Freight brokerages serve as the quintessential middlemen of the freight market, managing shipper transportation networks during stable periods while scrambling to fill capacity gaps when conditions tighten. It is a continuous balancing act — near-term underperformance can actually signal longer-term success, and vice versa.

Refrigerated truckload capacity has tightened rapidly out of northern California, signalling the return of a more volatile produce season.

The price of fuel has spiked over the past month, but this does not always mean higher rates.

National truckload rejection rates are telling us that the market may take a while to recover.

Midwest rejections are outpacing the West Coast by a factor of 4. What could be driving this huge disparity?

Wholesale diesel prices jumped more than 30% last week, while retail diesel prices increased more than 14%. The rapid pace of these changes has potentially negative implications for both shippers and carriers.

Two factors appear to be driving a divergence in regional truckload capacity in the middle of a structural market shift.

Flatbed rejections have increased sharply in recent months and do not appear to be driven solely by tightening capacity or weather disruptions. The recent tariff ruling could serve as an accelerant to this trend.

Data point suggests the truckload market is both experiencing an fleeting anomaly and shifting to a different state.

Winter storm Fern was the strongest weather event to hit the transportation market since 2021, and will have a long recovery period.

The truckload spot market erupted this holiday season, putting many long-term rates into obsolescence.

Inventory levels dropped at their fastest clip in over ten years according to the LMI in December. This lean management strategy could be a boon for trucking.

Order lead times are difficult to interpret, but the coming year could end a six-year rise and further tighten the trucking market.

Leaner inventories and tighter ordering cycles are necessary to keep costs under control. Companies may be leaning more on transportation services in 2026 and come to find the once abundant supply of capacity has dwindled.

Carriers are rejecting loads at a pace not seen in years, with little to no post-Thanksgiving reprieve. Is this yet another sign that capacity is finally reaching a tipping point?

Truckload spot rates have seen sharp, intermittent spikes this year, though none have lasted. These sharper swings may signal what’s coming next year.

Import demand continues to weaken, and while it is not a purely positive sign for transportation markets, it is not the most dire either.

Truckload rates have increased on a main transcontinental artery, showing that the value of truckload service has grown even though there is less demand for it.

Shippers are signaling a return to just-in-time shipping in reducing the inventory level buffers that they were building. This could pull some freight back into the truckload market.

Truckload contract rates have been remarkably stable over the past few years, but they are about to be tested over the next 12 months.