Old Dominion Freight Line

Top trucking industry executives are hoping 2026 will—finally—be the year when pent-up demand translates into higher freight rates and a return to profitability in both the truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) sectors.

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.

Given the myriad of challenges facing the LTL market, it is likely that current market conditions are likely to remain intact, barring a true indication of a demand catalyst.

ODFL reported that revenue per day was down 4.8% annually in August, driven by LTL tonnage per day falling 9.2%.

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

ODFL reported that revenue per day was down 5.8% annually in May, driven by an 8.4% decline in revenue tons per day which was partially offset by an increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight.

ODFL reported that revenue-per-day fell 5.0% annually, due to a 7.1% decrease in daily LTL tonnage, that was partially offset by an increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight. And it added that the decrease in daily LTL tonnage was due to a 5.9% decline in LTL shipments per day, as well as a 1.3% decrease in LTL weight per shipment.

ODFL reported that revenue-per-day fell 8.2 % annually, paced by an 8.0% decrease in daily LTL tonnage, as well as slight decrease in LTL revenue per hundredweight. And it added that the change in daily LTL tonnage was due to a 6.8% decline in LTL shipments per day, as well as a 1.2% decrease in LTL weight per shipment.

ODFL reported that revenue-per-day headed up 5.6% annually, paced by a 1.5% gain in daily LTL tonnage, as well as an increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight. And it added that the change in daily LTL tonnage was due to a 2.3% gain in LTL shipments per day, which was partially offset by a 0.7% decrease in LTL weight per shipment.

The best fleets, buffeted by higher costs and now increasing environmental mandates, manage to stay ahead of competition through vision, strategy, and execution. But in the end, executives say it’s their people who make the biggest difference.

ODFL reported that revenue per day rose 1.2% annually, driven by an increased in LTL revenue per hundredweight, which was slightly offset by a 3.0% decrease in LTL tons per day. The company added that the change in daily LTL tons was attributed to a 3.2% decrease in LTL weight per shipment that was partially offset by a 0.2% increase in LTL shipments per day.

The cessation of Yellow continues to have repercussions throughout the $58 billion LTL market. Now, a shuffling of the capacity equation is causing strategic changes, and shippers need to adapt to the new alignment of resources to find operational success.

ODFL reported that revenue per day fell 0.9% compared to November 2022, which it said was mainly driven by a 2.3% decrease in LTL tons per day that was partially offset by an increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight. And it added that the change in LTL tons per day was attributed to a 2.9% decrease in LTL weight per shipment that was partially offset by a 0.6% increase in daily LTL shipments.

The first big winner in the bankruptcy dismantling of Yellow Corp. is less-than-truckload (LTL) rival, Richmond, Va.-based Estes Express, the nation’s fourth-largest LTL carrier.

ODFL reported that revenue per day was down 1.4% annually in August, driven by a 6.0% decrease in LTL tons per day, which was partially offset by an increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight. And it added that the decrease in daily LTL tonnage was related to a 1.2% decrease in LTL shipments per day and also a 4.8% decrease in LTL weight per shipment.