ACT Research released the latest installment of the ACT Freight Forecast, U.S. Rate and Volume OUTLOOK report, noting that rates are up and to the right as supply chain constraints persist.

“Supply side constraints will keep the truckload market very tight in the near-term as freight demand remains exceptionally strong, so the peak in spot markets remains ahead of us,” Tim Denoyer, vice president and senior analyst at ACT Research, said. “The semiconductor shortages impacting Class 8 tractor supply don’t have quick fixes, and neither do the structural factors inhibiting driver supply, such as demographics and drug testing. This is perhaps the strongest freight market ever for carriers and the most challenging ever for shippers. But in our view, the industry is no less cyclical, and in our three-year freight volume and rate forecast horizon, we explore the timing and magnitude of eventual rate relief for shippers.”