White Paper: State of the Industry – October 2025

The October 2025 “State of the Industry Report” — presented in affiliation with Ryder — shares an in-depth overview across the trucking, maritime and intermodal markets, as well as what to expect in the coming weeks. The data contained within the report provides breakdowns of capacity, volumes and rates.

In this report, you will find: 

  • Carriers are struggling to keep container rates stable as seasonality is upended by tariff disruptions, increasingly turning to blank sailings to do so.
  • Truckload demand is on an unseasonal decline, yet tender rejections and carrier rates suggest a nationwide tightening of capacity — albeit a slow one.
  • Although international intermodal volumes have been contracting since early July, rising domestic volumes have more than compensated for this decline.
  • Sentiment among manufacturers is growing darker, but consumer spending has been surprisingly robust throughout the summer so far.
  • Weakness in the U.S. labor market overshadowed strength in other pockets of the economy at the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, after which the Fed resumed its cutting cycle for interest rates.

Download the complimentary report today to access the full insights.

Upcoming FreightWaves Events
Fraud & Security

Freight Fraud Symposium

Double brokering. AI deepfakes. Identity theft. Freight fraud is an existential threat to the industry. Get ahead of it.

May 20, 2026
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame • Cleveland, OH
Register Now
AI & Technology

Supply Chain AI Symposium

Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.

July 15, 2026
The Old Post Office • Chicago, IL
Register Now
Rail & Policy

Future of Rail Symposium

Reshoring is rewriting freight demand. Join shippers, rail executives, and government officials to shape the next decade.

July 28, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
Fraud & Security Freight Fraud Symposium May 20 • Cleveland, OH

Double brokering. AI deepfakes. Identity theft. Freight fraud is an existential threat to the industry. Get ahead of it.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame • Cleveland, OH Register Now
AI & Technology Supply Chain AI Symposium Jul 15 • Chicago, IL

Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.

The Old Post Office • Chicago, IL Register Now
Rail & Policy Future of Rail Symposium Jul 28 • Chattanooga, TN

Reshoring is rewriting freight demand. Join shippers, rail executives, and government officials to shape the next decade.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now

Sponsor

Sponsors occasionally contribute content tor FreightWaves.com. To qualify, the content must be properly labeled as the sponsor's content, and it must not conflict with FreightWaves editorial policies. Contact Preston Brown at pbrown@freightwaves.com for details.