The freight market is showing signs of gaining momentum, with brokers reporting sharply higher spot rates and tighter capacity while carriers are seeing improving volumes and revenue, according to new surveys from Truckstop.com and Bloomberg Intelligence.
But the recovery remains uneven, particularly for small carriers, many of which continue to face cash-flow pressures, high operating costs and uncertainty about the broader economy.
As TodaysTRucking.com reports:
Truckstop and Bloomberg Intelligence released their first-half freight broker and second-quarter carrier surveys Aug. 14.
Capacity is also becoming more difficult to secure. Seventy-two percent of brokers expect capacity to tighten over the next three to six months, compared with 14% who expect it to loosen. Eighty-six percent said finding capacity is already more challenging.
In Canada, The Canadian spot market was strong in July, with Canadian freight volumes jumping 41%. It was also strong in the United States, where rates increased despite falling freight volumes.
Overall load volumes were 41% higher than in July 2025, marking the fourth consecutive month in which year-over-year growth exceeded 40%. Activity softened from June, however, with volumes declining 7% month over month.
Cross-border freight represented 58% of postings from Canadian-based customers during the month.
Carriers also reported year-over-year improvement during the second quarter, although their outlook was more cautious.
Half said they hauled more loads than during the same quarter last year, up from 27% in the first quarter and 17% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Forty-nine percent reported higher revenue per mile and 46% reported increased revenue, compared with 26% reporting revenue growth in the first quarter.
Looking ahead, 66% of carriers expect demand to increase over the next three to six months and 53% expect rates to rise.
Carriers also remain concerned about the economy. Twenty-nine percent believe the United States is already in a recession and another 28% think it is heading into one. Nearly two-thirds expect tariffs to hurt trucking, while 61% expect prices to increase during the next six months.