The latest release of ACT Research’s Freight Forecast shows the US freight cycle is near bottom thanks, in part, to a late produce season this year.
But the research shows there is light at the end of the tunnel, with ACT Research predicting the intertwined supply and demand dynamics in the freight market will begin to recover and capacity start to tightening.
“With inflation easing, improving real income trends will allow for a bit more holiday spending this year, when even less destocking will mean more freight volume,” said ACT Research Vice President, Tim Denoyer.
In terms of fleet capacity, Denoyer said interstate operating authorities were contracting at a record rate with approximately 11,000 net revocations since last October, which is beginning to tighten capacity and help spot rates find the bottom and start to rise.
Meanwhile, long-distance trucking employment is also contracting, as long-haul trucking jobs declined by 8,700 jobs or 1.0 per cent in Q1, while still up year on year.
In other news, transport and logistics company, TFI International, is acquiring two Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) operations.