Trucking companies large and small are focused on getting through the next month or two, after which they hope freight volumes will begin to recover. But that recovery may be a long one.

The 10-year US economic expansion is over, killed by the response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019), and the recovery will be slow, IHS Markit chief economist Nariman Behravesh warns.

The third-largest US LTL operator commits to ongoing reorganization, and sees glimmers of recovery in US manufacturing activity and freight demand in early 2020.

Truck volumes have flattened, not collapsed, a trucking analyst tells SMC3’s Jumpstart 2020 Conference. Truck capacity hit its peak in Q4 2019, and is expected to contract this year.

Year-to-date declines in metal, chemical, and forest product shipments will depress future truck volumes, creating an overhang that will affect pricing, a transportation economist says.

A ‘freight volume headwind’ blew hard against YRC Worldwide in November, driving down tonnage at YRC Freight 10.2 percent year over year. December is looking better, the carrier says.

Cass Information Systems is partnering with the University of Tennessee to enhance its benchmark truckload and intermodal pricing indexes, and explore new data opportunities.

A survey of small businesses shows truckers still looking for growth ahead, despite a tough market in 2019.

Trucking is experiencing slow growth, not a collapse, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello says, with retail sales and contract business sustaining demand.

One of the few positive indicators in trucking is the ATA Tonnage Index, which rose 7.3 percent in July year over year -- a signal that some don’t believe the industry is in turmoil.

Uncertainty clouds the freight outlook beyond August, as spot truck rates cool in July after rising in June and US inventories remain high.

A sharp decline in shipper spending and freight volumes causes some to sound the recession alarm, but others still see slower growth, not steep decline, amid tariff threats.

Economists and shipping industry leaders warn the US-China trade war could be a potential tipping point for a global economy that was already cooling before President Donald Trump raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods.

At a time when freight volumes should be increasing, they’re slowing, casting a shadow over the outlook for US trucking and intermodal rail operators.

Chainalytics sees contract truckload rates turning ‘negative’ year over year as oversupply hits softer US freight demand.

The US economy won't run off the road this year, but keep an eye on trade, tariffs, and 2020, economists say at SMC3's Jump Start 2019 event.

"With the holiday season behind us, the immediate pressure to stock up on merchandise has passed, but retailers remain concerned about tariffs and their impact on the nation’s economy,” said Jonathan Gold, the NRF’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy.