{"id":75267,"date":"2026-02-03T19:11:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shipping.einnews.com\/article\/889101350"},"modified":"2026-02-03T19:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:11:06","slug":"u-s-bank-freight-payment-index-shows-mixed-results-for-freight-shipments-and-expenditures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/03\/u-s-bank-freight-payment-index-shows-mixed-results-for-freight-shipments-and-expenditures\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index shows mixed results, for freight shipments and expenditures"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fourth quarter edition of the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index, which was released today, showed gains and declines, for freight shipments and expenditures, to varying degrees.<\/p>\n

This report, which was initially launched in the third quarter of 2017, is comprised of data on freight shipping volumes and spend on both a national and regional basis. The report\u2019s data is based on the actual transaction payment date, highest-volume domestic freight modes of truckload and less-than-truckload and is seasonally- and calendar-adjusted. Its historical data goes back to 2010, with a base point of 100, and its index point for each subsequent quarter marks that quarter\u2019s volume in relation to the preceding quarter. U.S. Bank Freight Payment’s business processes more than $43 billion in annual freight payments for some of the world\u2019s largest corporations and government agencies.<\/p>\n

The report\u2019s first quarter shipment index value, at 76.1, increased 1.5% compared to the fourth quarter, which was down 2.9% annually, and fell 4.9% annually. The report explained that while this sequential improvement is notable, freight volumes remained at historically subdued levels, adding that the annual decline highlights persistent challenges in the freight market for both motor carriers and shippers. And for all of 2025, the shipment index fell 9.9% annually compared to the 2024 average when adjusted for the year\u2014and was still less than half of the 20.4% decline in 2024.<\/p>\n

And on a regional basis, shipments saw: a 1.3% sequential decline and a 5.4% annual gain in the Western U.S.; a 3.5% sequential gain and a 3.3% annual decline in the Midwest; a 4.2% sequential increase and a 12.1% annual increase in the Northeast; a 5.4% sequential increase and a 25.4% annual decrease in the Southwest; and a 2.4% sequential decline and a 5.9% annual decline in the Southeast.<\/p>\n

As for spending, the second quarter spend index value, at 191.9, was up 4.6% sequentially and up 5.2% annually, its first annual gain in three years. This marked the third straight quarterly increase, with the report observing that it serves as an indication that shippers are incurring higher costs to move only slightly greater freight volumes.  <\/p>\n

\u201cDespite uneven shipment volumes, fourth quarter spending rose nearly everywhere, driven mainly by higher freight rates,\u201d the report noted. \u201cThis rate increase was evident because shippers in regions with declining freight still had to pay more to transport less, while regions with rising freight volumes experienced even greater spending hikes. Because diesel prices held steady or decreased from the third quarter, fuel surcharges were not behind the rise in total costs, leaving shrinking capacity as the explanation for price increases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spend data largely showed gains on a regional basis, including: West, up 2.6% sequentially, and up 9.4% annually; Southwest, up 12.6% sequentially, and up 16.8% annually; Midwest, up 5.0% sequentially, and up 0.1% annually; Northeast, up 5.5% sequentially, and up 16.7% annually; and Southeast, up 0.7% sequentially, and down 1.3% annually.   <\/p>\n

Bobby Holland, U.S. Bank director of freight business analytics, said that the capacity story is the defining theme of Q4.<\/p>\n

\u201cShippers paid significantly more to move slightly more freight\u2014clear evidence that available truck capacity continues to tighten,\u201d he said. \u201cBetween fleet exits and carriers reducing their rosters, the industry is feeling the effects of prolonged contraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

American Trucking Associations Chief Economist and the report\u2019s lead author Bob Costello wrote in the report that in the last quarter of 2025, the national freight market experienced a slight uptick in shipment levels, but industry capacity continued to contract as shipper spending reached its highest point since early 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cCapacity in the freight market declined further, driven by several factors,\u201d wrote Costello. \u201cProlonged market downturns led to reduced rates, prompting carriers to downsize fleets and decrease the number of independent contractors. The year also saw a decrease in the total number of carriers operating. Stricter government regulations and enforcement, including tougher English Language Proficiency standards, removed thousands of drivers from service.<\/p>\n

The Department of Transportation (DOT) temporarily paused the issuance of non-domiciled commercial driver\u2019s licenses (CDLs) to certain non-citizens and non-permanent residents until full compliance with new DOT regulations was achieved. This rule potentially affected nearly 194,000 CDL holders, although a court case has suspended its implementation for now. There have also been cases of foreign drivers operating without proper work authorization, though new measures are expected to curb such occurrences. Overall, industry capacity contracted in Q4 driving up shipping costs, despite a smaller-than-usual peak-season volume lift. Spot market rates climbed quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, highlighting tighter capacity across the freight sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… comprised of data on freight shipping<\/span> volumes and spend on both … sequential improvement is notable, freight<\/span> volumes remained at historically … to move only slightly greater freight<\/span> volumes. \u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u0080\u009cDespite uneven … in Q4 driving up shipping<\/span> costs, despite a smaller …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}