Freight Recession Squeezes Top 100 For-Hire Carriers

Jul 03, 2024 at 02:53 PM CST
While enduring a prolonged freight recession, the largest trucking companies in North America have been surviving on lower rates and tightly managing their operating expenses as they await a market rebound. The financial strain caused by the freight downturn, which took hold in mid-2022 and has continued for two years into the first half of 2024, is plainly evident on this latest edition of Transport Topics’ Top 100 For-Hire Carriers list. The preponderance of companies that appear on the updated list reported declining revenue and weaker profits in 2023 as a persistent oversupply of freight hauling capacity held down freight rates and gave shippers greater negotiating power.

Jul 03, 2024 at 02:53 PM CST

While enduring a prolonged freight recession, the largest trucking companies in North America have been surviving on lower rates and tightly managing their operating expenses as they await a market rebound.

The financial strain caused by the freight downturn, which took hold in mid-2022 and has continued for two years into the first half of 2024, is plainly evident on this latest edition of Transport Topics’ Top 100 For-Hire Carriers list.

The preponderance of companies that appear on the updated list reported declining revenue and weaker profits in 2023 as a persistent oversupply of freight hauling capacity held down freight rates and gave shippers greater negotiating power.