LTL Rates

ODFL reported that November revenue per day fell 4.4% annually, related to a 10.0% decrease in LTL tons per day, which it said was partially offset by an increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight.

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently interviewed Ali Faghri Chief Strategy Officer at Greenwich, Conn.-based national less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier XPO. Faghri provided Berman with a detailed overview of the LTL market, economic conditions, and how XPO is leveraging AI, among other topics, in the interview below.

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.

Fewer trucks chasing even less freight. That’s the mid-year summary of the $994 billion domestic trucking market.

The $66 billion less-than-truckload (LTL) market is facing a turbulent year, with tariffs and economic uncertainty significantly impacting profitability. Analysts predict a challenging environment for LTL carriers, who are dealing with supply constraints, changes to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC), and increasing pressure on pricing strategies.

In this podcast, LM Group News Editor Jeff Berman interviewed Scooter Sayers, Business Development Director–LTL Solutions at Cubiscan, a leader in freight dimensioning solutions, and principal of Sayers Logistics LLC, an LTL transportation consultancy, delivering LTL solutions by working with shippers, carriers, trade organizations, 3PLs, and technology providers to help move the LTL industry forward.

Major changes expected in the 2025 National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) will go live on July 19. That’s according to the National Motor Freight Traffic Association  (NMFTA), which delayed the launch from a May start.

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.

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.

In a wide-ranging presentation at the SMC3 Connections conference, which was recently held in Colorado Springs, Co., Satish Jindel, principal of Pittsburgh-based SJ Consulting Group, took a deep dive into the current state of the less-than-truckload (LTL) market. Jindel addressed various aspects of the LTL market, including the impact of Yellow’s exit roughly a year ago, industry supply and demand, and opportunities for shippers, carriers, other stakeholders to work together, and changes in the parcel sector posing a threat...

The increase will cost shippers “on average” around 7.5%, Saia said. It also said selected accessorial charges and minimum charges will be impacted.