Freight transportation forecasting firm FTR Associates reported this week that its preliminary data for May Class 8 truck net orders came in at 17,650 units.

Truckload carriers are aiming for that “sweet spot” when the market hits supply and demand “equilibrium.” It’s close right now, but carrier executives fret that the hunt for drivers, rising fuel costs, and regulatory restraints make for a most uncertain future.

The need for changes in CSA were made loud and clear by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) this week, when its Board of Directors formally called on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to make what it said are badly needed changes.

Seasonally-adjusted (SA) truck tonnage in April fell 1.1 percent, following a revised 0.6 percent (originally 0.2 percent) gain in March but was up 3.5 percent annually. The ATA's not seasonally-adjusted (NSA) index dipped 5.5 percent from March to April

Recent data from TransCore noted that April marked the best single month volume output for the spot market, based on its TransCore’s DAT North American Freight Index, which reflects spot market freight availability on its network of load boards in the United States and Canada.

Housing starts were up 2.6 percent in April at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 compared to March’s revised estimate. This represents a 29.9 percent year-over-year gain from April 2011. A nearly 30 percent increase. What exactly does that tell us—that a year ago at this time housing starts were still basically terrible or that things are really getting better. I suspect that it is a combination of both.

April’s 0.1 percent increase was preceded by gains of 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent in March and February, respectively.

Data from Cass Information Systems in conjunction with investment firm Avondale Partners mostly showed gains for both truckload and intermodal rates in April.

Shippers need to brace for sharply higher trucking rates because of steadily rising truck fleet costs that range from rolling stock to drivers to fuel while productivity levels are under threats from increased government regulation, top carrier officials are saying.

The nation’s sharply divided political landscape is harming the country because of Congress’s inability to pass a long-term highway bill and its unwillingness to raise federal fuel taxes. That’s the word from Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations.