs lost in January 2022. (JOC February 2023)
The average price for a gallon of diesel fuel in the US was $4.294 the week of February 27th. The price of diesel fuel is at its lowest point since February 28, 2022. (US Energy Information Administration February 2023)

Less-than-Truckload (LTL)

The LTL Producer Price Index rose 2% from December to January showing that LTL carriers continue to remain disciplined with rates. (BLS February 2023)
TFI International Inc., owner of TForce freight, purchased a 4% stake in rival ArcBest Corp sparking speculation of a potential acquisition. TFI CEO and President, Alain Bédard, said that TFI is looking for opportunities to work with ArcBest, stating “We believe being a unionized carrier like they are, there are some things that we could work together and improve over time”. (WSJ February 2023)
Duie Pyle, the 17th largest US LTL carrier, will grow its regional LTL network with at least three new terminal openings this year. (TransportDive February 2023)
Yellow’s tonnage fell 25% y/y in the 4th quarter of That far outpaces peers, most of which reported tonnage declines in the mid-to-high single-digit range for the quarter.. (FreightWaves February 2023)

US for-hire truck tonnage is slipping from month to month, but remains higher than expected, according to the latest data from the American Trucking Associations (ATA). The non-seasonally adjusted ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index dropped 0.4% in January from December, but at 7 was still higher than the 109.2 reading for January 2021. (JOC February 2023)
The US Truckload market may have 25% excess The Contract Load Accepted Volume Index (CLAV), which measures accepted truckload tender volumes, is currently 25% lower than the peak values in 2021 when rejected tenders were near historic highs. (FreightWaves February 2023)
The number of Dry Van Spot market loads posted in January increased 1.2% from December, but are down 68.5% y/y. Dry Van Spot market rates decreased in January 1.2% from December, and are down 1% y/y. (DAT Freight & Analytics February 2023)

S. lightweight parcel volumes have fallen off considerably since the pandemic drew to a close, yet this year they are expected to remain 20% above 2019 pre-pandemic levels. (FreightWaves February 2023)
UPS Labor Negotiations with the Teamsters Union are expected to begin on April The current contract is set to expire on July 31. (Bloomberg February 2023)

U.S. imports from Asia were down 22% in January y/y and remain near a three-year low. (JOC February 2023)
Since April 2018, US West Coast import market share has dropped from 1% of total market share to 54.2% last month. Conversely, during that same time period, US East Coast market share has increased from 28.9% to 36.1% and US Gulf Coast market share has increased from 3.6% to 9.4%. (JOC February 2023)
The two parties involved in West Coast port labor talks, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association, said they continue to negotiate and “they remain hopeful of reaching a deal soon,” according to a joint news release on February 23rd. (SupplyChainDive February 2023)