A recent survey finds some in the trucking industry are optimistic about freight conditions improving before the end of 2024.
The Bloomberg | Truckstop semi-annual freight broker survey shows brokers are hopeful that demand could pick up in the latter half of the year.
“Though freight brokers continued to face challenging demand and rates in the first half of the year, there are some signs that the worst may be over,” said Lee Klaskow, senior freight transportation and logistics analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “We believe a return to seasonal demand, higher import levels and inventory restocking will help drive a recovery later this year.”
The Bloomberg | Truckstop first half 2024 survey shows brokers are hopeful that the market may be finally moving toward equilibrium:
- Most brokers appear optimistic that volume growth is just around the bend, despite demand challenges. About 49% project a volume increase in the next three to six months, 31% expect flat loads and 20% anticipate a decline.
- An increasing number of brokers believe that rates have hit bottom, with 76% of respondents projecting rates to stay flat or increase over the next three to six months, three percentage points higher than the second half of 2023. Truckstop’s Market Demand Index, a measure of relative demand in the North American trucking market, rose 24% on average in the second quarter from last year.
- About 44% of respondents noted lower gross margins in the first half of 2024 compared to that same time frame in 2023. This is 13 percentage points worse than what brokers indicated in the second half 2023 survey. Brokers are not optimistic about margins for the rest of the year as 30% expect margins to deteriorate over the next six months, seven percentage points more than in the second half of 2023. Increased use of tools powered by artificial intelligence could help boost margins by improving pricing, productivity gains and network optimization. The brokerage industry is still in the early stages of AI adoption — just 36% of respondents are deploying such tools within their operations.
“Despite the improved outlook over the past six months, brokers remain skeptical about their ability to increase gross margins,” said Kendra Tucker, chief executive officer of Truckstop.
The Bloomberg | Truckstop survey of freight brokers provides timely channel checks into the market’s health. The most recent sample size was 113, consisting of freight forwarders, third-party logistics providers and broker agents, as well as asset and non-asset-based brokers. Most respondents (70%) have 1-50 employees. Of those surveyed, non-asset-based brokers made up the biggest group (44%), followed by broker agents (25%) and third-party logistic providers (16%).
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