ITS Logistics June freight index warns drayage and intermodal markets face downstream price surges

The U.S. freight market is entering the 2026 peak shipping season at stress levels that have not appeared since the pandemic, with record spot rates, contracting trucking capacity, and surging import demand converging simultaneously across drayage, intermodal, and truckload segments.

Spot rates breach all-time records as capacity shrinks

SONAR's National Truckload Index reached an all-time high of $3.83 per mile earlier in June, according to ITS Logistics, an Echo Global Logistics company, in its June U.S. Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index. The reading eclipses COVID-era peaks and arrives after nearly three years of freight recession that depressed rates and steadily reduced motor carrier counts across the industry.

Transportation Insight's weekly trends report for June 8–12 adds further granularity: all-in truckload costs rose 15 cents per mile over a four-week span when the same window had been essentially flat in each of the prior three years. Van tender rejections climbed to 18.3% and refrigerated rejections hit 25%, levels the firm characterizes as well beyond normal seasonal tightening.

Spot pricing on select lanes is already pricing in the stress. Transportation Insight reported refrigerated quotes on the I-5 corridor from Los Angeles to Seattle near $5,000 per load, while short dry van lanes in some markets reached $5 per mile or more.

Ocean and rail container drayage markets may not be feeling the market squeeze yet, but shippers should be prepared for tightening as soon as July, when peak season begins. It is not a question of if inland trucking container haulage rates increase, but when. — Paul Brashier, VP of Global Supply Chain, ITS Logistics

Capacity contraction is structural, not seasonal

The supply-side story extends beyond spot-market volatility. June's Logistics Managers' Index placed Transportation Capacity at 28.4%, well below the neutral 50% threshold, according to ITS Logistics—a clear quantitative signal that available capacity is actively contracting rather than merely redistributing.

Increased regulatory enforcement is accelerating carrier exits, adding a supply-side pricing mechanism on top of already-elevated demand. C.H. Robinson's June 2026 Freight Market Update corroborates the picture, describing U.S. truckload markets as remaining tight with elevated spot rates and worsening route-guide depth straining capacity across dry van, refrigerated, and flatbed segments.

Fuel costs are amplifying the pressure. Diesel prices are running approximately 50% above June 2025 levels, according to ITS Logistics, with C.H. Robinson noting that U.S. diesel prices are near record highs and creating uneven fuel-surcharge impacts across markets. Geopolitical risk adds further upside: ITS Logistics flagged potential disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz as a variable that could accelerate fuel-cost volatility and supply chain instability heading into the second half of the year.

Modal shift to rail creates secondary bottleneck

Facing record truckload costs, shippers with supply-chain flexibility are accelerating a migration toward intermodal. Intermodal volumes rose 10% year-over-year in May, according to ITS Logistics, as operators sought relief from fuel and capacity costs. C.H. Robinson's June update identifies the shift as most pronounced on mid-length-of-haul lanes between 550 and 1,500 miles, where the cost gap between truck and rail has widened materially.

The migration is not frictionless. ITS Logistics warns that elevated rail utilization is already generating increased demand for rail-driver capacity in its Eastern region—a dynamic visible in the June index readings—and projects the trend will cause ramp congestion, reduce driver turn times, and expose containers to storage charges.

The transition will cause ramp congestion and reduce driver turn time, putting many containers at risk of incurring storage charges. It is important to understand that even a muted increase in demand could come close to breaking the already-tense thread that is the U.S. transportation market. — Paul Brashier, VP of Global Supply Chain, ITS Logistics

Import volumes rebound sharply, led by China-origin cargo

Demand-side signals are reinforcing the supply-side strain. U.S. containerized imports totaled 2,428,758 TEUs in May, a 6.6% increase from April, according to Descartes Systems Group's June Global Shipping Report as cited by ITS Logistics. China-origin imports rebounded most sharply, climbing 19.9% month-over-month and 28.1% compared to May 2025—a sign that trade flows disrupted earlier in the year are recovering quickly.

Gulf Coast ports saw import volumes approach record highs during the month. Early indications for June, combined with aggressive peak-season surcharges being implemented by ocean carriers, suggest the container shipping industry is confident in a traditional—and robust—peak season following last year's disruptions.

Structural shifts reshape parcel and logistics competition

Beyond drayage and intermodal, Transportation Insight identifies two structural developments that will shape the broader logistics market through the second half of 2026. Amazon formally launched Amazon Supply Chain Services to all shipper types, bundling freight, distribution, fulfillment, and parcel shipping on a single platform; early enterprise adopters include Procter & Gamble, 3M, Lands' End, and American Eagle.

Transportation Insight notes that Amazon's ability to operate its logistics network at thin margins—subsidized by AWS and other revenue streams—positions it as a fundamentally different competitor than traditional carriers, placing direct competitive pressure on UPS, FedEx, and DHL across the full logistics stack. Separately, e-commerce final-mile carrier Uni-Uni filed to go public at a valuation of approximately $1 billion, a capital event that would fund accelerated network expansion in the U.S. and Canada.

Outlook: higher baseline, limited near-term relief

Transportation Insight's assessment is that meaningful rate relief is unlikely through the July 4 holiday and that current conditions may represent the establishment of a new, higher baseline for the second half of 2026. For shippers still operating on contracts priced before the post-DOT Week market reset, the gap between contracted and market rates is already material.

C.H. Robinson's June update identifies inland coordination—not terminal congestion—as the primary planning challenge at ports, with rail disruption, uneven container arrivals, and trucking constraints creating variability once cargo leaves the terminal. Shippers are advised to engage carriers and third-party logistics providers proactively on routing-guide flexibility and load timing.

ITS Logistics covers drayage and intermodal across 22 coastal ports and 30 rail ramps in North America; its monthly Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index now shows all U.S. regions at elevated concern for the first time this cycle, a designation that, given the convergence of capacity exits, fuel costs, import volume growth, and geopolitical risk, is unlikely to reverse before peak season demand peaks in Q3.