Midwest I‑35 Corridor Sees Demand Surge, Coasts Lag
This is exactly what is happening, according to our data. The center of the country, along I35 is experiencing a surge of demand, while the coasts are much slower
Post‑CNY Container Surge Set to Strain US Trucking
Ocean container imports are just starting to roll in from CNY. This index tracks container at the point of bookings, which take about 3 weeks from bookings date to hit US ports. It is updated daily. In coming weeks, we will...
Drivers Cheat Drug Tests Through “Bruh” Service
1 in 85 truck drivers that had previously failed their drug tests went to "bruh" to get cleared. He turned in "clean" drug tests so that the drivers could return to work. The problem? Most of them wouldn't have passed.
Sal Explains Why the US Navy Won’t Clear Strait
Sal gives us a clinic on the reason that the US Navy has not cleared the Strait.
Carrier's Market Persists: Shippers Who Refuse Concessions Lose Trucks
This is a carrier's market. There are zero signs that things are cooling, in fact, in recent days the market has firmed significantly. Many traffic managers at shippers have not seen a carrier's market and are unprepared. If they have...
SONAR's Real‑transaction Data Beats Ghost‑load DAT Signals
Ken Idunno Adamo was the cheerleader of team weather in February. He couldn't see that the freight market was cooking because of the sub-prime nature of DAT's data. I don't blame Ken for not taking the $5k bet, knowing that...
Averitt Reports Rising LTL Activity
Averitt, a regional LTL provider, is seeing an up-tick in LTL activity. - Transport Topics https://t.co/VUzWyUSgRw
SONAR Subscription Eliminates Guesswork on Rally Resilience
Adamo needs a SONAR subscription to augment his DAT one. He wouldn't have had to guess on the resilience of the rally.
Ontario, CA Hits Extreme Tightening as Freight Booms
Ontario, California flipped to "Extreme Tightening" for capacity over the weekend, as the freight economy starts to heat up and Spring shipping starts to cook. Ontario is heart of the Inland Empire, the ocean of warehouses and distribution centers near...
Spot Rates Rising, Poised to Lift Contract Rates
Trucking spot rates on the move; contract rates stable for now. Spot rates are going to pull up contract rates. https://t.co/ZwPKv4PP3D
Weekly NTI Set to Surpass $2.90 per Mile
The national truckload index, daily report, is signaling that weekly NTI is poised to break $2.90/mile tomorrow. Rates firmed sharply late last week. For those following at home or on Blue to Blue, ticker is SONAR: NTID.USA https://t.co/jxA5L55Osk
Flatbed Market Lacks Capacity, Housing Season Looms
While it is end of the quarter, I’m afraid this is just a small preview of what’s coming. Zero capacity relief in the flatbed market and we haven’t hit housing shipping season yet. https://t.co/VZsgYs7mmA
Short‑lived Traffic Managers Fuel Impending Carrier Revenge
The issue at many major shippers is that the tenure of the traffic manager is less than two years. They've never seen a carrier's market. They don't know what its like when truckers have the power. Carrier's Revenge is...
Freight Market Flipping: Unprecedented Capacity Churn Sparks Demand
The SONAR team has been telling shipper and broker clients for months that every capacity signal was warning that the freight market was flipping and it wasn't just holiday peaks or weather. Unprecedented capacity churn with early green shoots in...
West Coast Surge Pulls Long‑Haul Truckers Eastward
The West Coast hasn't been participating in the trucking market surge, as the ports were slow this March due to CNY. That is about to change. We are seeing significant tightening in the Los Angeles freight market as containers start...
Routing Guides Collapse, Trucks Vanish, Budgets Suffer
Routing guides getting wrecked. It’s just starting. The “it’s just the weather” crowd is going to have a hard time to explaining to their bosses why trucks aren’t showing up this spring and budgets are getting obliterated.
Unprepared Shippers Face Exploding Transportation Budgets
Shippers that didn’t prepare for higher transportation costs this year are about to have their budgets blown out.
Pilots Spend Most of Flight on Radio Check‑ins
Sad but true. Most of what a pilot does mid flight is to check in and let ATC know they are still in radio contact or changing frequencies.
Trucking Spot Rates Surge Amid Tight Capacity
New day, new cycle high. National trucking spot rates up to $2.89/mile. +$.11/mile in the past week. Spiking demand + tightening capacity will keep new entrants from ruining the party. https://t.co/By2VKHcsO8
Brokers Discouraged From Asking Questions, Blame Trial Attorneys
Brokers are taught to not ask too many questions. Don’t like that? Blame the trial attorneys
Post‑CNY China‑US Container Shipments Just Beginning
He has this backwards. Containers from China to the US post CNY are just getting started. https://t.co/GdRTZKb28Q
GLP‑1 Drugs Cut More Truckloads than UP‑NS Merger
GLP-1s will take more truckloads off the road than the proposed merger between UP and NS. Grok estimates 3m truckloads reduced as Americans consume less calories. The proposed merger is expected to take 2m truckloads out.
Trucking Crisis: Unknown Drivers Threaten Safety and Economy
Jillian is an expert in transportation cybersecurity. The trucking industry is facing an unprecedented safety, security, and economic crisis because we don't know who is driving our trucks.
Iran War Spares Global Container Volumes; CNY Hits China, Vietnam
Despite the headlines, global container trade volumes are largely unaffected by the Iran War (CNY is the reason that China and Vietnam are down MoM). https://t.co/YplrKgSLTc
Trucking Spot Rates Surge Nationwide, Blue Dominates Map
This map tracks trucking spot rate momentum by market over the past 4 days. It tracks the percentage of lanes out of a market that are experiencing rate increases vs. decreases. If more than 50% have increases, the market will...
West Coast Container Surge Fuels Trucking Volume Rally
Trucking volume rally continues to firm. With west coast container volumes finally showing up, market volumes should sharply increase in coming weeks. https://t.co/8OE3jShFEz
LA Rejection Spike Signals Imminent Capacity Shortage
Rejection levels out of LA nearly double over the past week, shooting above 7% overnight. The role of Southern California in the psychology of shippers can not be understated. This "overnight flip" of LA will signal to shippers to...
Dalilah’s Law Threatens 200k Drivers, Sparks
The Compliance Crackdown has eliminated approximately 12k drivers from trucking over the past year. Rates and tender rejections have recovered to the same levels they were before the Great Freight Recession. Dalilah’s law could eliminate 200k+ drivers and deliver the biggest capacity...
Barrier Removal Fuels Unsafe Carriers, Hurts Lawful Shippers
Non-compliant motor carriers have thrived, while compliant motor carriers have suffered untold economic hardship. This is the travesty caused by eliminating the barriers to entry.
Kamala Would Flood Trucks, Driving Rates to Near‑zero
🤣 We’d have a bottomless pit of capacity and trucking spot rates would be trending towards a dollar
Dalilah Bill Split Could Spark Trucking Super Cycle
Two versions of the Dalilah's bill are in Congress: House - Out of committee and up for a vote. Non-dom CDLs expire within 12 months. Senate - Still in committee. Non-dom CDLs expire within 6 months. TD Cowen estimates that...
Class 8 Truck Orders Surge 157% Year‑over‑Year
Fleets are starting to feel a little feisty... Class 8 truck sales coming in STRONG (157%+ YoY)
Carriers Back Truckstop Consolidation to Boost Fuel Margins
Little secret: The large truckload carriers love a consolidated truckstop industry. When Pilot and Flying J were contemplating a merger, the DOJ reached out to the largest carriers and asked their opinion. They were generally supportive. They wanted consolidation in retail fuel. Why? Less...
Freight Rates Surge as Capacity Constraints Hit
We are well past the major weather disruptions to freight - the bears have run out of reasons to avoid rate inflation. The market melt up is real.
Trucking Spot Rates Stay Elevated Amid War, Fuel Worries
Despite concerns about the war and fuel, the clearing price for trucking spot rates (i.e. what a broker must pay to move a load) has remain elevated the entire time. https://t.co/qu4A4SUtFm
Ken's Data Lacks Conviction, Misleads on Fuel‑Driven Rates
Your reminder than Ken has such little conviction using DAT's data that he wouldn't take a $5k bet, but expects you to bet millions using his data and analysis. He can throw shade all he wants, but doesn't have conviction in...
Southern California Tender Rejections Hit 2022 Highs, Signaling Bullish Outlook
Tender rejection rates out of Southern California have surpassed 2022 levels, the start of the Great Freight Recession. This is extremely bullish because volumes are at their softest levels out of LA we will see all year, as S Cal...
Bullish Freight Market Forces Shippers to Accept Higher Rates
The freight market is growing more bullish as we head into one of the busiest parts of the trucking calendar. And we are starting to see the West Coast pull up. Shippers that refuse higher rates risk having trucks not...
Freight Broker Roles: Notoriously Hard to Explain Outside Trucking
Trying to explain the role of a freight broker to anyone outside the trucking industry is…. Challenging.
Aviation English: Mandatory for Every Pilot Worldwide
English is the official language of aviation. Every pilot, globally, is supposed to have a working knowledge of aviation English.
Compliance Crackdown Shrinks Capacity, Tightening Freight Market
I am convinced there are just some folks in freight that just want truckers to suffer more. They will tell you that the compliance developments won’t be impactful. Then the market tightens. You ask them if it’s volume, they say...
ATA’s Endorsement Signals Crucial Congressional Influence
We are all critical of the ATA, but having the organization endorse this law is very important. The ATA is a very important lobbyist group that has an outsized influence on Congress. They are on the right side of history...
Dalilah’s Law Cuts CDL Grace Period, Boosts Truckload
Dalilah’s law is a massive pivot from the FMCSA rule. It would mandate that current non-domiciled CDLs are banned 1 year out from the enactment date. The FMCSA offered 5 years. If this passes, go long truckload.
Dalilah's Law Bans Non‑Domiciled CDL Drivers, Limits Foreign Brokers
Not only will Dalilah's law permanently eliminate non-domiciled CDLs, it will also restrict foreign dispatchers and freight brokers https://t.co/zQYNP3Ja4g
Rising Oil Prices Spur Medium‑Term Freight Demand
Citi: High oil prices will drive additional freight demand "North American production boosting freight demand over the medium-term." https://t.co/nzbc3PYiKa
DOT Reforms Spark Permanent Trucking Super‑cycle, Boosting Truckload Assets
This would make the efforts by the DOT permanent and set off a trucking super cycle Truckload carriers would be one of the most investible asset-classes
Spot Rates Outpace Fuel Costs by $0.28 per Mile
Trucking spot market over 6 months. Trucking spot rates are up $.50/mile, while fuel up $.22/mile during that period https://t.co/c9g69l8Rkr
New SONAR Index Reveals Truckers' Diesel Cost per Mile
New index inside of SONAR: The cost of diesel per mile for truckers. MPG.USA uses 7 miles per gallon to calculate the cost of fuel for truckers. https://t.co/N8r6Tx66IO
Dalilah’s Law Set to Pass, Avoids Controversial Add‑Ons
Dalilah’s law is up for committee hearing tomorrow. In its current form, it should pass. There has been some temptation to expand the law to include some issues that many drivers would revolt over: such as tracking chips in trucks and...
LA Rebounds as Post‑CNY Port Volumes Surge
LA is coming back strong from weak conditions earlier this year. As port volumes return from Chinese New Year, we could see a resurgence of momentum.
