At its most basic level, industrial freight is essentially any freight tangentially associated with manufacturing and construction (and the requisite inputs and outputs involved). Thus, when one refers to industrial freight, it means products such as lumber, automotive parts and finished vehicles, steel, heavy equipment, construction materials, etc.
Industrials are very cyclical in nature, and demand for industrial-related products tends to rise and fall with the U.S. business cycle. As...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/white-paper-industrial-freight-review-2020