Report: Freight Volume, Spending Falls In Q2

Truck freight volume and spending both massively declined in the second quarter of 2023, according to one report. 

The year-over-year dropoff was the highest “since the early days of the pandemic,” according to the latest U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index. Shipper spending dipped 10.9 percent year-over-year, while shipment volume fell 9 percent. 

This was the fifth consecutive quarter with a lower shipment level, the report shows, with Northeast volumes plummeting 27.1 percent. On the other end of the spectrum, shipments in the Southwest region grew 14.8 percent, the only region showing growth year over year. 

For spending, the Midwest had the most movement, plunging 18.7 percent compared to the second quarter of 2022. Once again, the Southwest was the only region with positive movement, rising 4.3 percent year-over-year. 

“In the spot market, we’ve been observing for a while sharp spending drops caused by lower volumes and increased capacity. This trend has now solidly penetrated the contract freight market,” stated Bobby Holland, U.S. Bank director of freight business analytics. “Nearly every category we track — both nationwide and regionally — contracted in second quarter.”