It should come as no surprise to anyone that truckload spot freight volume has increased steadily this last quarter. Say what you want about the recession, there are signs that freight is moving and volumes are increasing. Whether or not this leads to a strong rebound in the economy remains to be seen. We think not, however.

In April alone the truckload spot volume jumped a whopping 291 percent from the same month last year, according to TransCore. This is the index’s highest level since June of 2008 right before the recession kicked in. There has been a steady increase in this index for over eight months now.

The rise in spot market volumes is a clear indication of greater demand for truckload services and a limited supply of equipment. While increases in this index are not unique this time of year, the increase in April significantly outpaced the prior four year average of 11.5% between March and April. Spot freight volume tripled in the first quarter of 2010 over 2009 levels and also beat out the first quarter of 2008 by 11 percent, according to TransCore.

To support this rise in demand satellite radio is full of ads for truckload drivers. There is apparently a significant shortage of drivers from the many owner operators who packed it in during this latest recession or decided it was finally time to retire. Perhaps these drivers will be coming out of retirement sooner rather than later!

Tony Nuzio