Top U.S. trucking executives and analysts say that the $332 billon full-truckload (TL) market is showing signs of returning to normal levels of “seasonality” after three years of being whipsawed by COVID-affected demand levels.
“The truckload market is easing back to normal levels of growth,” says Avery Vise, vice president of trucking for Indianapolis-based research firm FTR. “We’re not seeing a glut of capacity. We’re heading back to stability, but stability at a level where shippers are happy about it.”
Vise predicts that truckload rates in 2023 will be “sticky” because of limitations on truck-building capacity. “We’re not producing as many trucks as we need. But that’s slowly getting better.”
Top carrier executives agreed with Vise’s assessment. However, they warn shippers to prepare for mid- to single-digit contractual rate increases in 2023 due to inflation’s relentless push on virtually every aspect of a truckload carrier’s operation.
Read more in an article from Logistics Management.