Alexandria, VA - Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) has released the First Quarter 2015: TIA Benchmarking Report and the results show that TIA members’ experienced a large growth in truckload arrangements in a comparison to the first quarter of 2014. In a comparison to the fourth quarter of 2014, total shipments decreased 1.2 percent overall. Gross profit margin percent increased for the three primary modes of truckload, intermodal, and LTL. However, members reported that total revenue decreased 7.8 percent. Fuel continued its steady decline between the quarters, dropping 70 cents per gallon. Author Mark Christos speaks on the value of the benchmarking report here. The report is comprised of data drawn from three categories of members based on revenue; the report represents over 1.53 million shipments and over $2.95 billion in total revenue for Q1 2015. The TIA 3PL Market Report separates performance by the core services each 3PL offers. Nearly 98% of all revenue was derived from over-the-road truckload (TL), rail intermodal (IM), and Less-than-Truckload (LTL). Below is a comparison of performance for the three primary modes in Q1 2015 versus Q4 2014: “3PLs continue to grow, expand, and change their businesses,” said TIA President & CEO Robert Voltmann. “This is TIA’s 26th quarterly report on the 3PL industry. The report indicates that 3PLs continue to broaden their services. The percent of 3PLs offering intermodal and LTL continues to increase each quarter and 100% of all 3PLs report activity in TL.” Voltmann said.
Mode Summary Q115 vs. Q414
Metric TL LTL Intermodal
Total Shipments -1.3% 2.3% -2.1%
Invoice Amount/Load -6.0% -3.3% -6.6%
Total Invoice Dollars -7.7% -1.1% -8.6%
Margin % 40 Basis Points 70 Basis Points 60 Basis Points
The 23-page report has over 30 charts and data tables that further examine additional metrics of each mode. Additionally, the report contains rolling six quarter trends, fuel price comparisons, and provides for any 3PL to see how the overall industry is performing as well as the ability to compare their business to companies within their peer group based on size.