Shippers moved less freight in the second quarter and paid sharply more to do it. Tightening truck capacity, not fuel, did most of the damage to their transportation budgets.
The U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index Rates Edition shows dry van spot rates surged 31% year-over-year in May 2026 as capacity tightening drives costs higher.
Spot rates rose 23.3% and contract rates 5% from March 2025 to February 2026 even as volumes fell sharply. The U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index shows the contract premium compressed to $0.11 per mile.
Spot and contract rates climb amid tighter capacity and stricter regulatory pressures on carriers
Late 2025 data shows subtle shifts in spot, contract rates amid carrier exits
U.S. Bank report shows shippers paid more to move less amid tariffs and economic slowdown, with regional divides deepening.
Recent data released by U.S. Bank showed that despite trade- and economic-related uncertainty, the national truck freight market grew in the second quarter of 2025
Recent Q1 data released by U.S. Bank as part of its Freight Payment Index painted a mixed picture of the national truck freight market, characterized by persistent declines alongside emerging signs of recovery.
US freight market continued to face headwinds in Q4 2024 Data released Tuesday by freight audit and payment provider U.S. Bank showed a trucking industry continuing to battle a variety of headwinds. According to the latest U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index, shipment volumes fell 4.7% from the previous quarter, marking the 10th consecutive quarterly decline. […]
Q4 2024 data released by freight audit and payment provider U.S. Bank showed a trucking industry continuing to battle cyclical and structural headwinds.
Werner’s Q2 earnings saw worsening financial conditions but improving freight market conditions and signs of capacity tightening.
The Convoy saga has taken another turn as venture-backed freight forwarder Flexport announced Wednesday that it has acquired Convoy’s technology stack for an undisclosed sum. This comes after Convoy, which was valued at $3.8 billion from its final funding round 18 months ago, shuttered operations on Oct. 19.
Media outlet TMZ reported that singer-songwriter Taylor Swift gave each truck driver who worked as part of her Eras Tour a bonus check of $100,000 before her Santa Clara, California, show last Saturday.
SONAR ocean container booking data suggests that the predicted freight rebound in the second half of 2023 may be increasingly unlikely. Import and ocean container booking data is typically used as a leading indicator for future truckload volumes, as containers are offloaded in ports and transferred into intermodal or truckload orders.
Christopher Thornycroft, executive vice president at Redwood, joined us to talk about the Lunar New Year and what it means for freight demand. For those unaware, the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday began Jan. 22 and typically lasts two weeks. This year, it will end with the Lantern Festival on Sunday.
U.S. Bank and J.B. Hunt are working together on payments solutions. In this fireside chat, leaders from both companies talk about the state of the financial supply chain.
Freight payments data from U.S. Bank showed sequential increases in volumes and costs during the second quarter.
U.S. Bank, a major lender to the supply chain, has brought in LiquidX as its fintech partner to speed up its digitization process.
Every region except the Southwest moved less volume than in Q3.
U.S. Bank’s Spend Index does include the price of fuel, which has helped to drive it higher.
