Shippers who locked in low contract truck rates in January or during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic are now having to renegotiate prices to get capacity because of the sharp turnaround in freight volumes, according to motor carriers.
Leading trucking executives and analysts say they are pleasantly surprised by the strength in freight demand coming out of the COVID-19-induced economic shutdown in early summer.
The flood of imports to Los Angeles and Long Beach this summer is squeezing truckload and LTL capacity on inland truck routes, more than doubling spot rates to Chicago, as intermodal capacity and e-commerce deadlines remain tight.
The flood of imports to Los Angeles and Long Beach this summer is squeezing truckload and LTL capacity on inland truck routes, more than doubling spot rates to Chicago, as intermodal capacity and e-commerce deadlines remain tight.
Capacity at the end of August was tight, and DAT principal analyst Dean Croke said carriers are telling him additional trucks won't be added until COVID-19 is better controlled.
With 2020’s tumultuous ride on the spot market showing little signs of slowing, shippers and carriers increasingly are leaning on short-term freight contract agreements as a bridge to calmer days and a return to the usual longer-term pacts.
The severity of COVID-19 outbreaks and how consumers respond will tell supply chain managers a lot about what to expect during the balance of the year.
The severity of COVID-19 outbreaks and how consumers respond will tell supply chain managers a lot about what to expect during the balance of the year.
With major weather events like hurricanes, freight movements tend to follow a common pattern. But within that pattern, circumstances and freight flows change quickly.
With freight markets already dislocated as a result of COVID-19, how would a hurricane affect supply chains further?