Shippers Accept New Freight Super Cycle Amid Driver Shortage
JB Hunt's Spencer Frazier did not hold back when talking about the shipper sentiment shift over the past few months. In January, there were a lot of questions among customers about whether there was a permanent or temporary shift in the freight market. As the quarter progressed, Hunt's customers are accepting that capacity tightness is not temporary and we have birthed a new freight cycle. I would argue the beginning of a trucking super cycle as a generational industrial renaissance hits tightening truck driver availability.
Cheaper U.S. Natural Gas Cuts Manufacturing Costs, Boosts Competitiveness
38% of manufacturing costs come from energy and in America that energy is natural gas. Natgas continues to get cheaper, boosting American industrial competitiveness https://t.co/G3XH3E1afH
JB Hunt’s Strong Earnings Signal End to Freight Recession
JB Hunt had one of their strongest earnings calls in years, declaring the Great Freight Recession over. Hunt is a very conservative firm, and CEO Simpson is typically very measured in her comments - this sets the tone for the...
Blaming Immigration Masks Hiring Non‑Compliant Drivers
If a trucking business is failing in this market and they are blaming immigration, they were likely hiring non-compliant drivers and deserve to go out of business.
TD Cowen Predicts Double‑digit Truckload Rate Hikes by Year‑end
TD Cowen report extremely bullish on truckload. Truckload carriers seeing high single rate increases, growing to double digits by year end. https://t.co/ok7KgQ3WwH
New SONAR Sitreps Deliver Real‑Time Freight Impact Insights
This Thursday, we are introducing a brand new feature for SONAR subscribers. SONAR Sitreps are editorial and data-driven research deep dives into freight-related topics. The research includes a white paper, a PowerPoint presentation covering the topic, and an interactive screen...
China's Subsidized Industries Fuel Overcapacity Without Market Discipline
China does not have a normal free market and a lot of their industry is subsidized by the government and banks - which lends itself to overcapacity since normal market inputs are not there to drive decisions.
HO Scale Port of Savannah Shows Real‑World Intermodal Flow
The Motion Museum will feature more than fifteen scaled layouts when we open next Spring. One of my favorites is an HO scale layout of the Port of Savannah and the intermodal yard. We will show containers moving off ships...
Future City Blueprint: Mega Factories Linked by Hyperloop
Motion Museum’s Future City layout in HO Coming Spring 2027 to Chattanooga, TN SpaceX Starbase Tesla Gigafactory Telsa Semi Factory xAI Colussus Data Center TVA Nuclear plant Natural Gas plant Boom Supersonic Overture Superfactory Joby Aviation eVTOL factory & landing field All connected...
March 2026: Shippers Face Unprecedented Capacity Crunch
FTR: March 2026 was one of (if not) the toughest months ever for shippers. Shippers in the freight world are buyers of capacity, i.e. the trucker's customers. This market is just getting started. https://t.co/9FO8y11ZaT
Foreign Ownership of US Trucking Firms Fuels Safety Crisis
I've argued that you should be an American citizen to own a trucking company. This is a requirement in almost every single commercial mode of transportation, except for trucking. The reason is simple: overseas actors will own trucking companies and...
Freight Data Shows Industrial Demand Rising Despite Oil Shock
Ignore the noise and focus on the signal. This is a great economy for goods consumption and we are finally starting to see industrial demand strengthen. If the oil shock were going to impact goods demand, it would have shown...
Goods Sector Defies Oil Price Surge, Truckloads up 11%
The goods industry is the most exposed segment to the price of oil and yet since March 1st, we have seen incredibly strong signals out of the goods economy with activity firming, not weakening. If high oil prices were going...
Executives View $100 Oil as Temporary Peak, Not Baseline
Most of the America oil & gas executives at conference last week I spoke with shrugged the current price as a short term development, as the market always finds a way. They spoke like it was almost a distraction to...
Real Loading Dock Capacity Exceeds “Full” Claims
As someone that used to run an LTL loading dock, I find this impressive. All too often, the guys would say we were "full" when it was far from high and tight.
FMCSA Funding Halved as Carrier Numbers Surge 60%
The FMCSA is criminally underfunded. Funding to investigate carriers has dropped 40% over the past 15 years, yet the number of motor carriers is up 60%. The ATA sold the public on a truck driver shortage that never existed, while their...
Chameleon Carrier Fraud: Trucking’s Biggest Unseen Threat
I strongly recommend turning into 60 minutes or watching on-demand. Rob Carpenter puts on a masterclass on the Chamelon carrier fraud problem. I’d like to suggest that is the only major issue trucking has, but it’s just scratching the surface.
AI Data Centers Will Generate 5.6M Truckloads by 2031
The AI data center and its affiliated power construction projects are going to drive a lot of freight over the next 5 years. Our estimates are for 3.6m truckloads this year involved in these projects, ramping to 5.6m truckloads by...
Data Center Boom Set to Surge Freight Demand
SONAR is launching an in-house research division that will provide world-class research on major freight and supply chain topics, leveraging our team of market experts and high-frequency data. We call our reports a "SONAR Sitrep." Our first research report will...
AI Data Centers Outspend Interstate Construction Weekly
The AI data center build-out is the largest privately-funded infrastructure program in American history. The Interstate Highway System took 35 years to build at an average of approximately $18.8 billion per year in 2026 dollars. The AI data center build-out is...
Saudi Arabia Gains as Oil Prices Surge, Rival Vanishes
The House of Saud wins with higher oil prices and the elimination of a regional competitor
Trucking Spot Rates Dip Post‑Easter, Market Remains Strong
We expect trucking spot rates to drop this week, as demand has slightly cooled post Easter. Rejection rates doing to their lowest levels since Early Feb at 13.44%. This is still a strong market, just cooled from where we were before Easter. Note:...
Rail Grain Shipments Hit 1993 Peak, Driven by Exports
Rail grain shipments have surged this year, hitting the highest levels since 1993, all thanks to exports.
NFI Faces $650M Claim; Insurance Coverage Uncertain
NFI could be on the hook for $650m claim just in property damage and lost product. Wonder how much they are insured.
Industrial Boom: Oil, Cheap Gas, AI Drive US Growth
Why aren’t you bullish on the American economy? So many things to be excited about in the industrial economy: High oil exports great for US oil companies and industrial tied to it Low natural gas prices (the industrial fuel) Petrochems and plastics way up...
US Industrials Set to Boom as Gas Prices Plunge
Natural gas drives the US industrial economy, not oil. US natural gas prices are -20% since the Iran war broke out. This will be tremendous for US industrials. https://t.co/4k1zWGD9Ix
US Industry Relies on Natural Gas, Now 20% Cheaper
For the most part, the US industrial segment runs on natural gas, not oil. And US natural gas prices have dropped by 20% since March 1st.
Midwest Turns From Freight Receiver to Export Hub
For the past decade, the center of the country "received freight", largely from the coasts, as a large percentage of trucking volume were related to imports. For the past few months, that has flipped and now the center of the...
6% of Truckers Likely to Fail Random Drug Test
An estimated 6% of all truck drivers would fail a random hair follicle drug test
Iran War Will Boost U.S. Reindustrialization, Outweigh Tariffs
I've said this a few times, but it needs to be reinforced. The Iran war will do far more to balance trade and drive American reindustrialization than the tariffs ever did.
Driver Shortage Myth: No Perpetual Shortage Exists
Anyone want to take the "driver shortage" discussion? I am tired of having to clear the record - there is no perpetual driver shortage.
Early Freight Surge Prediction Proven Right, Trends Accelerate
I received a lot of hate back in November when we first reported the surge in freight transactions, it is clear those signals were accurate and a few months earlier than other datasets. And guess what: it gets even better...
China Subsidizes Auto Sector to Crush Foreign Competition
China's government has been providing incentives for Chinese manufacturers and suppliers to sharply undercut foreign auto manufacturers at home and abroad. This has been the goal of the CCP - rule the auto supply chain sector and wipe all global...
CH Robinson Hikes Spot Rate Outlook to +17% YoY
CH Robinson moves their spot rate forecast to +17% YoY. This is a substantial forecast increase from their March update, which had spot rates +12% YoY. https://t.co/Fap92OKjsM
Supply Chains Are Frontline in Energy Infrastructure
Aspen Aerogel is a manufacturer of products used in energy infrastructure Refining/petrochemicals, LNG, power plants, district energy, subsea pipelines, and offshore platforms. Supply chains are the front lines
Repeated “Accidents” Spark Skepticism Over Infrastructure Fires
I’m sure this one, like all of the other big fires on critical infrastructure over past few weeks, will be an “accident”
USD‑Backed Trump Stablecoins Reinforce Global Dollar Dominance
Trump’s stablecoins are backed by USD and like it or not USD is still preferred around the world, even by despots.
U.S. Shipping Deficit Exposes Critical National Security Weakness
The NATO fiasco just exposed a massive US national security vulnerability: America barely owns any ships. The top 5 container shipping firms (all European or Chinese) control 65% of global capacity. The US has zero container shipping firms in the top 30...
Mid‑South Generates Double Texas Wealth with Fewer People
The Midsouth (TN + Carolinas) have 24m people combined Texas has 32m And yet, the 3 states of the Mid South picked up 2x as much wealth as Texas ($11b vs. $6b) The mid South is the next great economic region...
Since Emissions Happen, Choose Cleaner Natural Gas over Diesel
Yes, we are getting the emissions one way or another. Might as well put the fuel to use. Plus, natgas is far cleaner than diesel
Chattanooga’s Tiny Streets Overflow with Logistics Branding
Chattanooga is much smaller than other cities, but due to the high concentration of logistics firms in the city, you can't go anywhere without running into a reminder that you are in Freight Alley.
SONAR Adds Bulk Trucking Rates to Global Freight Intel
SONAR launches Bulk Trucking Rates. SONAR is the only global multi-modal freight market intelligence platform with Van, Reefer, Flatbed, and now Bulk trucking rates. Our new bulk rate offering is derived from our massively expanded shipper-rate platform which now includes...
Energy‑Data Center Alliance Fuels Upcoming Trucking Supercycle
Was at an energy conference today and my mind was blown about how early we are in this cycle. The partnership between energy + data centers is going to power the trucking super cycle
GLP‑1s Reveal Calorie Restriction as Longevity Key
Its interesting that for the thousands of books written on health, we've learned since GLP-1s came on the market the best way to extend lifespan is to eat fewer calories
From Failed Futures to Freight’s Leading Data Platform
10 years ago, I quit my job and decided to create the world’s first futures for trucking. Futures didn’t work out, but we created something much more powerful - the most comprehensive information services platform in the freight market. And we are...
DAT Flips to Bullish on Flatbed Demand
How does DAT improve their market analysis? Take every possible position. Yesterday: “Flatbed volumes are already pulling back ahead of the typical May peak, and manufacturer confidence is cooling fast” Today: “Flatbed demand is gaining momentum. Flatbed load posts on...
Flatbed Rates Surge to $4.05, Rejections Hit 48%
DAT bullish, except for flatbeds, with SONAR signaling flatbed as white hot and the strongest mode at unprecedented strength. Flatbed rates up to $4.05/mile and flatbed rejections at 48%. https://t.co/MaglxTT53T
Supply Chain Instability Is Inevitable and Growingly Volatile
The disruptions to supply chains are unfortunately predictable, while the actors and dates are fluid. And here is the preview: supply chain instability is a permanent feature and things are bound to get more volatile https://t.co/qYNbnvbpPZ
Freight Volumes Set to Stay Strong Amid Lean Inventories
LMI suggesting freight market volumes expected to be robust over next near term horizon as inventories stay lean https://t.co/5XGm9vl5J5
Flatbed Rates Hit Record $4.05/mile Post‑Easter
Flatbeds come out of Easter surging to record high of $4.05/mile Up from $3.93/mile before the Easter Holiday. https://t.co/lhIwUSiFya