The domestic freight market is showing renewed signs of tightening as trucking companies navigate rising enforcement activity, volatile diesel prices, broker liability concerns and the start of the summer shipping season.
Ken Adamo, who recently joined EASE Logistics as chief strategy officer, said Roadcheck Week enforcement activity last week pushed spot rates higher and heightened shipper concerns about securing capacity.
“We saw enforcement levels tick up considerably,” Adamo said during an interview with FreightWaves. “As a market that’s already sort of short on capacity in the near term, it definitely pushed rates upwards. We felt that pressure here at EASE, for sure, in our buy rates and shipper nervousness for capacity.”
Ohio-based EASE Logistics is a multi-operational supply chain and transportation solutions provider. Prior to joining EASE Logistics, Adamo served in leadership roles at DAT Freight & Analytics and FedEx.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual International Roadcheck inspection blitz often sidelines trucks temporarily as carriers seek to avoid inspection delays or potential out-of-service violations. Adamo said even compliant carriers sometimes choose to pause operations during enforcement week to avoid disruptions.
The tighter conditions come as freight demand enters the pre-Memorial Day shipping surge and as trucking markets continue reacting to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving broker liability.
Supreme Court ruling could reshape brokerage sector
Adamo said the ruling is expected to increase pressure on freight brokers to strengthen carrier vetting and compliance procedures, particularly around safety and insurance standards.
“I think for sure it’s inflationary for rates,” Adamo said. “I think there’s a lot of brokers chatting with their insurance carriers this week and putting a plan in place.”
Adamo said brokers are increasingly competing for carriers with longer operating histories and stronger safety records, which is widening pricing differences across the carrier market.
“You tend to see stratification within the carrier population,” Adamo said. “These longer age-of-authority, higher-quality carriers were more expensive to begin with, and now they’re just becoming even more expensive.”
He added that the ruling could eventually lead to more consolidation across the brokerage industry, particularly among smaller operators unable to absorb rising legal and insurance risks.
Fuel prices, storms remain key freight market risks
Adamo said elevated diesel prices continue to pressure trucking operations and are causing some freight to shift toward intermodal rail, although service requirements are limiting broader modal conversions.
“Anytime there’s a fuel spike, you tend to see more intermodal,” Adamo said. “There’s still a pressure to keep delivery timelines, which becomes trickier when you mode shift over to intermodal.”
Looking ahead, Adamo said weather-related disruptions, including a potentially active hurricane season along the Gulf Coast, could further tighten trucking capacity later this year.
“If we get a couple of tropical storms this summer that whack mainland U.S., I think it could keep things hairy for the rest of the year,” Adamo said.
He said many shippers entered 2026 expecting mid-single-digit contract rate increases but are now budgeting for increases in the low double digits amid tightening capacity and rising operational risk.
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