UPS Freight—the less-than-truckload subsidiary of Atlanta based transportation and logistics bellwether UPS—recently declared the general rate increases (GRI) that has gone into effect from Feb’19. The GRI, which is appropriate to non-contractual less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments rated on the present UPS Freight 525, 560, 570 as well as 571 tariffs, is 5.9 percent.
UPS Freight spokesperson elucidated that that the impact of this general rate increase may be different according to specific lane or shipment distinctiveness such as class or weight. In one interview, UPS Freight President Rich McArdle explained that when one takes a closer look at the LTL market as it is related to pricing, there is a general notion that the shippers who bear the correct freight or the freight that matches up well with an LTL carrier’s network, those shippers are most likely to get an enhanced rate, while shippers’ freight that do not compete well enough may have to be renegotiated rate-wise.
“The interaction will continue this year as well,” says Rich. “As carriers like UPS Freight look further inside and try to dig deep into how freight is flowing through our network, where the openings are, and where the capacity is and isn’t, we are thinking about it in terms of how dynamic it is. We are observing our data a little deeper and closer, and that is one of the few things all of the [LTL] carriers are performing. It is managed through where the opportunities are.”
On the flipside, other national LTL carriers have also announced their 2019 GRI notices in recent months. In recent statement, FedEx Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload unit, declared their 2019 rates were aimed to rise by an average of 5.9 %, with FedEx noting that this rate modification applies to qualified FedEx Freight shipments within the United States (including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), between the neighboring U.S. and Canada, within Canada, between the adjacent U.S. and Mexico, and within Mexico. The declared GRI went into effect from Jan’19.
ArcBest and ABF Freight lately announced general rates and charges for LTL services headed to increase by about 5.9 percent although the consequence on specific lanes and shipments may differ, effective from Feb’19.
Industry analysts have constantly stated that LTL GRIs typically impact 20-40 percent of LTL business.
