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Sentiment among senior executives in the LTL space is positive in outlook, and underlying manufacturing data is supportive even as conditions remain challenging.

CEO Mario Harik cites reduced damages and improved service quality that set company records in 2025 as a reflection of a commitment to enhanced customer experience.

Transportation companies such as C.H. Robinson and XPO have already added services and warehouse space to support customers in Mexico that are shipping or are planning to ship to the U.S.

LTL was something of a latecomer to the downturn, with the August 2023 demise of the then-No. 3-ranked LTL player Yellow shielding its peers from excessive headwinds.

Brad Jacobs joined XPO in 2011 and built it into one of North America’s largest transportation companies before spinning off GXO in 2021 and RXO in 2022.

Carriers attribute the softer outlook to shippers front-loading inventory earlier in the year due to tariff concerns, combined with cautious consumer spending amid inflation worries.

The Greenwich, Conn.-based LTL carrier reported net income of $82 million for the three months ending Sept. 30. That compared with $95 million the previous year. 

The Greenwich, Conn.-based less-than-truckload carrier posted net income of $106 million, or 89 cents a diluted share, for the three months ending June 30.

XPO officially opened the less-than-truckload-focused carrier’s largest service centers by door number and footprint over the past couple of weeks.

XPO has opened its largest operation, a 273,000-square-foot facility on 121 acres near Carlisle, Pa., that is one of 28 former Yellow facilities that XPO purchased for about $800 million.