Shelley Simpson and her team see signs that the market is tightening but say most customers think the shift is temporary or seasonal. Capex at the No. 4 carrier on the FleetOwner 500 could rise by $225 million this year.
A tech company's new contactless brainwave sensor can detect drivers' fatigue and distraction. When the sensor reaches fleets, it could provide early warnings before physical signs of fatigue manifest.
For-hire capacity has shrunk to "almost as deep as it can without the loss of a lot of carriers," FTR's Avery Vise says. If freight demand picks up midyear, sustained rate increases could finally be in sight.
The first roundtable of 2026 looks at the start of this year: carrier bankruptcies, regulatory crackdowns, emerging technologies, and hopes for that market upturn to finally arrive.
