In the office today we were discussing some of the problems that truckers are facing right now. From the new Hours of Service rules to weather-related slow downs, small carriers have been taking a beating in the pocket book in the past twelve months.
That conversation naturally led to what we are hearing and seeing in the transportation market. We talked about what factors could possibly increase freight rates: a strong economy and a shrinking population of truckers. Shippers have over a lot of sway over freight rates, because so many carriers are small independent companies.
If you came to this post looking for a crystal ball on freight prices in 2014, I’m sorry to disappoint. I don’t have one. I do have a link to an interesting post from Cass. According to their monthly Truckload Linehaul index, freight rates increased 2.8% from February 2013 to February 2014. That’s certainly good news for over-the-road carriers. The Cass site also notes that transportation analysts are expecting
For every small carrier’s sake, let’s hope that’s the case.
