Shifting freight patterns poised to drive up rates

Domestic freight has been leaning away from some of the old West Coast patterns and toward markets tied to Texas, Arizona, and the southern border. Laredo, McAllen, and Phoenix have taken on a larger share of outbound truckload demand as companies diversify production closer to U.S. customers.

Inventory cleanups after the pandemic played a part, but the longer shift is nearshoring. When manufacturing moves into Mexico, trucks on the U.S. side of those crossings see a different mix of outbound freight than they did when Southern California dominated warehouse replenishment.

In a soft market those changes are easy to miss, because excess trucks hide the new geography. When capacity tightens, lanes that gained freight will feel it in the rate first. Carriers who already sit in those corridors, or who can reposition without a long deadhead, will have more choices.

GTS uses that kind of pattern, not a single hot load, to decide where a truck should finish the week. The point is not to chase a headline. It is to be standing in the right region when the balance of power moves back toward carriers.