Domestic U.S. shipping demand is receding and freight rates are falling, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports, in a sign that shifting demand by overstocked retailers is unraveling traditional seasonal shipping patterns. The changes are cascading across freight operations, cutting into inbound shipping volumes and bringing fewer goods onto the roads, according to WSJ. Trucking executives say the biggest impact so far has been on spot-market business, where one measure shows rates falling from August to September for the first time since 2015. Larger carriers that depend more on long-term contract business are more insulated. But the weakness in spot demand is filtering into the bigger contract market. Trucking executives expect demand to pick up as those excess inventories are sold off, even if that doesn’t happen until after the holidays.
Meanwhile, port truckers in Southern California are scrambling for loads with container imports declining, according to the New York Times.
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