The Future of LTL Trucking

One of the things that we do at K-Way Express Inc. is monitor what is going on in the world of LTL trucking. We are always keeping our fingers on the pulse of developments in this world because we operate in the same industry. Clearly, LTL trucking matters greatly to us, and we want to be the top trucking brokerage firm that people think of when they think of any trucking need that they may have. 

LTL Truck Load Rates Still Rising

Despite a downturn in the transportation business as a whole, there have still been significant increases to the rates that LTL carriers are charging for the work that they do. Rates for other types of shipments such as dry van shipments have decreased by approximately 7% since June, but LTL carriers’ charge rates are up about 2% during that same period. This is an interesting dynamic that is not typical of the industry, and many believe that it is something worth keeping an eye on as time goes by. 

LTL Carriers Are a Major Revenue Generator in Transportation

A fact that is little known among the public is that LTL carriers generate approximately half of the revenue of the entire transportation industry. They are a force to be reckoned with all by themselves. The fact that these carriers feel comfortable continuing to raise rates right now seems to indicate that they aren’t too concerned with losing customers over these moves. It also shows that the carriers believe they will be paid the rates that they are demanding. If both of those things are true, then there is something to be said about the transportation industry at this time. 

This means that things may be somewhat healthier than the public has been led to believe. The trucking industry might actually have a lot more strength behind it than we realize. If this is true, then there may not need to be as much fear and concern as has been put out into the public as of late. Sometimes, we all just need to take a step back and allow the market to play out the way it is supposed to. More often than not, things have a way of working themselves out for the better. 

Plenty of people have begun to look at the situation in the LTL space and realize that things could certainly be a lot worse. In other words, there is no reason to panic as so many others might want us to do. It is simply time to look at where we are in the industry and figure out what that means for the future of the business. It is most likely that we simply need to look at some shining examples from the LTL part of the business to realize that things aren’t as bad as they are made out to be.