Truckload volume buckles with inventory overload
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Good morning. Inventories are through the roof! 📦
Big retailers like Costco, Target, and Walmart are reporting large inventories which reflect a swift change from the lows we’ve seen recently. Executives at the chains are surprised, as inventory-to-sales ratios continue to rise. Truckload volumes are dipping alongside the revelation, and the intermodal business is beginning to lick its chops in anticipation…
Check out today’s featured article from Freight Waves for the analysis of the inventory surplus and what it may mean supply chain challenges and logistics issues in the future. ☕️
Season 6 Episode 21 GIF By SpongeBob SquarePants via GIPHY
Featured Article:
“Too much stock means lower truckload volumes, more intermodal business.”
Water Cooler Topics
🚛 Last week, U.S. Express laid off 5% of its corporate staff. The Chattanooga, Tennessee-based trucking giant claims the layoffs were made in an attempt to cut back on costs after Q1 reports show an almost $9 million loss. This amounted to about 70 layoffs of its 1,400 office employees and no driver, service center, or maintenance roles were included in the position removals.
🤖 FedEx and Aurora have unveiled their brainchild: autonomous trucking pilot lanes. The Memphis-based global freight services titan FedEx and Pittsburgh-based self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation Inc., are expanding their up-and-coming pilot program. Their collaboration had spanned almost six months and the new commercial lane in Texas is expected to have a successful launch.
🚢 Shanghai port is causing the biggest pileup in the global supply chain, according to CNBC’s Supply Chain Heat Map. Lack of workers and Covid-related lockdowns have created an epic pileup at the Chinese port. Lockdowns are stated to be eased by June 1st, but that is subject to change.
AtoB trucking payments digital platform partners with World Economic Forum’s Global Innovators Community
The Global Innovators is an invitation-only community that honors up-and-coming start-ups in the tech and business realms. AtoB has made waves in the trucking industry by aiding a persistent age-old problem of collecting and making payments to companies in the supply chain.
AtoB provides a vast array of solutions for the financial aspects of the trucking industry and promises to ensure a better future for struggling trucking companies.
Santa Barbara County vs. Exxon: oil trucking permit denial ignites federal lawsuit
Exxon Mobil Corporation is going toe-to-toe with the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors over its 3-2 vote against the oil company’s plan to allow the shipment of crude oil from coastal facilities to its inland refineries. The plan was preceded by a 2015 pipeline burst and is meant to work around the problem until the issues are fixed.
Via federal lawsuit, Exxon claims Santa Barbara is voting with a "prejudicial abuse of discretion” and has not evaluated the proposal in good faith.
Fuel ⛽️
“Truckload spot rates have fallen by nearly one-third since the start of the year, while truckload contract rates have risen.”
Trucker’s Lounge 🧢
Will you be attending the Texas Trucking Show? Trucking industry members get in free! | CDL Life
“This June, more than 200 vendors will be gathering in Houston, Texas, for a major heavy-duty aftermarket trade show.”
Texas man admits to trucking company payroll scheme | The Trucker
“A Texas man has admitted he wrongly accepted more than $432,000 in unearned payroll funds as part of a scam against a prominent Texas trucking firm.”
Business Strategy 💡
Berylls Strategy Advisors Releases Market Analysis of Global Trucking Industry | Cision PR Neswire
“Following several tumultuous years for the trucking industry, Berylls Strategy Advisors, a global management consulting firm focused on the auto mobility industry, has completed a Q1 2022 market analysis that reviews the challenges of 2021 while offering insights for the future.”
Artificial Intelligence 🤖
Autonomous trucking company Plus drives faster transition to semi-autonomous trucks | Venture Beat
“Breaking away from the competition, Plus, a Silicon Valley-based provider of autonomous trucking technology, is taking an innovative driver-in approach to commercialization that aligns with the critical challenges facing the trucking industry today.”
Owner-Operators 🚛
Soaring fuel prices leave owner-operators with tough choices | Freight Waves
“High fuel prices could push some owner-operators out of trucking.”
Driver Issues 🚚
New Data Suggests the U.S. Trucking Shortage May Be Ending | Harvard Business Review
“Real-time data suggests that one major cause of supply chain headaches in the United States — a shortage of available trucking — is coming to an end. But it also is signaling that the economy could be at an inflection point.”
New trucking industry survey reveals challenges, opportunities | The Trucker
“A recent survey conducted by Truckstop.com reveals the way many carriers feel about the current challenges on the road.”
Quote of the Day:
“It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.”
— Scott Belsky, co-founder of Behance
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for July 31, 2025, from iLevel Logistics Inc.