Dive Brief:
- Federal trade policy and inflation concerns continue to impact the truckload freight market and Landstar System’s earnings, CEO Frank Lonegro said in a Q3 earnings call.
- Revenue decreased 1% year over year and operating costs rose to $15.6 million in Q3 compared to $15.1 million in 2024.
- On the truckload side, revenue hauled via van equipment went down to $583 million versus $604 million a year ago. But truckload revenue hauled via unsided/platform equipment 4% increase to $386 million.
Dive Insight:
The truckload freight market has been struggling for some time as noted by Landstar’s CEO and other analysts.
“The challenging conditions experienced in the truckload freight environment over the past 10 quarters continued during the 2025 third quarter,” Lonegro said.
Overall, the truckload market showed signs of cooling in August as fewer loads moved following July frontloading, according to DAT Freight & Analytics’ Truckload Volume Index. In Q3, the truckload market reversed a trend of year-over-year declines but failed to surpass the existing excess capacity and suppressed rates, per the latest TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index.
“In Q4 2025, the truckload rate per mile index is projected to reach 6.1% above the January 2018 baseline – a modest 0.1% QOQ increase and 0.9% YOY increase, but the 11th straight quarter with rates at or below 6.2%,” according to the freight index.
Soft market demand is a continuous challenge for carriers. Lonegro said in the call that a stable trade policy and a shift in consumer focus back to goods rather than services would be helpful to see an improved demand environment.
