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 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 (October, November, and December), according to the third estimate released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter of 2025, real GDP increased 4.4 percent.
- The contributors to the increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter were increases in consumer spending and investment.
- These movements were partly offset by decreases in government spending and exports. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased.
Unemployment
https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-unemployment-rate.htm
- Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 178,000 in March, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
- Job gains occurred in health care, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing. 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
- Both the unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.2 million, changed little in March. These measures also changed little over the year.
- The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.8 million in March but is up by 322,000 over the year. The long-term unemployed accounted for 25.4 percent of all unemployed people in March.
- Both the labor force participation rate, at 61.9 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 59.2 percent, changed little in March. These measures also showed little change over the year, after accounting for annual population control adjustments.
- The number of people employed part time for economic reasons, at 4.5 million, changed little in March. 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 to 6.0 million in March. 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 increased by 178,000 in March, following a decrease in February (-133,000). In March, job gains occurred in health care, in construction, and in transportation and warehousing. Federal government employment continued to decline. Payroll employment had changed little on net over the prior 12 months.
- Health care added 76,000 jobs in March. Employment in ambulatory health care services rose by 54,000, reflecting an increase of 35,000 in offices of physicians as workers returned from a strike. Employment also increased in hospitals (+15,000). Over the prior 12 months, health care had added an average of 29,000 jobs per month.
- Employment in social assistance continued its upward trend in March (+14,000), primarily in individual and family services (+11,000).
- Federal government employment continued to decline in March (-18,000). Since reaching a peak in October 2024, federal government employment is down by 355,000, or 11.8 percent.
- In March, average hourly earnings for all employees on private non-farm payrolls rose by 9 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $37.38. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.5 percent. In March, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees edged up by 5 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $32.07.
- Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; information; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.
- The average workweek for all employees on private non-farm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to 34.2 hours in March. In manufacturing, the average workweek was unchanged at 40.2 hours, and overtime was also 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 April 10th, 2026)
- New orders for manufactured goods in February, up three of the last four months, increased $0.3 billion or virtually unchanged to $619.6 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a virtually unchanged January increase.
- Shipments, up four of the last five months, increased $8.8 billion or 1.4 percent to $623.2 billion. This followed a 0.7 percent January increase.
- Unfilled orders, up nineteen of the last twenty months, increased $1.4 billion or 0.1 percent to $1,539.4 billion. This followed a 0.6 percent January increase.
- The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.92, down from 6.99 in January. Inventories, up five consecutive months, increased $0.9 billion or 0.1 percent to $950.5 billion. This followed a 0.1 percent January increase.
- The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.53, down from 1.55 in January.
Transportation Update
Fuel
https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/?os=frefapp
The national average price of diesel for the week of March 30 stood at $5.40 per gallon, an increase of 1.59 dollars from four weeks prior at the end of February and up $1.80 from a year ago.
Transportation Capacity
- The Transportation Capacity Index decreased 1.8 points to 39.2 percent in March 2026.
- With this decrease, the Transportation Capacity index remains below the critical threshold and continues to indicate contraction for the fourth consecutive month. With this decrease, the Transportation Capacity index is 14.4 points below the level indicated one year ago and 20.4 points below the level indicated two years ago. While the Upstream Transportation Capacity index is at 39.0, the Downstream index is at 39.6 but the difference is not statistically significant. Hence, the contraction observed in Transportation Capacity remains widespread across the supply chains and quite significant, when compared to historical seasonal trends.
- The future Transportation Capacity index indicates 34.9, down sharply (-10.0) from February’s future prediction of 44.9, representing strong expectations of indicating contraction for the next 12 months. Future Upstream index is at 33.1, the Downstream Transportation Capacity index is at 37.5, this difference is not statistically significant. As such, the expectations of strong contraction in future Transportation Capacity are prevalent across the supply chains, both Upstream and Downstream.
Transportation Prices
March 2026 Logistics Managers’ Index – LOGISTICS MANAGERS’ INDEX
- The Transportation Prices Index jumped another 12.7 points from the previous reading and recorded 89.4 in March 2026. With this increase the index is at the highest level recorded since 2022.
- The Upstream Transportation Prices Index is at 89.9, the Downstream index is at 89.6 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.
- Future predictions for Transportation Prices are 93.0, up significantly (+12.7) from February’s future prediction of 80.3, indicating expectations for extreme expansions in price. The Upstream future Transportation Prices index is at 93.4 while the Downstream Transportation Prices index is at 91.7, and the difference is not statistically significant. Therefore, inflationary expectations in Transportation Prices are prevalent across the supply chains, both Upstream and Downstream.
Cass Freight & Truckload Index
Uncertainty Reigns
Source: Cass Information Systems, Inc.
Cass Transportation Index Report | March 2026 | Cass Information Systems
Cass Transportation Index Report | March 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 fell 0.5% m/m in March, after a 0.2% increase in February.
- Truckload rates rose 1.8% y/y in March, after a 2.2% rise in February, and gained 3.4% over two years ago, a little slower than the past two months. Downward pressure as capacity recovered from winter weather was mostly offset by capacity tightening due to higher diesel prices.
- Volumes are beginning to recover, but it is mainly supply constraints supporting higher rates, in our view, as equipment capacity is contracting, and we’ve recently re-entered a driver shortage.
- 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 Surged 2.6% in February
From the American Trucking Associations (ATA) on Mar 24, 2026:
- In February, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 116.2, up from 113.3 in January. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, increased 2.1% 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 106.9 in February, 1.5% below January’s reading of 108.5.
- 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.
