The rebalancing of the U.S. freight market is being drawn out by reluctance to part with workers and significant private fleet capacity expansion, ACT Research announced in its freight forecast Outlook report this week.
“Although seasonality remains loose and demand soft, spot market dynamics have begun to shift since the end of operations at Yellow on July 31. While this is a game-changer for LTL rates, so far, the truckload market is still loose enough for rates to be largely unaffected. We see the impact growing over time, along seasonal patterns,” says ACT's Tim Denoyer, vice president and senior analyst.
ACT reports publicly traded for-hire fleets reduced their collective tractor count by 3% in the first half of 2023, but Class 8 tractor sales and production are still near maximum levels, adding considerably to the Class 8 tractor fleet. Private fleets are still growing and pulling freight from the for-hire market, the company says.
“Class 8 orders will be very interesting over the next several months and, in our view, pivotal to setting the market tone for 2024,” Denoyer says.
