The current trucking market appears to have the trappings of a more normal cycle, similar to the one in 2013-2017. This would mean that spot rates should continue to slowly move higher from here and could fuel contract rates to inflect positively for most of next year. In this Talking Transports podcast, Ken Adamo, vice president of strategy and business development and chief of analytics at DAT Freight & Analytics, joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation and logistics analyst, to share his insights about the state of the trucking market and what might be around the bend for the industry. Adamo also talks about the use cases for electric and autonomous trucks, challenges created by pending regulations and his love for being at the crossroads of transportation and data.

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Dislocations created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, low water levels in the Panama Canal and the crisis in the Red Sea have increased the demand for LNG tankers and has been a boost for time-charter rates and earnings for ship owners. Earning power will remain strong, even as they normalize lower from 2021’s peaks as rates remain well above breakeven levels for LNG tanker fleets. In this Talking Transports podcast, Oystein Kalleklev, CEO of Flex LNG and Avance Gas joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation & logistics analyst, to share his insights into the LNG tanker industry. Kelleklev also talks about the orderbook of these $260 million assets, demand trends, lowering emissions and the LNG tanker market becoming more dynamic following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

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The next catalyst for truck dealers might be a rush to order vehicles late next year ahead of the US EPA’s 2027 emissions rules, which could increase the costs of trucks by about $30,000 over traditional diesel engines. Buyers are already facing higher costs from inflationary pressure that pushed up prices for new over-the-road trucks by 20-25% over pre-pandemic levels. In this Talking Transports podcast, Brian Fyda, vice president of Fyda Freightliner, joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation and logistics analyst, to share his insights into how truck dealers are navigating these challenges. Fyda also talks about inventories, the used-equipment market, the CDA cyberattack, electric truck demand and what it’s like to work in a family business.

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Less-than-truckload carriers are facing a challenging freight backdrop and more difficult comparisons as the industry anniversary of the bankruptcy of a major competitor approaches. In this Talking Transports podcast, Mario Harik, XPO’s chief executive officer joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation & logistics analyst, to share how the company is buffering these difficulties with a number of self-help initiatives called its LTL 2.0 strategy. This is yielding a more efficient and profitable network, as well as fueling better service metrics, such as on casualty claims and on-time performance. These productivity improvements and recent capacity additions should position XPO well for when the freight market turns. Harik also talks about electric trucks, operating driving schools and leveraging technology.

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In this Talking Transports podcast, Ben McLean, Ruan Transportation Management Systems’ CEO, joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior transportation and logistics analyst, to talk about the state of the dedicated trucking market and what the future has in store. Dedicated trucking services offer shippers capacity free of the risks and expenses of owning and managing a fleet, letting them focus on their core businesses. For carriers this provides less earnings volatility than is associated with the over-the-road truckload market. McLean also discussed the challenges for the industry to lower emissions, given prevailing technologies, and tapping the FMCSA’s Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot to find safe, qualified drivers.

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Freight brokers’ increased penetration of the trucking market and a surge in small-business loans during the pandemic have contributed to the stubbornly slow pace of capacity exiting the market and are keeping spot rates from moving meaningfully higher. Truckload margins have been under pressure from rising costs and depressed rates. In this Talking Transports podcast, Craig Fuller, FreightWaves founder and chief executive officer, joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior transportation and logistics analyst, to share his insights about the state of the North American trucking market and the future of the industry. Fuller also speaks about the feasibility of electric and autonomous trucks technologies as well as his love for cab-over designs.

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Increased penetration of online retail sales and global economic growth set up a strong backdrop for long-term volume growth for DHL’s eCommerce division, which provides domestic parcel-delivery services. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Talking Transports podcast, Pablo Ciano, DHL Group’s board member and the eCommerce’s division CEO, joins Lee Klaskow, BI senior transportation and logistics analyst, to talk about how his organization will outpace global growth by 100-200 bps and its plans to improve operating margins back toward 5-7%. Ciano also discusses the upcoming peak season, consumer sentiment, M&A and how technology investments are fueling productivity gains. The eCommerce division accounts for about 8% of DHL Group’s revenue and 5% of Ebit.

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The global shipping industry has a long history of boom-and-bust cycles, which make SFL stand out for its ability to pay dividends every quarter for the past 20 years, says CEO Ole Hjertaker. In this Talking Transports podcast Hjertaker joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation and logistics analyst, to share his outlook for shipping subsectors including containers, tankers, dry bulk and car carriers as well as for jack-up drilling rigs. SFL’s model of owning maritime assets and chartering them via long-term contracts has created a stable business that’s focused on returning capital to investors. Hjertaker also talks about how the company is navigating new emission regulations facing the global shipping industry and the process of buying these expensive maritime assets.

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