Trucking Sector Prices Pressured Despite Signs Of Bottom

Prices to ship freight by truck have been coming down as truckers fight over fewer customers amid the soft economy, a trend that may continue despite some industry optimism that steep volume declines are stabilizing.

"Pricing is more competitive than I've ever seen it," Con-way Inc. (CNW) Chief Executive Douglas W. Stotlar said in an interview Friday.

Stotlar, who estimates the less-than-truckload freight sector has about 15% to 20% too much capacity, said he sees little chance for the pressure on prices to abate this year even if freight volumes have stabilized.

Less-than-truckload shippers consolidate freight from multiple customers onto single trucks.

"January marked the low-water mark for us during the (first) quarter" in terms of volumes, Stotlar said. But "even with modest improvement, it's not enough to soak up the overcapacity" in the industry and alleviate the pricing pressure.

Con-way, which posted first-quarter results late Thursday, said volume in its less-than-truckload segment fell 12.4% compared to the year-ago period. Still, the company voiced tentative optimism that the trend may have bottomed, saying volume improved throughout the quarter.

But yield in Con-way's less-than-truckload division fell 4.3%, excluding fuel surcharges, accelerating from a 1.4% decline in the fourth quarter. Yield, or revenue-per-hundredweight of goods shipped, is considered a broad barometer of pricing trends.

Less-than-truckload shipping company YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW), which also reported first-quarter results late Thursday, said yield in its regional division was off about 2%, excluding fuel surcharges. Yield in YRC's national division ticked up about 1%, although the company noted the figure was helped by its decision to concentrate on the most profitable customers.

YRC, which has been wrestling with a substantial debt load, reported a 30% slide in per-day tonnage at its national segment and a 22% slide at its regional business. The company said it was hurt both by the poor economy and by concerns by some customers regarding its financial position.

YRC Chief Executive Bill Zollars called the pricing environment "very competitive" overall. In an interview Friday, he said he has seen signs of "some stabilization in the underlying economy" that could stem declining industry freight volumes, but he stopped short of calling a bottom.

"We've had a couple of head-fakes before," only to be disappointed when the downturn reignited, Zollars said.

-By Bob Sechler, Dow Jones Newswires; 512-394-0285; [e-mail]