Actualidad: Truckers finally see end to freight recession as capacity fallout continues, demand firms

The great freight recession that’s sapped the trucking industry of any meaningful profit growth over the past four years finally seems to be petering out. But it’s not for the reasons you might think. “The word ‘recession’ gets thrown around a lot,” Jason Seidl, managing director at securities investment firm TD Cowen , has observed. “But freight was not always terrible. There was too much capacity, and that was the persistent, overwhelming issue that led to poor pricing and performance. It’s a supply side issue. And capacity is still coming out.” A correction is well underway, and that’s slowly but surely deflating what has been a pretty durable supply bubble, primarily in the truckload markets. Regulatory initiatives also have played a part. Those have included states, at the federal government’s urging, rescinding or not renewing commercial licenses (CDLs) for non-domiciled drivers. Also culling the driver pool has been the impact of the English language requirement and the governm