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US freight industry enters 2026 with low growth expectations
Journal of Commerce William B. Cassidy December 15, 2025 $Subscription Based
US freight demand enters 2026 with import container volumes in retraction and surface freight demand in a three-year slump.
Container volumes will be flat to down next year, according to forecasts from S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s, while truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) operators steel themselves for another so-so year.
How Uncertainty Defined Trucking in 2025
Transport Topics Connor D. Wolf December 16, 2025
“Uncertainty, I think, was more of a factor for the shipper,” said Jason Seidl, managing director at the investment banking company TD Cowen. “They had to deal with multiple changing tariff winds, and that was difficult.
Trucking executives are set to anxiously welcome in New Year amid uncertainty regarding freight demand
Logistics Management John D. Schulz December 15, 2025
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.
Until that hope actually translates into profits, most trucking leaders say they continue to tighten the variable costs they can control.
Impact of non-domiciled CDL enforcement splits US trucking sector
Journal of Commerce Ari Ashe December 15, 2025 $Subscription Based
The trucking industry differs on how much of any impact stricter federal rules on immigrants driving in the US will have, with one side arguing that a crackdown will move the needle on subdued pricing and the other warning that only a demand rebound will end the three-year freight slump.
Related: Transport Topics Duffy Takes Tough Stance With N.Y. on Noncompliant CDLs
UPS Purchases 400 Robots to Unload Trucks in Automation Push
Transport Topics/Bloomberg News Spencer Soper and Cailley LaPara December 15, 2025
UPS Inc. will invest $120 million in 400 robots used to unload trucks, according to people familiar with the matter, revealing new details on the logistics giant’s $9 billion automation plan that aims to boost profit by decreasing labor costs.
Related: MIT News Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting
Parcel carriers score 98% for on-time delivery during holiday rush
Freight Waves Eric Kulisch December 15, 2025
Ninety-eight percent of express, next-day and ground shipments delivered by FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service were on time within one day of the promised day of delivery between Dec. 1 and Dec. 6 as the industry absorbed a 30% increase in volume compared to the rest of the year.
Brad Jacobs to step down from chairman roles at XPO and GXO
DC Velocity December 15, 2025
“By transitioning out of my board positions at XPO and GXO, I can dedicate even more energy to QXO and Jacobs Private Equity,” Jacobs said in a release. “We intend to grow QXO into a $50 billion revenue leader in building products distribution through accretive acquisitions and organic growth.
Link: XPO Press Release XPO Announces Brad Jacobs to Step Down as Executive Chairman
Trucking By The Numbers
Fleet Owner Jeremy Wolfe December 15, 2025
When comparing ATRI’s measure of operational costs across the last five years, some expenses are growing faster than others. Not including fuel, the fastest-growing costs over the last few years were equipment payments, tolls, and driver wages.
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