freight demand
-
Q4 Freight Demand Is Splitting by Industry—Higher Shipment Dollars Don’t Guarantee More Loads
Updated industry shipment totals reveal an uneven freight picture. FIR separates dollar growth from physical production and identifies the signals that should guide Q4 capacity commitments.
-
Intermodal’s 18% Weekly Gain Is Not a Demand Boom—The Holiday Distortion Shippers Should See Before Q4 Bids
AAR’s latest comparison is accurate but calendar-distorted. Actual intermodal volume fell 1.3% from the prior week, while year-to-date growth reached 4.2%. Shippers should separate the headline from the planning signal.
-
The Next Freight Squeeze May Be Inland: Intermodal Demand Is Testing Rail Capacity
Stronger ocean volumes are feeding into a less flexible inland network. Union Pacific’s capacity actions suggest some shippers could encounter tighter allocations and higher costs before a nationwide rail bottleneck…
-
Record Containers, Softer Imports: Freight’s Peak Season Is Splitting in Two
July’s frontloaded port surge could fade as U.S. factory demand strengthens. Here are the lane, capacity and inventory decisions shippers should make now.
-
U.S. Factory Production Jumps—A New Freight-Demand Signal Is Forming
July factory production reached a nearly five-year high as backlogs, exports and employment expanded—an important leading signal for freight capacity and shipper planning.
-
The GDP Headline Says Slowdown. Freight Demand Says Something Else.
Q2 GDP slowed to 1.5%, but private demand, consumer spending, equipment investment and June LTL tonnage point to firmer freight activity—and hotter costs.