tender rejections

Trucking, copper, cocoa: volatility roils commodities

The ongoing geopolitical realignment and escalating trade tensions are sending shockwaves through global commodity markets, reshaping long-established trade routes and supply chains. From copper to cocoa, and even the U.S. trucking industry, these shifts are creating both challenges and opportunities for businesses and investors alike.

The most visible impact of the trade wars has been on major freight flows, particularly in the crucial eastbound trans-Pacific ocean container lane connecting...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trucking-copper-cocoa-volatility-roils-commodities

Spot rates break out ahead of holidays

Chart of the Week: National Truckload Index (Linehaul Only), Outbound Tender Rejection Rate – USA SONAR: NTIL.USA, OTRI.USA

Nationwide dry van spot rates minus the influence of fuel jumped 5% last week as carriers rejected contracted truckload tenders at the second-fastest pace of the year, prompting FreightWaves CEO and founder Craig Fuller to call an end to the Great Freight Recession. 

The National Truckload Index Linehaul Only (NTIL) measures the average spot rate for dry van loads moving...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/spot-rates-break-out-ahead-of-holidays

Milton makes landfall on freight market

Chart of the Week: National Outbound Tender Rejection Index – USA SONAR: OTRI.USA

National outbound tender rejection rates (OTRI), the rate at which carriers turn down requests from their customer for truckload capacity, jumped from 5.13% to 5.62% from Oct. 8 to Oct. 9 as Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida’s west coast. This was the largest single-day jump of the past two years. What are the takeaways for transportation providers and managers in the wake of the third major transportation...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/milton-makes-landfall-on-freight-market

Lackluster Labor Day gives no lift to trucking market

Chart of the Week: National Truckload Index (Linehaul Only, Outbound Tender Reject index – USA SONAR: NTIL.USA, OTRI.USA

The Labor Day holiday was not a strong catalyst of disruption to the U.S. trucking market. Both spot and rejection rates reacted minimally to what was the most volatile holiday period during the pandemic years.

National dry van spot rates declined heading into the holiday while tender rejection rates got a short-lived boost from 4.3% to 4.9% before falling back below 4.3% this...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lackluster-labor-day-gives-no-lift-to-trucking-market

Do we really need another retail subscription service?

Target joins the subscription club

Image: FWTV

On Monday’s episode of The Stockout, Grace Sharkey and I discussed last week’s announcement that Target is launching a subscription-based fast delivery service. For an introductory price of $49 a year (rising to $99 a year starting in May), customers receive free two-day shipping and free same-day delivery on orders over $35. The company’s ability to offer such speedy deliveries is made possible by its recent investments in local sortation and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/do-we-really-need-another-retail-subscription-service

Loaded and Rolling: 70% of annual RFP lanes procured not materializing

70% of annual RFP lanes procured not materializing

(Source: MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics)

FreightWaves on Tuesday interviewed Angela Acocella, postdoctoral researcher at Tilburg University and researcher with the MIT Center of Transportation and Logistics looking at the impact of ghost lanes on shipper and carrier networks. A ghost lane can be characterized as a lane that is awarded in a strategic bid or RFP but failed to materialize and no loads are tendered. During the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/loaded-and-rolling-70-of-annual-rfp-lanes-procured-not-materializing

Loaded and Rolling: U.S. Xpress pivots from Variant; Truckload volumes’ post-Labor Day slump

U.S. Xpress pivots from Variant
(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

U.S. Xpress is going through a reorganization following a recent round of layoffs. The technology-driven Variant program will be merged into a larger Highway Services group, which will include the legacy over-the-road business and the USX freight brokerage. The company also announced a termination of the lease on Variant’s Atlanta headquarters due to the reduction in workforce and remote options.

In a call with analysts Thursday...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/loaded-and-rolling-us-xpress-pivots-from-variant-truckload-volumes-post-labor-day-slump

Trucking contract rates finally gain traction in October

Chart of the Week: Outbound Tender Rejection Rate, Van Contract Rate Per Mile Initial Report – USA SONAR: OTRI.USA, VCRPM1.USA 

The national Outbound Tender Rejection Index (OTRI), which measures carrier compliance for contracted moves, fell below 20% for the first time since July 31, 2020, this past week. This is somewhat unexpected considering trucking demand remains at all-time highs. Are contract increases gaining traction? 

It has been hard to isolate the impact of contract rate increases on...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trucking-contract-rates-finally-gain-traction-in-october

Freight flow imbalance is the real capacity issue

Chart of the Week: Truckstop.com 7 Day Van Rate Per Mile Los Angeles to Dallas and Dallas to Los Angeles  SONAR: TSTOPVRPM.LAXDAL, TSTOPVRPM.DALLAX

The biggest reason for the current truckload capacity shortage is the exacerbation of the majority of goods moving from west to east. This relationship is reflected in the spot rate for freight moving from Los Angeles to Dallas and the return trip. Rates are currently almost three times as expensive moving east than west for the exact same mileage.   

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freight-flow-imbalance-is-the-real-capacity-issue

Carriers head west for a modern-day gold rush — of freight

Chart of the Week: Longhaul Inbound Tender Rejection Index – Regional – USA  SONAR: LITRI.URNE, LITRI.URNW, LITRI.URSE, LITRI.URSW, LITRI.URWT, LITRI.URMP, LITRI.URMW

Carriers have a clear preference in terms of where they are trying to position themselves in the U.S. and it illustrates just how unbalanced transportation capacity continues to be. Loads traveling more than 800 miles (long haul) to the West Coast have been rejected at nearly half the rate of any other region in the continental...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/carriers-head-west-for-a-modern-day-gold-rush-of-freight

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