Riding the slingshot recovery that began trucking’s resurgence in 2021, for-hire carriers in the CCJ Top 250 did well enough through most of 2022 to post solid revenue gains before the current downturn began in the second half of last year. Times were so good, historically speaking, that the “false positive” post-pandemic trucking climate in 2021 and 2022 makes the current market downturn seem downright bleak in comparison.
For the second consecutive year, each of the nine primary operating segments tracked by Commercial Carrier Journal whose carriers self-reported freight-related revenue data in each of the last two years finished with higher freight-related revenues compared to the previous year. Excluding carriers whose size and/or scope might otherwise skew the overall results of a carrier grouping for various reasons, the intermodal and refrigerated segments led the way, each posting 25.6% higher revenues in 2022.
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The packages segment turned in the weakest performance but still finished in positive territory at 1.9% revenue growth thanks to UPS (CCJ Top 250, No. 2) posting a $3.08 billion revenue increase in its UPS Ground business. That gain was enough for the package giant to reclaim the revenue lead over rival FedEx, but FedEx retains the number-one spot in the 2023 CCJ Top 250 as we use a blended ranking methodology that factors not only revenue specific to a carrier’s freight operations, but also driver count and equipment figures.
In addition to the refrigerated and intermodal segments, other groups of the CCJ Top 250 that saw year-over-year revenue increases include tank/bulk commodities (19.7%), flatbed/specialized/heavy haul (19.4%), motor vehicles (17%), general freight (16.4%), dedicated contract carriage (15.8%) and household goods (7%).
Carriers added revenue, but they did so without adding much capacity. Carriers in this year’s CCJ Top 250 accounted for 491,011 tractors and 238,244 straight trucks, representing just a 1.6% increase from 2022. Driver count also increased slightly by 0.7%, with carriers in this year’s ranking totaling 826,970 drivers.
