‘Recovery will be slow’: Freight shipments, spending drop 21%, US Bank says | Trucking Dive

Truck freight shipments and spending continued to fall, but the pace of losses lessened in Q3, according to the bank.

Compared to Q2, shipments declined 1.9%, and spending dropping 1.4%. Despite the downward slide, the indices suggested a slower pace of losses, analysts said.

“It’s a positive sign that spending contracted less than shipments. With diesel fuel prices lower, the fact that pricing didn’t erode more tells me the market is getting healthier,” Bob Costello, SVP and chief economist at the American Trucking Associations, said in the bank’s news release.

While the shipment index has been declining since Q2 2022, the latest change was the smallest quarterly sequential drop in over a year, too, U.S. Bank also noted.

Whether ups and downs become a trend remains to be seen. Analysts and companies have presented mixed views on what’s ahead this year.

DAT Freight & Analytics noted on a market update last week that new contract renewal rates rose 0.9%, suggesting potential promise for carriers and more of an inflationary market for shippers.

But a dry van spot premium ratio showed spot rates were 9% below contract rates as of mid-October, reflecting a soft spot market.

Inflation has crept into the overall mix for shippers regarding dry van in October, but that hasn’t yet happened in reefer and flatbed, DAT Group Product Manager Chad Kennedy said Tuesday.