Shippers may blame the electronic logging device mandate (ELD) for supply chain problems, but the ELD mandate has supply chain issues of its own. The biggest regulatory change for trucking in decades hit a few road bumps after its Dec. 18 rollout. Some of those bumps were expected, but the mandate has had unexpected consequences […]

As shippers and brokers deal with a shortage of trucks to carry freight, small-business truckers are poised to make more than they have in years. It’s a big turnaround from recent years, when there wasn’t enough freight demand to fill up all the nation’s trucks and drivers struggled to get attractive rates.

A nationwide truck shortage is forcing thousands of shippers into a tough choice: postpone all but the most important deliveries, or pay dearly to jump to the front of the line. (This article requires a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. To subscribe, please click on the above link.)

US freight rates are set to rise not just this year, but into the near future, an investment analyst and economist said at the SMC3 2018 JumpStart Conference. “We could break records this year” in an economic cycle “unlike any other,” said Benjamin Hartford, senior research analyst at investment firm Robert W. Baird & Co. […]

Signals of a strong U.S. economy are showing up in freight demand. Last year, freight volume increased 3.7 percent, the largest annual gain since 2013, when the index was up 6.1 percent. These freight figures are a positive sign for 2018, especially combined with other factors such as increased U.S. manufacturing and solid retail sales, […]

The heavy-duty truck business roared back last year as an improving economy and growth in manufacturing spurred freight demand. Sales of trucks in the heaviest Class 8 weight segment surged 59 percent to 296,440 vehicles in 2017, according to ACT Research.

Trade and transport analysts see rates rising across all modes in accordance with continued expansion of domestic and international markets. Economists, meanwhile, say shippers can expect revenue growth in transport verticals to remain in the 3%-plus range.