Contents:
Key Odyssey Network Indicators
Shipper Actions
In today’s competitive environment, becoming a preferred shipper to carriers can help improve attaining sufficient capacity. Things that shippers offer that help reach this status can include:
Accuracy:
Forecast for the end of month/end of quarter – plan for surges in your needs to ensure coverage
Develop order lead time – at least 5 days in advance. ask carriers for “best case” options
Specificity:
Request delivery windows from customers…often 8 a.m. deliveries are requested when product really is not need until much later. A window of 8-10 a.m. may have a better chance of coverage.
Spread delivery times across the day
Assess what your customers really need. Make sure that customer delivery requirements are up to date and accurate. Do not require equipment/assessorials that are not needed
Flexibility:
- Offer flexible load times
- Explore/ be open to mode options including intermodal
Driver-friendliness:
- Load/unload within the normal 2 hours-time is money to drivers
- Provide creature comforts (clean restrooms, rest areas, free Wi-Fi, a cup of coffee, etc.)
Consistency:
- Offer consistent volume that carriers can plan against
- Reduce order changes – a new date may put coverage at risk
Efficiency:
- Maximize payload on trucks
- Utilize trailer drop yards at high volume origins when possible
- Prioritize loading/unloading trucks quickly at facilities
Promptness:
- Pay carriers within their contracted freight terms- cash flow is vital to carriers
Economic Update
GDP Change
- Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.0 percent in the first quarter of 2026 (January, February, and March), according to the advance estimate released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2025, real GDP increased 0.5 percent.
- The contributors to the increase in real GDP in the first quarter were investment, exports, consumer spending, and government spending.
- Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, also increased.
Unemployment
https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-unemployment-rate.htm
- Total non-farm payroll employment edged up by 115,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
- Job gains occurred in health care, transportation and warehousing, and retail trade. Federal government employment continued to decline.
- This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys.
- The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics.
- The establishment survey measures non-farm employment, hours, and earnings by industry.
Household Survey Data
- The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3 percent in April, and the number of unemployed people changed little at 7.4 million. Both measures changed little over the year.
- Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.0 percent), adult women (3.9 percent), teenagers (14.4 percent), and people who are White (3.7 percent), Black (7.3 percent), Asian (3.3 percent), or Hispanic (5.0 percent) showed little change in April.
- Both the labor force participation rate, at 61.8 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 59.1 percent, changed little in April. These measures edged down over the year after accounting for annual population control adjustments.
- The number of people employed part time for economic reasons increased by 445,000 to 4.9 million in April. These individuals would have preferred full-time employment but were working part-time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
- The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job changed little at 6.1 million in April. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.
Establishment Survey Data
- Total non-farm payroll employment edged up by 115,000 in April, after showing little net change over the prior 12 months. In April, job gains occurred in health care, transportation and warehousing, and retail trade. Federal government employment continued to decline.
- In April, health care added 37,000 jobs, in line with the average monthly gain of 32,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, job gains occurred in nursing and residential care facilities (+15,000) and home health care services (+11,000).
- Employment in social assistance continued to trend up in April (+17,000), reflecting a gain of 24,000 jobs in individual and family services.
- Federal government employment continued to decline in April (-9,000). Since reaching a peak in October 2024, federal government employment is down by 348,000, or 11.5 percent.
- In April, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 6 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $37.41. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.6 percent. In April, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 11 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $32.23.
- Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.
- The average workweek for all employees on private non-farm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.3 hours in April. In manufacturing, the average workweek edged up by 0.1 hour to 40.4 hours, and overtime was unchanged at 3.0 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private non-farm payrolls remained at 33.8 hours.
U.S. Truck Transportation Employment
Manufactured Goods – New Orders
https://www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/current/index.html
Monthly Full Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, & Orders
(Released May 4th, 2026)
- New orders for manufactured goods in March, up four of the last five months, increased $9.1 billion or 1.5 percent to $630.4 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 0.3 percent February increase.
- Shipments, up five of the last six months, increased $8.8 billion or 1.4 percent to $633.9 billion. This followed a 1.7 percent February increase.
- Unfilled orders, up twenty of the last twenty-one months, increased $1.6 billion or 0.1 percent to $1,540.9 billion. This followed a 0.1 percent February increase.
- The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.88, down from 6.92 in February. Inventories, up six consecutive months, increased $5.8 billion or 0.6 percent to $956.3 billion. This followed a 0.1 percent February increase.
- The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.51, down from 1.52 in February.
Transportation Update
Fuel
https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/?os=frefapp
The national average price of diesel for the week of April 27 stood at $5.35 per gallon, an increase of 0.05 cents from four weeks prior at the end of March and up $1.83 from a year ago.
Transportation Capacity
- The Transportation Capacity Index cratered 10.8 points to 28.4 percent in April 2026.
- With this large decrease, the Transportation Capacity index continues to indicate contraction for the fifth consecutive month. The Transportation Capacity index is by far at the lowest level recorded in the last two years and only 4.6 points away from the all-time low recorded in September of 2020. While the Upstream Transportation Capacity index is at 26.9, the Downstream index is at 31.7 but the difference is not statistically significant. Hence, the contraction observed in Transportation Capacity remains widespread across the supply chains and even more accentuated than last month.
- The future Transportation Capacity index also dropped 1.7 points and now indicates 33.2, representing strong expectations of capacity contraction for the next 12 months. While the future Upstream index is at 31.6, the Downstream Transportation Capacity index is at 36.7, and the difference is not statistically significant. As such, expectations of strong contraction in future Transportation Capacity remain very strong across the supply chains, both Upstream and Downstream.
Transportation Prices
April 2026 Logistics Managers’ Index – LOGISTICS MANAGERS’ INDEX
- The Transportation Prices Index increased another 5.6 points from the previous reading and recorded 95.0 in March 2026. With this increase the index is at the highest level recorded since spring of 2018 and only .8 points from the all-time record.
- The Upstream Transportation Prices Index is at 94.2, the Downstream index is at 96.8 but the difference is not statistically significant. As such, it can be concluded that the inflationary pressure on Transportation Prices is being felt strongly across the supply chains.
- The future index for Transportation Prices and increased 0.9 points, indicating 93.9 continuing to represent extremely high expectations of price increases for the next 12 months. The Upstream future Transportation Prices index is at 94.9 while the Downstream Transportation Prices index is at 91.9, but the difference is not statistically significant. Therefore, inflationary expectations in Transportation Prices remain very strong across the supply chains, both Upstream and Downstream.
Cass Freight & Truckload Index
Uncertainty Reigns
Source: Cass Information Systems, Inc.
Cass Transportation Index Report | April 2026 | Cass Information Systems
Cass Transportation Index Report | April 2026 | Cass Information Systems
The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index is a measure of market fluctuations in per-mile truckload linehaul rates, independent of additional cost components such as fuel and accessorials.
The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index rose 3.2% m/m in April, after a 0.5% decline in March.
- After almost no m/m change in February and March, the Cass Truckload Linehaul Index rose 3.2% m/m in April, to a 5.6% y/y increase.
- After a brief lull, TL rates have resumed their upward march and are likely to continue in this direction with spot rates up 25% y/y in April. In our (ACT Research’s) view, an incipient driver shortage is a key factor behind the recent turn in market dynamics, among other capacity constraints.
- This index reflects the whole for-hire market, both spot and contract rates.
The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index fell 10% in 2023, another 3.4% in 2024, and turned up to a 1.8% increase in 2025.
Truck Tonnage Index
U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics
ATA Truck Tonnage Index Edged 0.3% Higher in March
From the American Trucking Associations (ATA) on April 21, 2026:
- In March, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 117.0, up from 116.6 in February. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, increased 3% from the same month in 2025, the largest year-over-year gain since October 2022.
- The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 120.1 in March, 12% above February’s reading of 107.3.
- Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.7% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 11.27 billion tons of freight in 2024. Motor carriers collected $906 billion, or 76.9% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
- Both indices are dominated by contract freight, as opposed to traditional spot market freight. The tonnage index is calculated on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s. This is a preliminary figure and subject to change in the final report issued around the 5th day of each month. The report includes month-to-month and year-over-year results, relevant economic comparisons, and key financial indicators.
National Spot Rates
Source: DAT Analytics | https://www.dat.com/trendlines
The chart above depicts national average rates (including fuel surcharges) in the past 13 months, derived from DAT RateView.
