Latest posts about AFS Logistics
Q3 TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index highlights how carriers fight margin pressure amid lengthy downcycle
October 16, 2025
Q3 Freight Index: Carriers Fight Margin Pressure as Industry Faces Longest Downcycle in Years
AFS and TD Cowen highlight freight market complexity, with historical models and economic shifts shaping short-term forecasts.
Q2 TD Cowen/AFS Freight index highlights freight market uncertainty as tariffs, shifting demand, and carrier strategy impact pricing trends
April 11, 2025
The second quarter edition of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm TD Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, highlighted how various freight transportation modes are dealing with various issues, including tariff-related actions and an anticipated downward shift in consumer confidence, which could potentially impact prospects for a freight market recovery.
Q1 TD Cowen-AFS Freight Index points to modest optimism for truckload, parcel pricing surge, and LTL discipline weakening
January 17, 2025
The first quarter edition of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm TD Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, highlighted how various freight transportation modes are handling various factors, including low demand, overcapacity, and pricing.
Q3 TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index highlights mixed trends for parcel, LTL, and truckload pricing activity
October 22, 2024
The new edition of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm TD Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, was somewhat mixed, with what it called unprecedented parcel pricing, as well as more established trends for truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) rates.
How to manage increasing LTL rules tariffs and accessorials
August 12, 2024
This white paper analyzes the growing impact of accessorial charges in LTL shipping, which now account for nearly 9% of shippers' costs, and offers strategies for managing these rising expenses.
Q2 TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index points to a market largely favorable for shippers
July 25, 2024
The new edition of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm TD Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, pointed to what continues to be a shippers’ market, with truckload rates remaining low, parcel rates seeing discounting in express and ground parcel, and still-elevated less-than-truckload (LTL) rates.
LM Podcast Series: Assessing the freight transportation and logistics markets with Tom Nightingale, AFS Logistics
April 18, 2024
During this podcast, Nightingale provided a detailed overview of the new Cowen/AFS Freight Index report and variuous market issues.
TD Cowen/AFS Freight presents mixed readings for parcel, LTL, and truckload revenues and rates
April 10, 2024
The new edition of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm TD Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, was somewhat mixed, with less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload rates steady, and parcel rates being impacted by fuel surcharge increases and various accessorial charges amid lower demand.
TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index points to flattish rates, driven by muted demand
January 17, 2024
The new edition of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm TD Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, highlighted the impact of muted demand for truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), and parcel activity, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter.
TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index points to a muted peak season and mixed activity across TL, LTL, and parcel markets
October 23, 2023
The new edition of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, highlighted mixed readings, as well as expectations, for truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), and parcel activity, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter.
Industry executives address the impact of Yellow’s exit on the LTL marketplace
August 17, 2023
With the dust settling from the exit of Yellow Corp. in the less-than-truckload (LTL) market, following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing earlier this month, various industry stakeholders have taken time since then to assess what Yellow’s departure, as well as its 8%-to-9% sector market share, means for LTL and the freight transportation sector, too.
Trucking capacity hit by slowdown with UPS strike, Yellow uncertainty two wild cards
July 13, 2023
Truck capacity across all modes is slowing because of slackening demand in both industry and retail freight, leading to murky forecasts for the rest of the year by leading freight analysts. Top freight officials throughout the trucking industry are bracing for a slowdown the second half of the year. Truck demand, buoyed last year by the recovery following the COVID shutdown, returns to a more normal level, they predict.
Cowen/AFS Freight Index lays out Q1 expectations for TL, LTL, and parcel
January 17, 2023
The new edition of the Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was released today by New York-based investment firm Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, was in line with expectations, for truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), and parcel activity, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter.
Cowen/AFS Freight Index highlights a cooling off in rates from historic highs
October 26, 2022
The new edition of the Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, highlighted declines, for transportation costs, from the second to the third quarter, excluding ground parcel.
Cowen Inc. and AFS Logistics LLC issue new Freight Index, with a forward-looking view
October 22, 2021
New York-based investment firm Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC announced they have partnered up to roll out a new offering, entitled the Cowen/AFS Freight Index. The companies said that the objective of the quarterly Freight Index is to provide institutional clients of Cowen with predictive pricing tools for various sectors—including less-than-truckload (LTL), full truckload shipping (TL), and parcel shipping (separately focusing on express and ground).