Enterprise Trucking Expert at FreightWaves, former trucking tech startup, freight broker, and operations manager. Writer and podcast host for Loaded and Rolling
Massive plunge in outbound tender volumes nationwide as the UAW strike intensifies. Appears some of the strong September volumes was automotive front loading in a run up to the strike. OTVI down 1,421.85 points w/w or 12.15% from 11703.29 points Sep 26 to 10281.44 points.
My digital freight brokerage thoughts: VC's brought a pool noodle to a brokerage knife fight. Most brokers start by brute forcing a customer book, breed a batch of freight hustlers, then think about tech. Tech first and less hungry reps = not good time.
Outbound tender volumes showing seasonal softness, if history is our guide, not much on the horizon until two weeks before Christmas. Rejection rates are still historically low at 3.85% nationwide across all modes.
Trucking capacity continues to leave the market in September as net changes in operating authorities sharply fall. Looking at a decade plus of data, the extent of capacity destruction is starting to rival the boom seen during the pandemic.
Capacity bleed-off continues, net loss of 382 operating authorities as of Dec. 8, November saw 3,236 exits. Some may ask what's the right amount of authorities to cause a market flip. The answer is probably two weeks after the market flips.
@FreightAlley
My favorite anecdotal observations are the software engineers complaining of the UPS labor deal and fearful of the encroaching income parity.
All the EV truck talk has me thinking, what happens when they catch fire? A few options I found so far include:
1. spray over 500 gallons of water over a few hours and wait it out
2. use a fire blanket
3. Let it burn out
Big truck = bigger battery pack = big burn
“We underestimated the cash pile that small, medium-size carriers had built up over COVID and have allowed them to survive longer than we thought they’d be able to,” - Derek Leathers, chairman and CEO of Werner at a Deutsche Bank transportation conference
We have a report about another venture-backed freight brokerage is out of cash, hasn't paid carriers and a bankruptcy filing is imminent.
Story coming.
An uncomfortable truth inherent with the trucking business model is that the high turnover rate is a feature and not a symptom of a much larger issue related to drivers bearing the monetary cost of supply chain inefficiencies.
The first freight brokerage that has full rate visibility and shares their margin data with carriers and shippers will revolutionize the industry.
It will then be put out of business after another freight brokerage takes that data and undercuts their rate by $5.
Real trucking chads talk about revenue per truck per week, deadhead % and revenue miles per week. Just because you calculated your costs per mile doesn't mean a high rate per mile will save you.
What are you thankful this Thanksgiving? me: "I hope spot rates keep going up" Spot rate forecast giving me "we're so back" vibes. $2.26 per mile all in to $2.41 by Dec 19 might not seem like much, but need a lift before rates can take off.
When your driver shortage lobbying effort for over 20 years is subverted by a handful of
#freightx
shit-posters deploying memetic warfare for the lulz.
VC’s were not prepared for the breed of Chicago market carrier or bottom dollar shipper who cuts their teeth destroying freight broker margins. It’s one thing to disrupt food delivery or taxi cabs but the supply chain is pure Hobbesian chaos if not respected.
The value of fuel routing tech, cost of diesel can be over $6 a gallon in CA compared to over $4 a gallon in the deep south. Add a 300 gallon diesel tank and that $600 spread to fuel could be your margins for the week. West coast carriers are getting hammered.
Class 8 orders for June
The backlog-to-build ratio declined 80 basis points (bps) to 5.9 months (6.6 seasonally adjusted).
2024 outlook per ACT Research: orderbooks typically open in October, lately have seen them open as early as August
I go on vacation for one week, and miss out on all the driver shortage drama. I believe the shortage talk is good for lobbying and legislative goals but misleading in the face of low spot rates and carriers leaving the market from lack of demand. 1/4
BREAKING: United Auto Workers have shut down Ford's, $F, biggest plant globally in Kentucky, with 8,700 union members going on strike and halting production of their best seller, the Ford Super Duty pickup.
Spot rate Thanksgiving bump at highest levels since early October. NTI 7-day average up to $2.28 per mile all in but NTI Daily rate shows a bunch of noise from volatility (light green line). 28-day forecast predicting rates to climb to $2.54 per mile by Dec 27.
Watch for the impact of Hurricane Hilary on nationwide spot rates (green line). CA is important due to the ports of LA/Long Beach handling the lion's share of import volumes which translate into rail and truckload volumes. Spot forecast doesn't include a CA Hurricane.
Nationwide spot rates: The good is they're better than the bottom in mid-May. The bad is they haven't done much movement since then. It's progress but market still remains truckload capacity driven. Next 28 days indicate more of the same.
I would like to celebrate a professional achievement for my podcast. We are about to record our 69th episode of Loaded and Rolling live today at 1pm eastern. The episode will have
@joeantoshak
as our guest.
@supertrucker
Mega carrier and broker collusion theories are the best, when I worked at one as an analyst the goal was to fill the bucket with freight, like a chum bucket, but with full truckload orders. A parked truck and no load is worse than a load with a low rate.
Corporate trucking fleet management pro tip - Do not try to goose your working tractor percentage to make it look good. This includes:
1. Showing drivers as available for a load when in shop status
2. Unconfirmed trucks as available
3. Drivers at home as ready
4. Drivers who
The fall outbound tender rejection rally is now stalling at 4.04% as reefer and flatbed rejection rate declines weight down the index. Van rejection rates are now 3.68%. Carriers continue to prioritize contracted freight in this environment.
Dear spot rates, please stop going down so I can sleep at night saying the middle of May was the spot market bottom. P.S. fuel gets a pass since its not their fault as half of diesel pump price is impacted by crude oil prices.
All in spot rates performing higher than 2019 but lower than previous 3 years. What's interesting is removing a fuel surcharge (diesel truck stop price per gallon / 6.5 mpg) linehaul rates have been following 2019 levels.
On average 70% of all lanes in an RFP are ghost lanes, and never awarded. The traditional RFP that includes everything may cost more in wasted time. Great conversation with Angela Acocella on
@mitsupplychain
research on ghost lanes. 1/2
Active freight brokerages operating saw a 5.6% decline in 2023, the largest drop since the 2014 surety bond hike.
Source: Kevin Hill of Brush Pass Research / LinkedIn
UAW strike expands, will take a few days to see if a big impact on van outbound tender volumes. Wait times at Automobile manufacturers spiked in the past week giving some indication of disruptions.
Some trucking companies are still rocking AS400 based systems and email phishing is a never-ending headache. There's big incentive for cyber attacks against transportation and infrastructure due to their disruptive impacts.
U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index: 5th straight quarterly decline in freight spend and volume. Fed rate impacts on housing helped contribute to the declines. Appears consumers can't afford nor finance appliances or furniture in this environment causing lower freight volumes.
Spot rate forecast suggesting a black Friday bump thru Dec 1. I predict it will be either from less capacity as drivers go home for Thanksgiving, or potentially more truckload replenishment orders if discounts spur consumer spending.
From J.B. Hunt's Q2 earnings call, large fleets look to be the early adopters for driver facing in-cab cameras, when you're a large fleet and self insured, safety will trump privacy.
Outbound tender volumes so far no tricks or treats. Down 3.59% m/m after a sharp early Oct decline. Looking at seasonality, big risk for decline before slight uptick before Thanksgiving. For Halloween ask for truckload orders instead of candy.
@nope_its_lily
They should try trucking, low barrier of entry but tons of govt regulations with cutthroat competition. Like Lord of the Flies with 18 wheels. Even better, the technology goes from ai powered load planning to a guy with a hardline, fax machine and excel spreadsheet.
"Of course, if there was a real driver shortage the ATA and ATRI would tell us right? After all, they're the largest trucking associations in the industry, that's their job.
That's where it gets interesting. Our producers reached out to MIT Freight Lab..."
@benjaminhgordon
Half the challenge is visibility, O/O's are notoriously difficult to track and enough of them leaving usually shows up in spot market rates. Net revocations helps but we're also still seeing higher numbers of new entrants, further muddying the situation.
It’s midnight and
#freightx
is asleep, time to post my MLG pro guide to being a good fleet manager - tips for great success (satire)
Always offer to move an angry driver onto another driver manager’s board
Blame it on the load planner
Never tell the driver it’s their fault for
@FischerKing64
My theory is cultural homogenization through mass media, or a rationalization through technology. A great older book that highlights the changes is The McDonaldization of Society by George Ritzer
Checking Werner's share price (pure play trucking) and one things sticks out, watch rejection rates and if an impact on prices. Famous stock picker Mark Twain once said: “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.”
Mostly contract exposure does create a lag though.
@FreightAlley
When China joined the WTO I still remember folks assuming they’ll liberalize, open up their markets fully, and become like the US without understanding the joke.
The good news: DOE/EIA weekly avg diesel pump price falls 10.5 cts/g to $3.987 per gallon. Last time DOE was below $4.00/g was July 24. Now 76 cts/g lower since this time in 2022.
Warmer weather is one factor with Dec temps expected to be much higher over next 2 weeks.
Driver shortage is really a driver utilization shortage, if we're lacking 100,000+ driver jobs we would also see an improvement in their wages.
Meanwhile, longshoreman and dock workers, who's numbers fell 80% or more since containerization are in higher demand. 🤔
@FreightAlley
When I was at a brokerage, had some customers kick payment terms out to 90 - 120 days and not pay unless you threaten to cut off loads or credit. Which sometimes worked, and other times they just sent loads to another broker instead during a weak market.
@FWwhatthetruck
$600, then an extra $50-$100 for a truck wash since my trailer is no longer food grade, finally $60 for some whiskey after dealing with the driver yelling at me due to the wait.
Learning to stay away from tire loads? Priceless.
@FreightAlley
Big challenge I’ve heard from a retailer management platform is Q4 demand forecasting remains difficult, some think peak can even extend into January, retailer Q2 23 consensus for improvement was also noted, consumer spending remains an agent of chaos
Driver pay data from the National Transportation Institute, one interesting nugget from the report: "drivers with one year of experience are now earning more per mile than cap earners were in the final quarter of 2020"
Trucking capacity follows a boom-bust cycle, we need more bust before rates can boom. The Covid capacity gold rush added unprecedented levels of supply. Even normalized truckload demand looks worse due to the extra competition.
One thing that's missing is how much did the loads weigh. Battery electric class 8's struggle with range at higher weights and so far this looks more like a glorified day-cab. The cab itself is probably heavier as well due to the battery packs.
NEWS: Independent Tesla Semi performance data suggests the hype is real.
"Based on the data he analyzed, Mullaney concluded that Tesla’s range estimates for the Semi were on point. He noted that there was still a lot about the Tesla Semi’s capabilities that is unknown."
Source:
@robkhenderson
Ironically so do truck drivers, DOT's FMCSA hours of service total clock is 70 hours per week for drive + on duty. A standard that has been around since the 1930's.
@TimothyDooner
The age of big tech salary bro is over, the age of UPS driver has begun. All rooftop bars will now have Coors banquet on draft and one TV dedicated to the latest UFC fight.
ICYMI: It's Trucking Tuesday on
@FreightWaves
Radio.
@GracieManelafr8
chatted with
@ThomasWasson7
about big issues facing the industry.
Thomas highlighted what shippers could be thinking
as they prepare to tackle contract and spot rates.
Listen here: