Winter weather is driving significant spot activity in January, but the supply response in the past couple of months has been considerable. While lower Class 8 supply over the past several months supports a return to rate increases in 2025, more capacity additions are to come, according to the latest release of the Freight Forecast: Rate and Volume OUTLOOK report by ACT Research.
“Winter weather has tightened the truckload spot market in January, and we see pre-tariff shipping supporting activity in 1H’25. The DAT load/truck ratio is jumping off the charts amid winter storms, and while rates are rising, the aggregate spot rate, net fuel, is still up just 5% Y/Y,” Tim Denoyer, vice president and senior analyst of ACT Research, said. “With supply slowing and demand growth continuing, we see room for a modest acceleration in rates in 2025. But weather and inventory building are temporary and, of course, pull-forwards have paybacks.”
