Dive Brief:
- The truckload market is expected to remain soft as volumes and “rates are stuck,” Ken Adamo, DAT Freight & Analytics chief of analytics, said in a press release from Aug. 15.
- In July, volumes were steady as summer seasonality took hold due to produce shipments and retail goods moving ahead of Independence Day. Shippers managing tariffs such as frontloading cargo also contributed to shifted volumes.
- DAT’s Truckload Volume Index showed dry van went down 0.4%, reefer went up 2% and flatbed went down 3% in July compared to June. Rates rose in spot van and reefer as carriers sought to offset rising fuel costs but fell in flatbed, per DAT.
Dive Insight:
As a prolonged soft market persists, there’s no major indication of changes to the market, per DAT.
“Barring some major event, there’s nothing to suggest that’s going to change any time soon,” Adamo said.
Ongoing tariff actions from the Trump administration and current economic conditions continue to cloud the overall trucking market.
Carriers such as Marten Transport, Heartland Express and Universal Logistics Holdings have highlighted they are facing weak demand and overcapacity in their Q2 earnings calls. In light of current headwinds, some carriers are focusing on other sides of their business to boost margins. Marten is betting big on specialized freight due to strong demand in that area, while Landstar System is seeing gains in its heavy haul service.
U.S. Bank’s perspective differs from DAT’s, however. The organization’s Freight Payment Index indicated some signs of rebalancing in the trucking market. The report’s indices showed positive signs from Q1 to Q2 with the bank’s shipment’s index rising 2.4% compared to the previous quarter.
“While it is too early to say the freight market has definitively turned the corner, the second quarter of 2025 was a very good step in the right direction,” per the report.
