Poor for-hire trucking conditions dragged on through 2025, far beyond the industry's expectations at the start of the year.
Several major haulers shuttered operations or were acquired, and many more chose to reduce expenses or operations. FleetOwner's top business/market articles highlight major contractions and consolidations in an industry facing hard times.
10. Schneider eyes more dedicated M&A to expand fleet reach and lock in long-term freight
In November, Schneider National said that it is eyeing more acquisitions in the dedicated space.
Last December, the carrier paid about $420 million to buy Cowan Systems and related real estate. Schneider President and CEO Mark Rourke noted that many trucks in the truckload segment are focusing on dedicated work for longer contracts and deeper relationships. Read more...
9. Ryder System ‘in the market’ for more dedicated carrier acquisitions
In March, Ryder System executives mentioned that they were also looking for more dedicated acquisitions along the lines of their $302 million purchase of Cardinal Logistics early last year.
The acquisition helped Ryder move up two spots to No. 14 in the year's FleetOwner 500: For-Hire list rankings of the largest carriers in the U.S.
“We’re always in the market looking,” said Ryder Chairman and CEO Robert Sanchez. “We are in the market looking for other Cardinals […] that we can bring in because it also gives us some density on freight.” Read more...
8. Another Proficient acquisition further shakes up auto transport market
Following the demise of Jack Cooper Transport, the auto transport market remained in flux. In March, Proficient Auto Logistics acquired a Pennsylvania automobile hauler, which may have increased its capacity by 13%: Brothers Auto Transport.
In 2024, Proficient had rolled up five regional haulers and went public. The closure of Jack Cooper Transport brought Proficient an additional opportunity to win customers over. Read more...
7. How an independent FedEx Freight plans to grow
In May, FedEx detailed how its LTL division spinoff will begin doing business in 2026. According to Chief Customer Officer Brie Carer, its top priorities will be:
- winning more small business customers
- growing its less-than-truckload business, and
- serving more grocery stores.
FedEx is No. 1 on the 2025 FleetOwner 500 list of for-hire carriers. A spinoff LTL division in 2026 will include about 30,000 power units. Read more...
6. Estes acquires 11 terminals, 1,215 doors from former Yellow Corp.
The demise of Yellow Corp continued to ripple through the industry this year. In January, Estes purchased 11 additional terminals from former Yellow Corp.
The purchase brought Estes's total terminals bought from Yellow to 37 owned and leased terminals and 15 Estes-owned terminal leases. Since Yellow’s downfall, other LTL carriers jumped at the chance to take its previous real estate and equipment in auction, including Estes, Old Dominion Freight Line, and more. Read more...
5. J.B. Hunt eyeing at least $100 million in cost cuts
For-hire carriers began announcing larger cost cuts as the year progressed and the freight recession showed no signs of easing.
In July, J.B. Hunt noted its second-quarter revenues remained flat, with a 5% decline in net income and a 4% drop in operating profits. The company announced plans for over $100 million in cost savings by enhancing productivity and automation, mostly expected by 2026.
Hours before J.B. Hunt reported results, AFS Logistics and TD Cowen said the latest reading for their freight index shows “a freight market in stasis, mired in prolonged low demand as businesses wait to see how evolving trade policies unfold.” Read more...
4. Kenworth and Peterbilt predict pricing power returns to OEMs by summer
In January, Paccar’s chief executive made an optimistic prediction for the truckload market.
CEO Preston Feight said some truckload carriers are beginning to buy equipment again as their market gradually improves. Coupled with a solid less-than-truckload market and a “steady” vocational sector, Feight said, the overall market should strengthen as 2025 progresses.
In its latest earnings announcement, Paccar in Q3 sold 31,900 units globally, down nearly 30% from Q3 2024. However, Paccar's Q3 revenue reached $1.72 billion, up about 4% from the same quarter last year. Read more...
3. Daimler Truck CFO says North American turnaround is second-half story
By the third quarter of 2025, OEMs had much less optimistic predictions. Daimler Truck North America predicted that a turnaround for customer activity might not occur until the second half of 2026.
In November, Freightliner saw third-quarter profits fall more than 60% from the same period of last year.
The North American operations of Daimler Truck Holding AG sold 30,225 units in the three months that ended September 30. That figure was down 39% from the same period in 2024. Revenues for the quarter slid by a third to about $4.6 billion, and earnings before interest and taxes fell 65% to $295 million.
Similarly, the CFO of Traton SE, International’s parent company, said last week that the OEM could post a Q4 operating loss as tariffs get added to the weight of falling orders and rising input costs.
Analyst Dean Croke echoed the sentiment in a recent DAT blog: "The broad, systemic weakness in manufacturing suggests robust growth in freight volumes is not foreseeable until late Q2 2026 at the absolute earliest." Read more...
2. Jack Cooper closure creates auto-hauling opportunities for Proficient and competitors
Proficient Auto Logistics Inc. executives predicted they would pick up business following competitor Jack Cooper's demise.
In February, Jack Cooper CEO Sarah Amico told employees of the 97-year-old company that the recent loss of business with both Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. means the end of the road. The closure is expected to cost 2,500 workers their jobs.
Proficient leaders told analysts their team is well positioned to add some of the business—estimated at 10% to 15% of the market—that’s up for grabs. Read more...
1. Trucking earnings Q3: Pricing up, spending down, and cautious optimism ahead
In early November, de Lombarde broke down the key takeaways from trucking companies' Q3 reports and 2026 predictions.
Tonnage fell across major carriers like Saia, XPO, TFI International, and Old Dominion Freight Line.
Earnings calls are never without optimism, though, and many carriers expressed hope for 2026.
“We feel way, way, way better about ’26 than what we went through about 2025,” TFI's President and CEO Alain Bédard said. “I think that finally, the sun is going to start coming up in ’26.”
Several carriers expressed plans to trim their workforce and expenses throughout the rest of 2025. Read more...
Along with these articles, FleetOwner publishes several popular annual features that garner attention throughout the trucking and transportation industries. These include our annual looks at the largest commercial transportation systems in the U.S., the FleetOwner 500: For-Hire and FleetOwner 500: Private Fleets.
Our annual profiles of women in the industry, Women in Transportation 2025, were published this summer. Each year, FleetOwner recognizes the transportation operations of private fleets with the FleetOwner Private Fleet of the Year award. This fall, we expanded and rebranded our annual New Models into the 2025 FleetOwner vehicle guide, our largest-ever look at the next generation of heavy-duty, medium-duty, light-duty, and alternative-powered trucks and vans.
We put a bow on the year with the 2025 Trucking By the Numbers feature, an info-graphical look at the facts and figures that make up the trucking and transportation industries.
To view what's ahead for FleetOwner in the new year, please check out our 2026 Media Kit.
About the Author
Jeremy Wolfe
Editor
Editor Jeremy Wolfe joined the FleetOwner team in February 2024. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with majors in English and Philosophy. He previously served as Editor for Endeavor Business Media's Water Group publications.