What was reported
FreightWaves reported on October 30, 2026, that FedEx Freight’s June-through-September tonnage was level year over year, with shipments per day down 1%, weight per shipment up 1%, revenue per hundredweight up 9%, and yield excluding fuel up 0.3%.
Orca analysis: what to check
Direct answer: Do not read a carrier’s reported revenue per hundredweight as a change in your own LTL rate. To explain a shipper’s freight-cost variance, separate the amount charged under the applicable pricing terms from changes in shipment count, billed weight, and the mix of lanes, services, and freight classes. Compare like shipments and keep the records behind each comparison.
The FreightWaves figures describe FedEx Freight’s reported results. They do not establish a rate change, shipment mix, weight, or invoice outcome for any individual shipper. The recommendations below are original Orca operational advice for shippers; FreightWaves does not endorse them.
Why carrier yield is not an invoice benchmark
A carrier-level revenue-per-hundredweight figure combines many movements and charges into a reported operating measure. A shipper’s invoices represent its own movements and applicable pricing terms. The two measures have different scopes. Using the reported figure as a target for an individual invoice could lead a reviewer to label a valid charge a variance, or overlook a charge that does not match the shipper’s terms.
Even within one shipper’s account, average cost per hundredweight can shift when the shipment population changes. For example, a reporting period with a different share of lanes, services, freight classes, or shipment weights may show a different average even when the individual charges follow the applicable pricing terms. Conversely, a stable average can conceal a pricing mismatch on particular shipments. An aggregate number is a signal to investigate, not a finding about why costs changed.
Make the analysis answer two separate questions. First, did the invoiced charge for a comparable shipment follow the applicable pricing terms? Second, did the shipment population change in a way that affected total spend or the reported average? Keeping those questions separate gives finance a more useful variance explanation and gives transportation a specific record set to review.
Build a comparable LTL cost view
Start with invoice-line data and connect each line to the shipper’s shipment record. For each line, retain the billed amount, charge description or code, billed weight and unit, PRO number, ship date, origin, destination, and any linked credit or adjustment. Use the shipment record to add the lane, service, freight class, tendered weight, and shipment count. Retain the applicable pricing document or rate record used to review the charge.
For a simple base-freight comparison, convert the billed weight to hundredweight using the unit shown in the source record, then divide the base transportation charge by that weight in hundredweight. Apply the calculation consistently, and keep the source weight, unit, and calculation visible. Do not combine a separately stated accessorial, credit, or other charge with base transportation in one rate measure. Review those items as separate lines against their own applicable terms and supporting records.
Compare that measure within useful, consistent groups, such as a lane and service with comparable freight class and pricing basis. The grouping should be narrow enough to avoid treating unlike shipments as equivalent, but large enough to review meaningful recurring patterns. When a group changes materially, inspect the underlying shipments instead of presenting its average as a pure rate change.
A seven-step LTL cost-variance audit checklist
- Define the review population. Set the billing period and collect carrier invoice number, invoice date, line identifier, PRO number, ship date, origin, destination, and billed amount. Compare the invoice lines with the shipment register and identify an unlinked PRO, repeated line, or shipment outside the selected period before calculating an average.
- Separate charge components. Capture base transportation charge, each separately listed accessorial or other charge, credits, adjustments, and invoice total. Compare the sum of the recorded components with the line and invoice totals. Flag a missing component, unexplained adjustment, or total that does not reconcile; do not classify it as a base-rate variance until the line is understood.
- Verify the weight basis. Record billed weight and unit from the invoice, then compare them with the shipment record and bill of lading for the same PRO. Note the tendered weight and any documented correction as separate values. Flag a unit mismatch, missing weight, or weight that cannot be connected to the shipment record rather than substituting a value without preserving its source.
- Form comparable shipment groups. Add lane, service, freight class, and other fields used by your own pricing structure. Compare charges within groups that share the relevant pricing basis. Flag shipments with missing lane, service, or class data for correction or separate review; do not silently place them in a broad average.
- Recalculate the shipment-level measure. For each comparable line, calculate base charge per hundredweight from the billed base charge and billed weight, using consistent units. Keep the inputs and result together. Compare the line with the relevant shipment group, but treat an outlier as a review lead—not proof that the invoice is incorrect.
- Check against applicable pricing terms. For a flagged line, identify the pricing document or rate record that applies to that shipment and compare its charge basis and amount with the invoice. Retain the document reference, relevant charge description, billed amount, and comparison result. Route a missing or conflicting pricing reference as a terms-identification exception, distinct from a confirmed mismatch.
- Explain the period movement. Compare shipment count, total billed weight, average weight per shipment, and the distribution of lanes, services, and freight classes across the periods being reviewed. Then report separately what changed in the shipment population and what remains as a line-level pricing variance. Check for credits or adjustments before describing the change as a net billed-cost movement.
Make exception categories answer a question
Use categories that tell the reviewer what to verify next. Examples include unmatched PRO, repeated invoice line, invoice-total reconciliation, missing or inconsistent billed weight, shipment-record mismatch, incomplete lane or service data, pricing reference not identified, and billed charge inconsistent with the applicable terms. A flagged average or outlier is better recorded as “variance requiring review” than as an invoice error.