As savvy logistics management professionals are painfully aware, the freight transportation market is currently walking a tightrope.
For most of the past year, we’ve witnessed a brief lull in the ever-rising logistics costs due to the confluence of one-time factors, including bloated inventories, a strong U.S. dollar hampering exports, and a sudden surge in extra truckload capacity. And while many Logistics Management readers have enjoyed this “shippers market,” all reports indicate that this is about to change—and quickly.
In fact, most freight transportation analysts agree that we are about to enter a period of transition that will trigger many of the long-lingering concerns that will indeed tighten capacity and push rates higher.