COLUMBUS, Ind. — The rebalancing process in the U.S. freight market is being drawn out by reluctance to part with workers and significant private fleet capacity expansion, even as pressure on fleets worsened this month as diesel prices spiked, according to the latest release of the ACT Research Freight Forecast, U.S. Rate and Volume OUTLOOK report.
“Although seasonality remains loose and demand soft, spot market dynamics have begun to shift since the end of operations at Yellow on July 31. While this is a game-changer for LTL rates, so far, the truckload market is still loose enough for rates to be largely unaffected. We see the impact growing over time, along seasonal patterns,” said Tim Denoyer, ACT Research’s vice president and senior analyst.
The publicly traded for-hire fleets reduced their collective tractor count by 3% in 1H’23, but Class 8 tractor sales and production are still near maximum levels, adding considerably to the Class 8 tractor fleet.
Private fleets are still growing and pulling freight from the for-hire market.
“Class 8 orders will be very interesting over the next several months and, in our view, pivotal to setting the market tone for 2024,” Denoyer said.
Linda Garner-Bunch has been in publishing for more than 30 years. You name it, Linda has written about it. She has served as an editor for a group of national do-it-yourself publications and has coordinated the real estate section of Arkansas’ only statewide newspaper, in addition to working on a variety of niche publications ranging from bridal magazines to high-school sports previews and everything in between. She is also an experienced photographer and copy editor who enjoys telling the stories of the “Knights of the Highway,” as she calls our nation’s truck drivers.
