2019 closing on a strong note for trucking, but will it last?

Dec 23, 2019 at 07:45 AM CST
The 2019 freight market was a shadow of 2018 in terms of capacity. Spot rates hit all-time highs as carriers rejected over 25% of their contracted freight requests in June of last year. Since that time, carriers became much more compliant, rejecting as few as 3.8% of their loads in early August this year as volumes retreated and capacity grew. Over the past week FreightWaves national Outbound Tender Rejection Index (OTRI) broke 12% for the first time since January 4, 2019, a decent signal of shifting market conditions. The real question is whether this is a signal of the freight market pendulum swinging back in the direction of a 2018.

Dec 23, 2019 at 07:45 AM CST

The 2019 freight market was a shadow of 2018 in terms of capacity. Spot rates hit all-time highs as carriers rejected over 25% of their contracted freight requests in June of last year. Since that time, carriers became much more compliant, rejecting as few as 3.8% of their loads in early August this year as volumes retreated and capacity grew. Over the past week FreightWaves national Outbound Tender Rejection Index (OTRI) broke 12% for the first time since January 4, 2019, a decent signal of shifting market conditions. The real question is whether this is a signal of the freight market pendulum swinging back in the direction of a 2018.