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In 2023, revenues for many segments of the trucking sector will decline. However, some sectors will do better than others.

Truckload/Dedicated

As the freight market conditions remained unfavorable, revenues and profit margins of North America’s biggest truckload and dedicated contract carriers decreased last year.

The American Trucking Associations seasonally adjusted for hire truck tonnage, which is based primarily on for-hire freight contracts, fell by 1.7% in 2023. This was the worst reading since 2020 when businesses closed and social distancing policies were implemented during the onset the coronavirus epidemic.

A persistent surplus of freight hauling capacity continues to keep freight rates low.

The vast majority of truckload carriers and dedicated carriers reported declining revenue last year. Acquisitions were often the driving force behind those who did expand their business in 2023.

Knight Swift Transportation, who once again retained its position as North America’s largest truckload carrier grew revenues 3.7% last year to nearly $4.7 Billion. In July 2023 the company announced that it had closed its acquisition of U.S. Xpress Enterprises which ranked No. This sector was ranked 8 a year ago.

Heartland Express climbed two places to No. In 2023, Heartland Express will be ranked 11th in the truckload/dedicated sector with a revenue of $1.2billion. This is an increase of nearly 25% over the previous year. Heartland expanded their business by acquiring Smith Transport and CFI, in 2022.

Ryder System completed its acquisition of Cardinal Logistics last February. This purchase has boosted Ryder’s dedicated transportation business which is already large. It now ranks No. The updated sector list places Ryder at No. 5.

— Seth Clevenger

Less-Than-Truckload

In 2023, the less-than truckload segment was reshaped by one of its largest players, Yellow Corp.

The departure of Yellow from the LTL sector, which was ranked third a year earlier, has changed the competitive landscape of this segment of the trucking business.

Yellow’s former competitors, including Estes Express , Saia Inc. and XPO have acquired and reopened some of the company’s shuttered Terminals.

LTL carriers in general fared better than their truckload counterparts in 2023, but financial results are still mixed.

The LTL sector list is roughly evenly split between LTL companies that continued to grow their businesses in the past year and those who posted lower revenues due to a soft freight markets.

FedEx Freight is still the leader in LTL with a revenue of more than $9 billion despite a 10.6% drop from a year ago.

Old Dominion Freight Line ranks again at No. The second sector is XPO. Estes Express Lines, R+L Carrier , and R+L Carrier are the next five.

— Seth Clevenger

Intermodal/Drayage

Intermodal and drayage carriers, like most other segments in the trucking industry, saw their business declines last year due to challenging freight market conditions.

All but two of the 20 companies listed on this year’s list, which has data available for 2022 and 2023.

The top five carriers within this segment are unchanged from the year before, with J.B. Hunt Intermodal is the leader with a $6.2 billion revenue, down 11% since 2022.

The decline was even more pronounced for Hub group. Its revenue dropped by nearly 25%, to just under $2 billion.

The remaining top five companies — Evans Delivery Schneider, and IMC Cos. — also generated lower revenue last year.

Bay and Bay Transportation has $11 million in revenue for 2023, which places it on the Intermodal/Drayage list. (Bay and Bay Transportation).

The list of the top three sectors for this year features three newcomers. Massachusetts-based roadOne IntermodaLogistics debuts as No. Supra National Express is a California-based diversified carrier. The asset-based intermodal service of Minnesota’s Bay and Bay Transportation puts it at No. The list has 23 companies.

— Mike Senatore

Motor Vehicle/Driveaway

United Road Services remained No. 1 on the list. The sector’s top company, United Road Services, has an estimated revenue of $736 million.

Proficient Auto Transport is ranked No. 4 on the list. Proficient Auto Transport is ranked No. 4 after its parent made multiple acquisitions that led to an initial public offer in May.

— Mike Senatore

Tank/Bulk

Bulk carriers faced major challenges in 2023. Kenan Advantage Group is the leader in this sector with a large margin, but revenue was down 3% compared to last year.

However, a few bulk carriers have been able to grow. McCoy Group divisions Foodliner and Quest Liner for example, increased revenue by 27,4% last year, and moved up to No. The fourth sector on the list.

— Mike Senatore

Air/Expedited

In the air/expedited segment, Forward Air Covenant ArcBest maintained their positions as the top three despite revenue decreases of 12.9%. 6.4%. and 26.9%.

— Mike Senatore

Refrigerated

The oversupply of freight hauling capacities and the stubbornly low freight rates that resulted from it will cause significant problems for carriers in the bulk, auto, and refrigerated segments in 2023.

The top eight carriers in the refrigerated industry all saw their revenue drop in 2023. Prime Inc., KLLM Transport Service, and Stevens Transport remain the two largest refrigerated carriers in the industry. 3.

— Mike Senatore

Flatbed/Heavy-Specialized

In 2023, the flatbed segment and heavy specialized segment will also face difficulties. Daseke Inc. which was acquired in April by TFI international, is again leading the pack, just ahead Landstar system.

PS Logistics continues to be the leader, followed by Anderson Trucking Service. Bennett Family of Cos. rounds out the top five.

— Mike Senatore

Package/Courier

FedEx’s package services will remain at the top of the Package/Courier list in 2024, despite challenges in 2023. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg News)

The rankings for the package/courier sectors were virtually unchanged from last year. FedEx Corp., UPS Inc. and other parcel giants remain at the top of the rankings despite revenue declines in their respective package delivery segments of 3.9% and 6,6%.

Canadian courier Ranks No. The third-ranked courier, Purolator, experienced a similar revenue drop of 6.4%.

— Mike Senatore

Household goods/Commercial delivery

In general, the biggest carriers in the household products segment had a difficult year in 2023.

The top-ranked UniGroup reported revenue of $1.28 billion for 2023. This is down by nearly 20% compared to $1.6 billion the year before.

— Mike Senatore

Mail

The top four U.S. transportation contractors. Postal Service remained unchanged since last year. Southern Mail Service, based in Houston, joins the top 5.

— Mike Senatore

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