The report “Outlook for the Domestic Transport and Logistics Market in 2H14 and Beyond,” takes the view that strong freight levels in the second quarter have left trucking companies in a good position: one in which they need to come up with new plans to handle rising demand.
But even with that positive momentum afloat, the report observes that there are some familiar challenges intact, such as a lack of qualified drivers and the regulatory drag from the new hours-of-service rules that took effect in July 2013.
Along with driver-related challenges and the looming impact of regulations, other major truckload market themes cited by CarrierDirect in the report include how truckload (and LTL carriers as well) are making the decision to allocate assets to dedicated lanes as they’re able to grab more revenue per mile from long-term commitments with customers, as well as noting the opportunity for truckload carriers to convert loads to intermodal but at a limited rate, due to things like rail line congestion and a lack of equipment and asset allocation towards bulk markets.