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Freight-volumes-Bultrans-llc

Freight volumes

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Rebalancing. That’s the word being tossed around by trucking industry analysts and economists when discussing the current freight volumes and market. The term applies to the cyclical dance between the shippers who provide the freight and the trucking industry that hauls it.

Freight volumes

There are too many trucks for the available freight. The competition for loads is very high. Fuel prices are transitioning from an inflationary factor to a deflationary one as we pass the anniversary of the fuel price spikes that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Soft real retail sales trends and ongoing destocking remain the primary headwinds to freight volumes, and sharp import declines suggest this type of environment will persist for some time.

Destocking is the process retailers use to match inventory levels to current sales rates. If a retailer is selling less of a product, it needs a smaller inventory to support sales. When consumers aren’t buying, retailers don’t order replacements — and shipment numbers drop. While contract rates are falling, they haven’t yet fallen to spot rate levels, as truckers who depend on brokered freight can readily attest. The solution to lower rates is in the “rebalancing” mentioned at the beginning of this article.

For rates to rise, shipment numbers must come up. The pendulum of pricing power has been firmly with shippers for some time, and the cudgel of lower rates is starting to impact capacity. Though new equipment production remains elevated, hiring and fleet exit trends tell us capacity is slowing at the margin. Most of the experts are looking to the third quarter for the freight recession to end.

BULTRANS
YOUR LOCAL RELIABLE CHOICE FOR YOUR FREIGHT SHIPPING NEEDS

WE UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT RELIABILITY, AFFORDABILITY AND ACCURACY ARE WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING YOUR FREIGHT.
Our professional logistics team has proven track record of providing exactly that.
By choosing BULTRANS you ensure you have a truck showing up on time with professional and safe driver behind the wheel who will deliver you cargo anywhere in the country.
Do not hesitate to reach us via email: contact@bultransllc.com or feel free to call us at: (281)688-4266

Owner-operators-bultrans-llc

Owner-operators

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Parts availability and prices are among the biggest problems facing independent drivers. Inflation is pushing owner-operators to readjust routes and loads. With economic pressures including record inflation, still-high diesel prices, and volatile freight markets hurting the bottom line of even the largest carriers, owner-operators are having to stay on their toes as they navigate the winding roads of an uncertain second quarter. Most of the owner-operators have booked shorter routes due to rising costs while the rest have looked for lighter loads.Read More

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Fleet’s operations

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Time spent reviewing your fleet’s operations can help pinpoint weaknesses and provide opportunities for improvements. Probably of that you have not had time to re-evaluate your existing practices and procedures.

As supply chain issues are getting resolved and more businesses are returning to normal operations. Now is a good time to take a step back and see if there are areas that needs improvements.

Rightsizing your fleet’s operations means that you have the correct mix of tractors, trailers, and trucks in your fleet. Also including the right combination of sleepers and day cabs. If possible, take a clean-sheet approach to routing to see if there are ways to optimize pickups and deliveries. Read More

Market-swings-Bultrans-llc

Market swings in trucking

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Choosing a finance partner with trucking industry knowledge can better help fleets navigate market swings and pending regulations. Given the recent failures and resulting concerns Americans have in the banking industry. Now seems like a great time to revisit the characteristics you should look for in your financing source.Read More

Spot-Freight-economy-Bultrans-llc

Spot Freight economy

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The spot market economy for freight has been “recovering” for much of the time. The latest catchphrases for the market critical to smaller fleets and owner-operators are “soft” according to the latest from the research.

A industry researcher, characterize the spot market economy as “soft”! Especially in two critical segments of freight-hauling: dry van and reefer. Broker-posted spot rates for both segments were down week-over-week, as was the load volume on the spot market. Further minor decreases in rates or volume would not necessarily indicate that the spot market is undergoing anything more significant than seasonal weakness.Read More

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Truck parts shortages

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Fleets share how they’ve endured truck, trailer equipment shortages. As fleets continue to struggle with parts shortages, procuring new equipment, and rising maintenance costs, they are forced to think of new, creative ways to keep their operations running. Fleets today are finding more ways to get creative as trucking equipment is still hard to come by. There are  fleets currently that run 491 power units and more than 2,200 trailers—a mix of dry van, tanker, heavy haul, and flatbed. Because of the parts and equipment shortages that have plagued trucking operations through 2022 and into 2023. That has meant acquiring more used equipment and thinking outside the box when it comes to preventive maintenance intervals and parts procurement. There are, however, more challenges than benefits that her fleet has run into, especially when it comes to maintaining some of these older assets.Read More

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Fleets advantage

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Fleet Advantage latest benchmarking survey details fleets’ growing focus on environmental goals. The latest industry benchmarking survey from Fleet Advantage shows a growing number of carriers plan to deploy alternative-fuel vehicles sooner than later. The report also indicates that maintenance and repair trends remain top of mind and that fleets are focusing more on modernizing their assets and shortening vehicle life cycles to meet various environmental, social, and governance goals. Read More

freight-bultrans-llc

Freight volume

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Finding the best lanes doesn’t require a crystal ball—the process is just different now than before COVID-19 and requires better communication and coordination between shippers and carriers. The only thing predictable with the freight market today seems to be its unpredictability. Before COVID-19, there was some ability to foresee highs and lows in freight volume based on seasonality and historical trends, adjust available capacity, and anticipate rates to be paid. That’s no longer the case.

Seemingly overnight, volumes go from all-time highs to record lows and rate structures respond accordingly. Yesterday’s readily available carrying capacity quickly becomes a lack of empty trailers today. There’s been the need to operate more maintenance-intensive older equipment while new truck and trailer production slowly returns to normal, the ongoing driver shortage, and still historically high prices for fuel.

Like never before, analyzing freight trends and predicting rates needs to be proactive. When you have a lot of transaction data across tens of thousands of lanes contributed daily from different sources, you can more accurately track and benchmark your rates against the broader market. Rates averaged over the short term can indicate which direction prices are moving. Carriers need to know their costs or “they need to know their numbers” to see if the freight they are accepting is profitable. Typically, you will see a head haul paired with a backhaul and average the two rates. Then you can compare that to your costs to analyze profitability. Оne of the top business challenges for a carrier is consistency in freight volumes.

BULTRANS
YOUR LOCAL RELIABLE CHOICE FOR YOUR FREIGHT SHIPPING NEEDS

WE UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT RELIABILITY, AFFORDABILITY AND ACCURACY ARE WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING YOUR FREIGHT.
Our professional logistics team has proven track record of providing exactly that.
By choosing BULTRANS you ensure you have a truck showing up on time with professional and safe driver behind the wheel who will deliver you cargo anywhere in the country.
Do not hesitate to reach us via email: contact@bultransllc.com or feel free to call us at: (281)688-4266

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