Roadway, Con-Way Follow LTL Trend, Announce General Rate Hikes for Fall

Two more less-than-truckload freight carriers announced plans to raise rates.

Roadway Express, Akron, Ohio, said it will implement a general rate increase of 5.2% on Sept. 12.

on-Way Transportation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich., said its regional carrier group will boost rates by 5.7% effective Oct. 4.

Both moves follow the lead of Overnite Transportation Co., Richmond, Va., which announced Aug. 11 that it will raise rates on all noncontract freight shipments in the United States and Canada by 4.9% on Sept. 27.

It is the second year in a row that major LTL carriers have raised rates in the fall instead of at the beginning of the year. The earlier rate increase gives carriers a boost during the busy fall shipping season and gives shippers more time to make changes in contractual agreements that expire at the end of the calendar year.

Although general rate increases apply to freight moving under a trucking company’s common carrier authority, contract rates are frequently pegged to changes in base tariffs.

A year ago, most less-than-truckload general freight carriers raised common carrier rates between 5.5% and 5.9%.

SMC (formerly Southern Motor Carriers), a motor carrier rate bureau, is floating a proposal for a smaller rate hike — 3.57% — in return for a pledge from shippers not to seek additional discounts. The rate increase would take effect Oct. 1 for approximately 120 LTL carriers operating mostly in the East and South (8-16, p. 3).

The SMC proposal also features an across-the-board 20% discount for shippers who currently pay undiscounted class rates.