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The largest for-hire carriers have persevered through a down market with care for their customers and close attention to controlling costs.

Across the major logistics market segments, 2023 brought a spate of challenges including compressed margins, rising labor costs and inflationary pressures, ensuring a down year for many.

2023 was a generally downtrodden year for 3PLs, with plummeting transportation rates and shippers focused on right-sizing inventories and reducing logistics costs.

A freight market recession, compressed broker margins and major acquisitions in 2023 have markedly altered the landscape of North America’s largest third-party logistics providers.

Stubbornly weak freight market conditions have placed financial strain on 3PLs in recent years with an oversupply of truck capacity driving down rates and squeezing brokers’ margins.

Forward Air on Jan. 25 announced the completion of its long-pending acquisition of Omni Logistics, with both companies’ leaders touting the benefits of the merger.

Old Dominion Freight Line experienced nearly flat earnings and a slight revenue bump to $1.5 billion during the fourth quarter of 2023, the company reported Jan. 31.

UPS Inc. is reducing its overall employee head count by 12,000 workers, which the company says will save more than $1 billion, citing higher labor costs and softening demand.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings profits dropped during the fourth quarter but the carrier experienced an increase in revenue, the company reported Jan. 24.