Inbound Logistics | July 2025

TAKEAWAYS

FREIGHT MOVING FAST, BUT NOT FULL As pressure mounts on the freight industry to deliver faster, leaner, and more reliably, shippers are being forced to adapt—or risk falling behind. Rising costs, tighter delivery windows, and persistent ineciencies are converging to reshape transportation strategy across sectors, notes a new study from Flock Freight. In particular, the growing demand for speed to market has pushed many shippers to prioritize fast, flexible delivery over eciency—often at the expense of full truckload utilization. In the 2025 edition of its annual shipper research study, Flock Freight explores the downstream e ects of this shift, based on insights from 1,000 transportation decision-makers in various industries. Key trends include: • 58% of truckloads moved with empty trailer space in 2024 , a 15% increase from 43% in 2023 ( See chart below ). • The average underutilized truckload left 34 linear feet of space unused , or the equivalent of every third truckload moving completely empty. • On-time performance was ranked as the number-one priority for choosing shipping solutions, as delays and penalties cost the average enterprise shipper $6.2 million annually in on-time in-full late fees. • More than 45% of shippers booked truckloads because they were unsure that other modes would arrive on time. • Fraud and theft aected 1.11% of shipments in 2024, costing the average enterprise shipper $9.9 million annually. Certain industries—including technology and electronics, food and beverage, and consumer packaged goods—felt greater impact from fraud and theft.

NEW RULES OF THE ROAD Six months into President Trump’s second term in o ce, a flurry of initiatives, pilot programs, and regulatory updates impacting the trucking sector have taken shape. Touting what it calls its “pro- trucker” agenda, the Trump Administration and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Du y recently announced a package that includes funding to expand truck parking as well as initiatives to remove one-size-fits-all mandates, modernize driver resources, reduce red tape, and crack down on bad actors. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s on deck: • A $275 million grant program to substantially increase truck parking nationwide aims to address a bottleneck that costs carriers time and operational flexibility. Grants include $180 million for nearly 1,000 new spaces along Florida’s I-4 corridor, part of a strategic push to improve safety and mobility in regional freight corridors. • USDOT is withdrawing the proposed rulemaking to mandate speed limiters on heavy-duty trucks. These one- size-fits-all speed-limiters act as safety hazards because they force drivers to go slower than the flow of tra c, according to Du y. • The package also includes modernized online driver resources through FMCSA, and a push to eliminate what the Trump Administration deems as unnecessary regulatory language. These steps are aimed at reducing compliance burdens and supporting smoother logistics operations. • These policies have drawn support from the trucking industry. “A safe and strong trucking industry is critical to America’s economic growth and security, and data-driven measures like these that reduce regulatory burdens are important steps toward that end,” said Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, in response to the new initiatives.

UNPACKING UNDERUTILIZATION PERCENTAGE OF TRUCKLOADS THAT MOVED PARTIALLY EMPTY IN 2024 BY COMPANY SIZE AGGREGATE $500M$999M $10M$99M $1B2.9B $100M$499M

$3B+

AVERAGE PERCENTAGE 58%

62%

58%

61%

57%

53%

AGGREGATE $3B+ AVERAGE SIZE OF EACH PARTIALLY EMPTY TRUCKLOAD SHIPPED IN 2024 BY COMPANY SIZE $500M$999M $10M$99M $1B2.9B $100M$499M

AVERAGE LINEAR FT

Source: Flock Freight

July 2025 • Inbound Logistics 25