According to a report from Yahoo Finance, the retail sector is the primary engine for truckload freight, not manufacturing or energy. The movement of consumer goods through multiple stages of the supply chain generates the loads that appear on freight market boards.

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When retailers alter their storage and transportation strategies, the availability of freight shifts accordingly. This leads to changes in regional market activity, corridor capacity, and the movement of spot rates. Carriers that anticipate these changes can position themselves advantageously.

A current survey of 250 retail supply chain executives indicates a major shift is in progress. The research, conducted by independent firm TrendCandy and published by logistics providers WSI and Kase, outlines the strategic decisions retailers are making. This data can serve as an intelligence brief for forecasting where freight loads will concentrate in the coming one to two years.

Supply Chains Move Inland, Altering Freight Patterns

The survey reveals that a vast majority of retail supply chain leaders intend to expand warehousing and distribution operations within the United States or Mexico. A significant portion also plans to relocate at least half of their supply chain footprint from East Asia within the next few years, with many having already begun shifting sourcing away from China.

This represents a fundamental change from the supply chain model dominant for the past twenty years. That model relied heavily on a small number of massive national distribution centers, often located near major coastal ports. Freight patterns were characterized by concentrated, long-haul movements from ports to these hubs.

The new strategy involves a geographic redistribution, with retail supply chains moving away from coastal concentrations and expanding in central and southern regions of the United States. This dispersion is expected to create more loads across a greater number of markets, fundamentally altering the freight landscape for carriers.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform