Report: Data Points to Trucking Market Recovery

Market volatility may slowly be giving way to “an encouraging reversal,” according to one report. 

The 2025 Carrier Performance Trends report from Orderful, an electronic data interchange platform, analyzed year-over-year data from January to October of 2024, finding double-digit gains in several months and a rebound in October. 

That rebound “suggests this upward trend may be more than seasonal variation,” according to the report. 

Month-over-month data was also studied, showing a picture of wider data fluctuation as well as the impact of seasonal factors. For example, carrier shipment volume fell 13.6 percent in June, but grew 11.3 percent in October. 

“These fluctuations underscore a crucial insight about the industry’s recovery: it isn’t following a simple upward path but rather adapting to both seasonal patterns and structural changes,” the report states. “The strong October performance, coming after September’s dip, suggests that carriers are learning to navigate these cycles more effectively.” 

While the overall numbers are encouraging, the report notes volatility in specialized market segments.

“The carriers showing the strongest resilience are those balancing specialized expertise with operational flexibility — they’re leveraging technology to respond more nimbly to seasonal volatility while maintaining the core competencies that define their market segments,” Erik Kiser, Orderful CEO, states in the report. “This balance between specialization and adaptability is what will separate logistics leaders from followers as the industry continues to stabilize and grow.” 

For the report, Orderful analyzed data from over 500 million transactions processed on its platform.