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Coyote Logistics and Knight-Swift make strategic layoffs amidst industry challenges. What does that mean for the market?
The $800 billion trucking industry has been facing turbulence for a while now, and the signs are visible in the actions of some significant players.
Chicago-based Coyote Logistics, the No. 3 freight brokerage firm with a whopping $5.2 billion in revenue in 2023, recently confirmed layoffs. The move is aimed at streamlining for "long-term stability," with an overall 7% decrease in staff over the past two years.
The larger picture reveals a pattern. After hiring aggressively post-coronavirus shutdowns, a market crash in summer 2022 forced many in the industry, including giants like Flexport and C.H. Robinson, to let go of staff.
Parallelly, Knight-Swift Transportation, one of America's largest trucking companies, is in a similar boat. Responding to disappointing financial figures, Knight-Swift conducted a series of layoffs last week, primarily targeting support roles – HR, IT, and others.
While the core operations of Knight-Swift, such as drivers and customer-facing roles, remain unaffected, the cost-cutting measures, similar to Coyote's, highlight the industry's pressing need to adapt amidst challenges.
Rocket Shipping's CEO, Gabe Pankonin suggests that these abrupt changes, seemingly paradoxical, might actually be tied to a broader trend in the industry's financial landscape:
Panokin says that profit-focused startups have the space to emerge as industry winners amid economic shifts and competition.
Sources: FreightWaves on Coyote | FreightWaves on Knight-Swift | Gabe Pankonin/X
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