A slumping economy combined with overzealous equipment purchasing on behalf of carriers can have a measurable impact on capacity. Price has been a significant issue in the trucking industry during the last two years as the capacity overhang has led shippers to seek rate cuts from carriers in all modes, and trucking in particular. Just how important competitive pricing has become for trucking is evident in our annual research, which asks close to 2,000 shippers across Canada to rate the importance of eight key performance indicators when it comes to selecting one carrier over another. The “Importance of Performance Criteria” chart above shows the value shippers place on each of the eight KPIs on a scale of 1 to 5 and provides a comparison for all modes. On-time performance remains the top priority when it comes to selecting both LTL and TL carriers. However, competitive pricing is the second highest consideration when shippers select a TL carrier, ahead of both customer service and quality of equipment and operations. When it comes to selecting an LTL carrier, shippers right now value competitive pricing almost as much as customer service. And it’s a certain sign of the times that even when it comes to selecting a courier, competitive pricing is the second highest consideration, again ahead of customer service. This year, our survey also looked into the value shippers place on sustainable practices when it comes to selecting their carriers. It’s interesting to note that sustainable practices were ranked ahead of the ability to provide value-added services and information technology when it came to selecting both LTL and TL carriers. The “Shipper Satisfaction Ratings by Mode” chart shows how shippers scored the performance of their core LTL and TL carriers, as well as carriers in other modes, in those eight key performance indicators. Note that TL carriers were given the highest shipper satisfaction scores. That’s a double-edged sword, of course, since that also indicates that service expectations are highest in the TL sector. In fact, TL carriers scored ahead of all modes in on-time performance, quality of equipment and operations, customer service, problem solving, valued-added services and employing sustainable practices. Just as impressive is the fact that they accomplished all that while being graded highest for providing competitive pricing.

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15%

That’s how much North American heavy-duty truck net orders increased in August compared to a year ago, according to ACT Research. Medium-duty Classes 5-7 net orders increased by 27% in August compared to the prior year.