Trucking Swerves Erratically Across the US Economy
The industry is sending mixed signals about the strength of demand in a critical quarter.
The cleanup and reconstruction work from Hurricane Ian in Florida has created trucking demand.
Photographer: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
If the trucking market were the ocean, red flags would be fluttering along the beach to warn of all the crosscurrents and riptides that make it treacherous to predict freight’s near-term future and its impact on the broader economy.
The freight industry is slowing in general, but it’s not so much falling off a cliff as returning to earth from the soaring heights of a hot cargo market that peaked in the fourth quarter last year. Having a crystal ball is most important now because how cargo demand holds up over the next couple of months will determine the leverage shippers will have to push for lower rates as they negotiate freight contracts for 2023.