Transportation Capacity Drops to 28.4 in July as Freight Rates Stay Near 86.9

1 articles · Updated · FreightWaves · Aug 4

July transportation capacity fell to 28.4 on the Logistics Managers’ Index, a 2.4-point faster contraction than June and tied for the dataset’s second-steepest decline.
Regulators’ removal of unsafe drivers and carriers’ reluctance to add equipment kept truckload supply tight, even as transportation utilization eased 9.7 points to 65 and price growth slowed 5.5 points to 86.9.
Tender lead times reached 3.74 days in late July, up 11% from a year earlier, while carriers reported unusually strong contract pricing—Werner expects third-quarter rate-per-mile gains of 10% to 13%, and Schneider cited double-digit renewals.
Broader supply-chain costs stayed elevated: inventory costs rose to 77, warehouse prices hit 75.5, and respondents expect tight transport capacity, higher inventories and little pricing relief over the next 12 months.