XPO’s tonnage turns positive in February
Freight Waves Todd Maiden March 2, 2026
XPO’s tonnage officially returned to positive territory in February for the first time since June 2024. The Monday update from the Greenwich, Connecticut-based less-than-truckload carrier followed a second consecutive favorable manufacturing report released earlier in the day.
Link: XPO Press Release XPO Provides North American LTL Operating Data for February 2026
Dedicated trucking comes of age
Logistics Management John Schulz March 2, 2026
At A. Duie Pyle, the nation’s 16th-largest less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier, dedicated contract carriage is among its largest service offerings, representing roughly 18% of company revenue and ranking as its second-largest division. “Dedicated provides a stable foundation of recurring revenue, long-term partnerships, and steady asset utilization—all essential to sustaining profitability through freight market cycles,” says company chairman Peter Latta.
E-commerce has only intensified this demand. Nearly every major retailer now maintains agreements with one or more core carriers to guarantee freight volumes on specific city-to-city or ZIP-code-based routes, often in exchange for more favorable truckload or LTL pricing, executives say.
“It sounds great on paper, but it takes good planning,” says Geoff Muessig, chief marketing officer at Pitt Ohio, the nation’s 14th-largest LTL carrier. “When it works, it’s marvelous.”
Truckload capacity index moves up as large US carriers shuffle assets
Journal of Commerce William B. Cassidy March 2, 2026 $Subscription Based
Large US truckload carriers put enough additional trucks on the road late last year to boost the Journal of Commerce Truckload Capacity Index (TCI) slightly, despite ongoing cuts in capacity at many companies amid rising spot rates and volatile demand.
Those trucks, however, were mostly destined for higher-paying dedicated and specialized services, not one-way truckload service.
A glimmer of hope … or more pain?
DC Velocity Gary Frantz March 2, 2026
The upside argument points to truckload spot market rates beginning to firm. “I would not call it a surge, but our forecasts have been tightening a bit for a while” based on trend lines signaling improving freight volumes and rates. “Not anything off the charts,” but an expectation, Vise says, that overall truckload rates in 2026 “will rise some 4% as a blended rate, with spot rates up 6.5%, and contract rate increases coming in at more than 2%.” Vise notes, though, that as of now, FTR’s forecast for truckload rates “is more likely to strengthen than to weaken.”
Derek Barrs defends FMCSA’s bold moves at TCA
Freight Waves John Kingston March 2, 2026
The new administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spoke to his first TCA annual meeting Monday, fiercely defending the steps that the agency and other parts of the federal government have taken to either enforce existing rules governing driver eligibility or create new standards that have led to a significant decrease in the number of truck drivers on the road.
FMCSA boss: 'We're going to bite off more than we can chew'
CCJ Angel Coker Jones March 2, 2026
FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs laid out his agency's active regulatory agenda Monday at the Truckload Carriers Association convention in Orlando, summing up its growing list of priorities matter-of-factly: “We have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of enforcement to do. We have a lot of education to do,” he said.
Torc Advances Autonomous Truck Testing in Michigan
Transport Topics Keiron Greenhalgh March 2, 2026
Freightliner Cascadias equipped with Torc’s autonomous driving software began testing in Michigan in February, adding to trials already underway on roads in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and near Blacksburg, Va.
Related: Torc Press Release Torc Robotics Expands Autonomous Truck Testing to Michigan Public Roads
ATRI: Chicago Home to Worst Truck Bottleneck
Transport Topics Eugene Mulero March 2, 2026
“Congestion delays inflicted on truckers are the equivalent of 436,000 drivers sitting idle for an entire year,” ATRI President and Chief Operating Officer Rebecca Brewster said Feb. 17.
Link: American Transportation Research Institute Top 100 Truck Bottlenecks – 2026
‘A continual focus’: How carriers navigate traffic bottlenecks
Trucking Dive Larry Avila March 2, 2026
Traffic congestion adds $109 billion to the cost of goods paid by consumers, according to the American Transportation Research Institute. But carriers can help counter that inefficiency with their own strategy, investments and telematics — along with input from ATRI research on transportation barriers.
Highlighting those efforts, ABF Freight, ITS Logistics and Schneider National recently shared with Trucking Dive their strategies to minimize delays due to traffic congestion.
Labor Department Plans to Rescind Independent Contractor Rule
Transport Topics Noël Fletcher March 2, 2026
This development was welcomed by American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear, who said the proposed rule would do away with “a destructive” classification standard and promote a regulation to protect over 350,000 independent truckers.
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