Trucking News · Nationwide · October 31, 2026

TFI International's CEO Calls the Company's U.S. LTL Operation 'a Rock in My Shoe' on an Earnings Call and Promises Changes for Truckers and Terminals

By Big Rig Daily Staff

The chief executive of one of North America's largest trucking and logistics companies had harsh words for part of his own business. Alain Bedard, CEO of TFI International, told analysts on Friday, Oct. 30, that "Truckload is great. Logistics is great. U.S. LTL is not and I feel like I'm a broken record on that. We've got to correct the situation," FreightWaves reported. He called the U.S. less-than-truckload (LTL) unit, which operates as TForce Freight, "a rock in my shoe."

What he said about the numbers

TFI does not report separate operating ratios for the U.S. and Canada. The company-wide LTL operating ratio was 91.3% in the third quarter, compared with 88.8% a year earlier. An operating ratio compares operating costs to revenue, so a lower number is better. Bedard said that when TFI reports a 91, "you can think that our U.S. operation is closer to a 97 and our Canadian operation is more like a sub 75."

He said Canada handles about 10,000 shipments a day compared with about 20,000 in the U.S. FreightWaves noted that Old Dominion Freight Line reported a 71.5% operating ratio for the quarter and XPO was just over 80%.

TFI's truckload segment posted an operating ratio of 86.7% for the quarter, which Bedard described positively. He said the flatbed business that came with TFI's 2023 purchase of Daseke "has been turned around very, very fast."

Management and density

Bedard said a new manager of the U.S. LTL operation is being brought in, but he would not name the person. The hire, who retired from an industry peer, has been on the job since Oct. 1, and the name will be revealed soon. "A new broom sweeps clean," he said.

He pointed to density as a key issue, saying the average distance between stops in the U.S. package and delivery operation is about twice as far as in Canada. High fuel costs magnify the problem, he said. He described a "mentality of, we really don't care" at the unit, which he tied to the years the operation was owned by UPS.

Unions and the non-union plan

Bedard repeatedly said many of the issues were with management and took care not to blame the unions that represent the workers. But he also said that "there's nothing we can do except build some kind of non-union network in parallel to the network that we have."

The key to that plan is Hercules Forwarding, which TFI bought in 2024 and now uses for about 1,000 LTL shipments a day. "This is small," he said, adding that the plan is to build it slowly, as TFI has done in Canada.

Not for sale

An analyst asked whether TFI might sell the U.S. LTL unit. Bedard eventually said no. "We have no intention of selling our US LTL operations at all," he said. "We want those guys to be efficient, to be productive."

The stock

FreightWaves reported that at about 2:15 p.m. EDT on Oct. 30, TFI stock was down 14.71%, or $16.55, to $95.99. That was a midday price, not a closing price. The stock was still up 11.24% over the past 52 weeks.

Quick facts

• Who: Alain Bedard, CEO of TFI International, on the Oct. 30, 2026 earnings call.
• Company-wide LTL operating ratio: 91.3%, versus 88.8% a year earlier.
• U.S. operating ratio, per Bedard: closer to 97, versus under 75 in Canada.
• Plans: a new manager for U.S. LTL and a slowly built non-union network.

Big Rig Daily has also covered Roadrunner's truck-only Canada LTL service and 5.9% rate increase and Knight-Swift's CEO on truckload contract rates in 2027.

A question for readers

If you have worked in LTL, what makes one terminal run smoothly and another one a mess?

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