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Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Zach Strickland, the “Sultan of SONAR,” curates the weekly market update. Zach is also one of FreightWaves’ Market Experts. With a degree in Finance, Strickland spent the early part of his career in banking before transitioning to transportation in various roles and segments, such as truckload and LTL. He has over 13 years of transportation experience, specializing in data, pricing, and analytics.
Jul - 2022 -
23 July
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Truckload contract market showing early signs of deterioration

Truckload spot rates have eroded dramatically since the start of the year while the bulk of the contracted market remained unscathed. That may be changing.

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16 July
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Supply chains have a forecasting problem

Knowing what the customer wants and when was once a relatively easy thing to predict. COVID has changed all that.

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09 July
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

AB5 will inflate prices, not diminish capacity

The recent AB5 ruling will make it difficult for regional operators to handle the ongoing short-haul and drayage demand in California.

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02 July
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Summer peak looks more like a plain for trucking

Capacity normally tightens in the week leading up to the Fourth of July. The lack of upward movement from spot and rejection rates this past week suggests the market is either propped up by the holiday or seasonal patterns have not returned.

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Jun - 2022 -
25 June
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Truckload spot market offering deepest discounts since the early pandemic

Contract rates have grown at their fastest pace in history over the pandemic era. The contract to spot rate spread fluctuation is an argument for smarter and more efficient growth strategies for carriers.

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04 June
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Heavily contracted carriers having a better year than 2021 — so far

The contracted freight market is in great condition at the moment, but the short-term indicators raise questions about its sustainability.

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May - 2022 -
21 May
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Truckload spot rates tank fast thanks to fuel costs

The truckload spot market has fallen apart over the past two months. Larger fleets are in far better shape for weathering the storm.

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14 May
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Import demand predicted trucking spot rate increase and decline

Shippers book maritime containers well before it turns into trucking and rail freight in the U.S. The relationship between international and domestic freight strengthened during the pandemic and they are both pointing toward a summer slump.

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09 May
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

FreightWaves publica el National Trucking Index para medir el mercado nacional de camiones de carga 

El Índice Nacional de Camiones de FreightWaves es la forma más rápida y precisa de medir la actividad de los camiones en Estados Unidos

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07 May
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Trade war era pattern reemerging in trucking

Not all loads are created equal in trucking. Loads moving across the country have a much greater impact on capacity and subsequently spot rates and they are disappearing at an astonishing rate compared to their shorter counterparts.

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Apr - 2022 -
30 April
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Freight market volatility is the new/old normal

Many transportation managers and providers are expecting a return to a simpler time, but the data shows simpler times may be a thing of the past.

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23 April
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Truckload market only in early stages of easing

Heavily contracted carriers are not feeling the full brunt of the truckload market easing just yet, but there is still a lot to be determined about what happens next.

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09 April
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Intermodal remains resilient, despite trucking demand dip

Slower transit times may be what shippers need as inventory levels and costs surge to all-time highs.

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02 April
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Freight market needs lithium during rapid swing toward bipolar low

Stability lulled transportation managers and providers to sleep in the six years post-recession. The roller-coaster ride of the last four may be more indicative of their future.

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Mar - 2022 -
26 March
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Is truckload capacity finally normalizing?

Truckload capacity has been extremely difficult to secure over the past 18 months, but the tender data shows things may be changing, rapidly.

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12 March
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Fuel price volatility: Positive and negative implications for transportation providers

The wild fluctuations in crude oil prices have created a strong disconnect between wholesale and retail diesel prices. What are the impacts on transportation costs and subsequently carrier bottom lines?

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05 March
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Flatbed capacity at its tightest due to surging oil prices, construction boom

Relatively abundant for most of the pandemic, flatbed capacity has become scarcer than ever thanks to the surging price of crude and a white-hot construction sector.

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Feb - 2022 -
26 February
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Ukrainian conflict will lead to more supply chain woes

The conflict is 8,000 miles away from North America but supply chains are global, which means any disruption around the world is a threat to their well-being. As the impact of COVID diminishes, a new geopolitical threat arises.

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19 February
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Truckload rate inflation suggests that service was extremely undervalued by shippers

Shippers have been bidding against each other for capacity over the past year with little to show for it, and it appears paying more will not solve the crunch.

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12 February
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Rate imbalance exacerbates trucking capacity issues

Carriers are pricing themselves into the markets with the highest rates, which is further fueling the capacity shortage.

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05 February
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Rapid cost inflation hits small carriers and businesses harder

Equipment price inflation not only inhibits capacity growth it carries consequences well into the future.

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Jan - 2022 -
29 January
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Lunar New Year impact will be minimal on imports

China’s biggest holiday used to have a dramatic impact on U.S. transportation and the flow of goods. Now it seems more of an afterthought.

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22 January
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

2022 opens with East Coast vs. West Coast battle for truckload capacity

Carriers are working hard on covering the high-priced West Coast freight, leaving shippers in the Northeast wanting.

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15 January
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Refrigerated truckload demand stays hot in early winter

Reefer demand remains strong heading into late January, breaking seasonal patterns that many have come to expect.

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01 January
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Holiday truckload demand stronger than in 2020

After a year of record demand, shippers are hesitant to pull their feet off the accelerators heading into the “slow” season.

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Dec - 2021 -
18 December
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Import activity shows how uncertain companies are about 2022

After a year and a half of predictive misses, procurement teams and supply chain managers are in need of Lithium to help treat their bipolar ordering behavior.

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11 December
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Shippers convert back to rail out of California as truckload costs continue to rise

Southern California is the main entry point for imported goods in the U.S. Congestion around rail ramps and deteriorating service pushed shippers to trucking over the summer, but that trend is reversing as truckload costs soar out of the West.

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Nov - 2021 -
27 November
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Increasing truckload length of haul suggests shippers have overordered

Long-haul freight typically shrinks around the holiday season as fulfillment becomes a priority. The exact opposite is occurring this season, which may be indicative of shipper overcorrection.

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20 November
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Refrigerated remains most challenged truckload mode heading into the holidays

The refrigerated truckload sector’s capacity recovery has stalled this fall while van has continued to stabilize. Here is the reason.

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13 November
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Truckload spot market eerily calm prior to traditional peak season

The trucking spot market is showing signs of softening in a somewhat unexpected time. Should shippers breathe a sigh of relief or is this the calm before the storm?

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11 November
06 November
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Surging fuel costs are masking trucking spot rate decline

The cost of diesel fuel, a main component in the cost of trucking, is climbing rapidly. This is a hidden factor that is helping keep spot rates elevated.

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Oct - 2021 -
30 October
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Trucking contract rates finally gain traction in October

Contract rates for trucking have been rising since late last year and finally appear to be effecting compliance, but at what cost?

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23 October
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Domestic intermodal to the rescue?

Domestic intermodal container volume growth over the past two months may not signal a definitive end to the rail yard blues, but it is a positive sign for supply chain managers.

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16 October
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Freight flow imbalance is the real capacity issue

While shortages are being blamed for the bulk of the capacity shortages in transportation, the balance of the movement of goods has become incredibly lopsided.

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Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

El desequilibrio del flujo de mercancías es el verdadero problema de capacidad

Las tarifas al contado que se mueven hacia Los Ángeles han
disminuido en el último año, mientras que los carriles de
salida aumentan más del 20%.

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11 October
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

How did we get here? Why supply chains are so wrecked

Transportation rate growth has gone parabolic as shipping demand continues to strain networks. What are the fundamental reasons for this and how long will these conditions persist?

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02 October
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

High costs will limit capacity growth in trucking

Used truck prices continued to hit new highs each of the last six months according to ACT Research. Prices will eventually become too much of a burden for small fleets and owner-operators to bear, if they haven’t already.

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Sep - 2021 -
25 September
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Trucking picks up rail’s slack, but not in the way you think

Congestion around the ports and drayage capacity issues are pushing shippers to use trucks more frequently while loaded container volumes dip. But shipping patterns are changing in more ways than just mode conversion.

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18 September
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Carriers head west for a modern-day gold rush — of freight

Carriers are rejecting a disproportionate amount of long-haul freight heading east versus west. Does this dramatic imbalance have long-term implications?

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11 September
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Are increasing lead times improving carrier compliance?

Increasing the time between the request and requested pickup date is supposed to increase your odds of securing capacity. The aggregate data shows the opposite, but there is more than meets the eye.

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03 September
Aug - 2021 -
28 August
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Maritime booking surge suggests capacity could get tighter this fall

Shippers are requesting as much capacity as ever from maritime shippers in August after slowing their pace through most of the summer. What should we take away from this?

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21 August
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Brokerage revenue soars for carriers amid extended capacity crunch

June proved to be possibly the best month ever for Truckload Carriers Association members. Brokerage revenue growing alongside driver revenues helps paint a picture of success, but what is success for a carrier?

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07 August
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Why is carrier compliance increasing along with spot rates?

Rapidly changing shipping patterns and cost structures have made historical comparisons much more challenging for the freight market.

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Jul - 2021 -
31 July
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Short haul freight drives carrier compliance higher

There are numerous reasons carrier compliance rates have been increasing over the past few months. An increase in short-haul freight may be making it easier for carriers to cover more freight.

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24 July
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Refrigerated truckload market is having a polarizing summer

Reefer capacity appears to be easing in the contracted space, but spot rates appear to be as touchy as ever.

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17 July
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Is intermodal going off the rails?

Intermodal volumes are down while tender rejections are up. The rails may be missing a huge growth opportunity, but is there anything they can do about it?

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10 July
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Fuel costs push rates higher faster in 2021

The truckload spot market appears to have hit another peak, but quickly rising fuel costs make this appear much larger than it is.

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03 July
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Southern truckload capacity vanishes before the 4th

Two of the nation’s largest centers for outbound freight demand saw record low levels of carrier acceptance rates this past week. This comes as the worst of the COVID capacity crunch appeared to be in the rearview mirror.

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Jun - 2021 -
26 June
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

West vs. East coasts: The battle for trucking capacity escalates

Capacity is retightening in California as demand surges once again. There are new patterns emerging that may lead to a battle for capacity between the two coasts.

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12 June
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Panama spread hits all-time high as shippers flee to east coast

Shippers are desperately trying to find a way to get their freight into the U.S. The peak impacts to surface transportation may be in the future.

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10 June
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

FreightWaves SONAR releases Capacity Trend Indices

FreightWaves adds a new way to measure capacity changes in the domestic freight market to its SONAR platform.

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05 June
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Rate increases drive trucking compliance higher in May

Shippers may have had a little more success with contracted carriers in May, but it came at a high cost.

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May - 2021 -
22 May
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Port of Oakland becomes next overflow valve for shippers

Shippers continue to struggle to find a reliable way to get freight into the U.S., which is causing major changes to surface transportation patterns.

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19 May
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

SONAR expands its reefer data

FreightWaves adds exclusive new data set to an already extensive amount of reefer data.

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15 May
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Will rising warehouse and inventory costs feed trucking demand?

In 2019 shippers crammed warehouses full of inventory coinciding with a stagnant freight market. As warehousing capacity tightens, could this contribute to the already tight transportation space?

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08 May
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Transportation sector boom has become self-limiting

The industrial sector is trying to recover faster than transportation can react. There are numerous factors limiting the economic recovery, illustrating that it is harder to turn production back on than off.

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01 May
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Have carriers learned not to overextend their fleet expansion efforts?

Many carriers expanded their fleets after the 2018 freight boom and were rewarded with an extremely challenging oversupplied market in 2019. The current pattern looks eerily similar to early 2018, but are they comparable?

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Apr - 2021 -
24 April
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Empty-container rush signals worst yet to come for shipping community

Containers have been in short supply, exacerbated by gross trade imbalances between the U.S. and China. The surging flow of empties moving back to the West Coast implies the ships won’t be slowing anytime soon.

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17 April
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Freight boom is not without downsides for carriers

One of the results of the 2017-18 freight market boom was an increase in the cost of operating that held over into a slower 2019 when capacity became abundant. Costs are on the rise once again as carriers struggle to find drivers to capture market share.

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10 April
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

This could be the hottest summer ever — for freight

Imports have fueled the domestic freight economy over the past year. That growth continues out of the traditional peak season with shippers booking maritime capacity in April. Could this translate to a record summer for trucking?

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03 April
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Trucking gets another shot in the arm from quarantined consumers

The relationship between personal consumption and trucking demand has strengthened even further as companies struggle to maintain inventory. This suggests a very active spring and summer for transportation providers.

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Mar - 2021 -
27 March
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Transportation costs keep rising as service deteriorates

Transportation rates continue to climb while service is at an all-time low. Shippers will have to be aggressive in devising new strategies to keep costs under control.

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20 March
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

What will redistribution of imports mean for surface transportation?

Import volumes are growing rapidly into secondary ports as shippers scramble to build inventory. What are some of the short- and long-term implications to domestic transportation providers?

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15 March
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

FreightWaves launches SONAR SCI (Supply Chain Intelligence) Lane Acuity

Advancements in tender data science and paid market data now power SONAR SCI (Supply Chain Intelligence) Lane Acuity.  SONAR Lane Acuity provides lane-level insight into market stability and rate benchmarking. […]

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13 March
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Will intermodal’s cost advantage be enough to grow beyond 2021?

Intermodal shipping is dominated by the largest shippers in the U.S. and operates on a more static network, which gains higher cost efficiency than trucking over longer-mileage runs.

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06 March
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

FreightWaves SONAR adds Intermodal Savings Versus Truckload (IMCS) tickers

The intermodal contract saving indices (IMCSI) show the percent savings of shipping via intermodal versus dry van truckload contract rates. To ensure comparability across modes, the calculation only compares truckload […]

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Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Produce season comes early?

Reefer capacity has tightened to all-time levels, pushing spot rates for produce moves to seasonal peaks ahead of schedule.

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Feb - 2021 -
27 February
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

FreightWaves adds aggregated predictive scientific rate tickers to SONAR

Though already present at a lane level in the Lane Signal application inside of the SONAR platform, FreightWaves has aggregated a national predictive rate value for van (FWS.USA) and reefer […]

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Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Spot market rates set to resume slow downward trend after wild winter

The underlying fundamentals of the market are showing signs of moving slowly back toward a more stable scenario and spot rates may be unable to paint the full picture.

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20 February
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Winter storms blow freight market back into disarray

The latest round of winter weather hit transportation hard. How does this compare to other events?

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13 February
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Shippers take to the sky as ocean congestion grows

The import boom appears far from over, and it will have implications long after this wave of unprecedented orders subsides.

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06 February
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Trucking contract rates up 12% year-over-year

Companies are paying significantly more for transportation than they were a year ago with many contracts yet to be implemented.

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Jan - 2021 -
30 January
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Flatbed is making a comeback

Although many questions remain for trucking in 2021, flatbed appears to be poised for a much stronger year.

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23 January
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Is West Coast freight here to stay?

Freight volumes have exploded out of southern California over the past two years. Is this pattern sustainable?

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16 January
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Consumer spending drove freight growth in 2020

Consumer spending on goods drove the majority of the freight boom in 2020. Will this trend last in 2021?

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09 January
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

When will the next wave of trucking capacity hit the market?

Class 8 truck orders are surging signaling carriers are once again willing to invest in their fleets. Does this mean another overcorrection of capacity is in store?

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Dec - 2020 -
26 December
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

2020 closes with plenty (of freight) left in the tank

Imports continue to pile up as shippers and carriers take time for the holidays. They may come back to a mess.

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19 December
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Christmas vacation will exacerbate supply chain bottlenecks

Transportation providers may spend January unclogging supply chains as warehouse capacity has become a precious commodity thanks to the continued influx of imports.

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12 December
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Spot market carries momentum from Thanksgiving into December

Spot rates continued to increase after the holiday period ended even as capacity returned to the market according to the Outbound Tender Reject Index.

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05 December
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Produce spot rates break $10K per load in November

Cold chain distribution shifts following the pandemic along with a much smaller supply of available base capacity has made the reefer carrier a much more valuable commodity this year.

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Nov - 2020 -
28 November
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Carrier profits surge thanks to pandemic freight boom

Capacity is historically tight in trucking, pushing spot rates and profit margins higher. How much of this momentum will carriers be able to maintain?

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21 November
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Reefer capacity tapped out prior to vaccine release

Temperature-controlled equipment rates are already breaking records, could the vaccine distribution push them higher?

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14 November
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

West Coast imports slowing; trucking and rail volumes remain strong

Trucking and rail volumes remain elevated while the imports fade. Is this is beginning of the end of the 2020 freight boom?

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12 November
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Divided we ship

The election results show just how divided the nation is politically and COVID cases are back on the rise. Shipping activity appears to be insulated from any negative effects at the moment, but for how long?

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07 November
Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst

Fuel price volatility could return amid peak season surge

Record trucking volumes along with shrinking refinery production could make fuel prices an overlooked threat to carrier margins and shipping costs into 2021.

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