By
Freight 360
In this week’s post I’ll be explaining the 2023 freight market trends and the events that led up to it. The original source of this content is Dean Croke’s Weekly Market Update released on DAT. It’s a great perspective on what happened in the previous handful of years that have contributed to how last year’s market played out. And provides insights into what 2024 may hold for us. As WC Fields once said, “”Time and again, history repeats itself; the only difference is, the actors change.”
Last year will go down in the books like 2019 did – an unprofitable year for carriers with the usual twists and turns. Unlike 2019, though, we have not seen anywhere near the level of carrier bankruptcies reported despite the number of long-haul carriers that have exiting the market.
The first half of 2018 was an excellent year for carriers, especially flatbed carriers, boosted by a great industrial economy, rising oil prices, and significant rebuilding efforts following hurricanes Irma and Harvey in late 2017. Changes in the tax code also benefited carriers that placed a record number of orders for new trucks later that year. Owner-operators and small fleet carriers made, on average, $24,000 gross profit after all expenses during that year; by all accounts, it was a good year in trucking.
As demand cooled in 2019, the industry became increasingly oversupplied as new trucks hit the road following the frenzied buying spree of new trucks and trailers six to nine months earlier. Downward pressure on spot rates came next, resulting in a lot of bankruptcies in the second quarter of that year, including some mega-carriers – Falcon, Celadon, and New England Motor Freight (NEMF).
“Approximately 640 carriers went out of business in the first half of 2019, up from 175 for the same period last year and more than double the total number of trucker failures in 2018.”
The net result was a poor financial year for carriers in 2019; average gross profit levels dropped into negative territory. Compared to 2018, when small carriers had net income averages of $24,000, 2019 saw carriers lose an average of $2,000 gross profit for the year.
The first quarter of 2020 continued much like 2019, with carriers dropping capacity to match the declining freight market. That was until March 11, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic.
The pandemic upended the freight market – demand crashed, drivers sat idle, consumers of freight hunkered down at home, increasing their spending on e-commerce, and carriers took advantage of whatever financial assistance they could get to weather the storm.
When the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications stopped mid-year, the freight market recovered as demand returned, and most carriers came off the sidelines.
What happened in the last six months of 2020 was nothing short of remarkable and set the stage for an unprecedented doubling of for-hire truckload capacity in 2021. From June to December 2020, two things happened that kick-started one of the most profitable 18-month periods in trucking history:
The spread between fuel and spot rates created higher margins and catalyzed the doubling of long-haul capacity throughout 2021 when carriers made record profits and paid down debt. Toward the end of 2021, long-haul carriers made upwards of $1.00/mile gross profit – or the equivalent of $100,000 annually after all costs were considered. The 2023 freight market is still feeling the effects of this three years later as carriers exit the market at a much slower pace than most expected.
Carriers of all sizes used the boom to sell excess equipment and property, building massive war chests compared to previous years. They also became more selective of the loads on offer from brokers and, throughout 2021, ran 10,000 fewer miles, averaging 85,000 miles for the calendar year, according to Todd Amen at ATBS. Amen told DAT Freight & Analytics in late 2022, “For the first time, we’re seeing carriers electing to sit the market out as diesel prices spiked over the summer, something we’ve never seen before.
All of that changed, though, when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, sending diesel prices sky-high and global demand in the opposite direction. By then, many carriers had seen the writing on the wall and were already getting out, realizing the good times of 2021 were in their rear-view mirror. For others, surging diesel prices and falling spot rates meant they realized they were no longer viable.
There was an exodus of carriers in April and May as spiking operating costs resulted in them being unable to pay their bills.
For long-haul carriers, 2022 ended up a mixed year, which started great but gradually deteriorated due mainly to diesel prices reaching a record high of $5.81/gal in June. Another wave of carrier exits followed in September because those carriers struggled to afford their monthly fuel and finance bills.
Despite this, carriers still made a $41,000 gross profit in 2022, around half what they made a year earlier. The carriers that remained in the long-haul sector were drawing down heavily on the cash reserves amassed in 2021, and for most, those reserves were running out as the perfect storm of low rates and high fuel costs gripped the late 2022 freight market.
Following the massive build-up of shipper inventories in 2021 and 2022 and decreasing freight demand over the year, carriers could still break even in 2023 despite the rollercoaster ride that diesel prices were taking carriers on. From the end of January to Independence Day last year, diesel prices fell by 18%, or $0.84/gal, a welcome reduction in operating costs of approximately $0.08/mile, allowing many carriers to stay in the industry a little longer as rates continued to fall.
In the ensuing 10 weeks following the 2023 Independence Day celebration, diesel shot up 23%, or $0.86/gal, erasing the prior six-month decline and resulting in the third-highest number of carriers exiting the industry in October. Since then, diesel prices have dropped nearly 15%, or $0.70/gal, slowing the rate of carrier exits.
The 2023 freight market ended with more trucks than loads. Despite this, long-haul carriers broke even by year-end after making the equivalent of $3,000 annual gross profit in the first half of 2023 but losing the same amount in the year’s second half.
Compared to the second half of 2019, the second half of 2023 was almost identical, with carriers in negative profit territory for much of it. Most long-haul carriers were getting by but needed to generate more profit to survive long-term or be able to pay for significant repairs. Many are still only a major breakdown away from going out of business.
We start 2024 with the market capacity rebalancing and carriers exiting the market, albeit slower than a year ago. Surprisingly, carriers continue to join the industry, fulfilling the American Dream of starting their own businesses. If they can survive the first quarter of this year – when rates are sure to drop along with freight demand – they will thrive when the market turns, hopefully in the Spring.
One thing is for sure: fewer trucks will be available to move a higher freight volume when the freight market does turn. And that means higher freight rates and improved profit margins.
Spot truckload rates rose in the freight market in December and the gap between spot and contract van rates closed to its narrowest point since March 2022 when prices to move truckload freight were near all-time highs. A convergence of spot and contract rates would signal an end to the current cycle of falling prices for truckload services. The price to move van freight under contract hit its lowest point in nearly three years. Entering 2024, shippers are still in a strong position as they negotiate contract rates. However, carriers on the spot market are starting the see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The good times should return to the freight market this year, unlike the 2021 boom. It will be more like what we saw in 2018.
For more tips on building successful freight brokerages check out our website Freight360.net for more information on our Freight Broker Course- Freight Broker Basics. Where you’ll learn everything you need to know to earn a living as a freight broker. And what it takes to build a successful freight brokerage.
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