truckload demand

International Roadcheck tests trucking market

Chart of the Week: Outbound Tender Reject Index, National Truckload Index – USA SONAR: OTRI.USA, NTI.USA

Truckload capacity tightened noticeably during the annual CVSA International Roadcheck inspection period, with tender rejection rates (OTRI) increasing by over half a percentage point in just a few days. The National Truckload Index (NTI), which tracks aggregated dry van spot rates, rose approximately 1.8% over a three-day span. While the full impact of the safety blitz on capacity will take...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/international-roadcheck-tests-trucking-market

Is the US economy about to collapse?

Blame spread like wildfire over the United States’ first-quarter GDP numbers. 

President Donald Trump pinned Q1’s contraction on the prior Biden administration, while analysts from across the aisle claimed that the GDP shrinkage was exclusively Trump’s fault for initiating a multifront trade war.

With so many fingers pointed at so many targets, the Q1 GDP data must have been an absolute disaster, right?

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https://www.freightwaves.com/news/is-the-us-economy-about-to-collapse

All eyes on Los Angeles with tariff impact looming

Chart of the Week: Outbound Loaded Rail Container Volume International and domestic – Los Angeles, Outbound Tender Volume Index – Los Angeles, Ontario SONAR: ORAILINTL.LAX, ORAILDOML.LAX, OTVI.LAX, OTVI.ONT

Intermodal demand out of the Los Angeles market continues to show strong annual growth, gaining share from the struggling truckload sector. As the primary U.S. gateway for goods arriving from Asia, Los Angeles is expected to be the first region where the effects of new tariffs will become...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/all-eyes-on-los-angeles-with-tariff-impact-looming

Look to short-haul freight as an economic bellwether

Chart of the Week: City Outbound Tender Volume Index, Long Outbound Tender Volume Index – USA SONAR: COTVI.USA, LOTVI.USA

Demand for short-haul truckloads (under 100 miles, or COTVI) has grown over the past year, while long-haul volumes have declined significantly. This shift is largely due to long-haul trucking being supplanted by intermodal transport, as shippers use containers as rolling storage in response to rising inventory costs and full warehouses. Looking at COTVI can help us decode...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/look-to-short-haul-freight-as-an-economic-bellwether

Liberation Day triggers panic mode for manufacturers

Despite solid fundamentals, sentiment in the U.S. manufacturing sector has mostly been informed by buzzy anxieties over economic growth.

Take durable goods, for example: After a surprising beat on new orders in January, analysts expected a correction in February. Instead, new orders for durable goods grew 0.9% month over month (m/m) against consensus expectations of a 1% m/m drop, while January’s growth was revised up to 3.3% m/m.

SONAR: U.S. core durable goods orders, in millions USD (white,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/liberation-day-triggers-panic-mode-for-manufacturers

Surface transportation demand starting to soften

Chart of the Week: Outbound Loaded Rail Container Volume, Outbound Tender Volume Index – USA SONAR: ORAILL.USA, OTVI.USA

Requests for truckload capacity (OTVI) have averaged nearly 9% lower year over year (y/y) since mid-February, while intermodal volumes (ORAILL) have remained relatively steady, growing at a 5% rate since the start of the year. This places total transportation demand in a state of decline, regardless of seasonal influences. Should this be considered a concerning signal from an...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/surface-transportation-demand-starting-to-soften

Industrial outlook darkens ahead of tariffs

In the run-up to Tuesday’s promised barrage of tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, the U.S. industrial sector is not looking so hot — a dark omen for domestic freight demand.

Unstable foundations for housing

For one, construction spending took an unexpected hit in January, down 0.2% from December against consensus expectations of stability. Outlays for private residential projects fell 0.4%, despite a 0.6% monthly rise in single-family spending.

SONAR: Total U.S. construction spending, in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/industrial-outlook-darkens-ahead-of-tariffs

Trucking execs see green shoots as industry awaits upturn

Signs that a freight recovery may be taking shape continue to surface, said trucking executives on the investor conference circuit this week. The overall sentiment is that the truckload industry is no longer in a recession and that normal seasonal trends have returned, but no one is ready to commit to when a meaningful positive inflection will occur.

“We know we’re coming off the bottom of the market,” Drew Wilkerson, CEO at truck broker RXO (NYSE: RXO), told investors at Citi’s 2025 Global...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trucking-execs-point-to-green-shoots-as-industry-awaits-upturn

Los ejecutivos de camiones ven brotes verdes mientras la industria espera la mejora

Los signos de que una recuperación de carga puede estar tomando forma continúa a la superficie, dijeron que los ejecutivos de camiones en el circuito de la conferencia de inversores esta semana. El sentimiento general es que la industria de la carga de camiones ya no está en una recesión y que las...

https://fullavantenews.com/los-ejecutivos-de-camiones-ven-brotes-verdes-mientras-la-industria-espera-la-mejora/?lang=es

Can the US consumer survive a trade war?

Reading the latest headlines, one might expect the U.S. economy to be barrelling into a recession or even depression. The chaotic uncertainty of President Donald Trump’s trade approach — what his supporters might call “the art of the deal” — has given businesses whiplash and set many markets to panicking.

But should consumers be afraid?

No, probably not. If they were able to keep pace with the incredible inflation of the early pandemic, consumers should be able to weather any storm kicked up by...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/can-the-us-consumer-survive-a-trade-war

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