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The trucking sector is nearing balance as freight demand rises and capacity tightens, according to ACT Research Co.'s latest indices. Story by Connor D. Wolf.   

Throughout the pandemic-influenced years of 2020 through 2022, third-party logistics providers and freight brokers assuaged shippers by simply locating a truck for their freight.

A gauge of logistics stress in the U.S. economy eased in April as freight transportation cooled, a sign that the broader economy is downshifting to a speed that remains expansionary.

The past two years have been difficult ones for shippers to move their freight. But times like these are when logistics providers can most clearly demonstrate the value they bring to their business partners.

Spending on trucking services advanced by their highest rate this decade in the fourth quarter of 2017, spurred by demand and tight capacity, according to the U.S. Bank Freight Payments Index, a quarterly measure of quantitative changes in freight shipment and spending activity tracked on a national and regional level.

The new year is bringing good news to third-party logistics firms as tight capacity sends the rates they charge shippers higher and their spot market business flourishes.