Less Capacity, More Demand Allow Truckload Rate Increases

img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>Shrinking truckload capacity in some parts of the country, along with an uptick in demand, is giving motor carriers room to raise their freight rates, trucking executives and analysts said.

Swift Transportation, among others, is implementing “significant price increases, and you’ll see that continue,” said Jerry C. Moyes, the truckload carrier’s chairman and chief executive. He spoke Oct. 1 at the Council of Logistics Management conference in San Francisco.

Officials at Schneider National and Covenant Transport agreed that tighter capacity in the truckload sector is enabling carriers to charge more than they did a few months ago. In addition to tighter capacity, demand has been rising, they said.