Where are trucking rates headed in 2025? 7 execs weigh in

Trucking executives are bracing for potential rate squeezes to close out a prolonged freight recession.

Favorable rates for shippers in recent years have come at the expense of carriers, many of whom have downsized fleets and encountered financial hits. Trucking execs have therefore warned of lackluster prices making their businesses unsustainable.

But it’s anyone’s guess when prices will start increasing. On recent Q4 earnings calls, industry leaders shared their thoughts and indicated positive outlooks — even amid uncertainty.

“No one knows what the market is going to be between now and 2026. But we’re going to control what we can control and keep the discipline,” C.H. Robinson Worldwide CFO Damon Lee said Jan. 29.

C.H. Robinson notes lingering freight recession

Leadership at the brokerage giant is evaluating how the cycle could unfold. The inflection could be gradual or a “very quick turnaround,” said Michael Castagnetto, the firm’s president of North American Surface Transportation.

“I don’t think anyone on this call would give you a crystal ball of what we think is going to happen in 2025 from a volume perspective,” Castagnetto said. “I think everybody in our industry has been trying to predict that for the last 36 months. And it keeps extending.”

Knight-Swift forecasts stronger rate increases

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings suggested a case for optimism in market improvement.

The carrier projects bid increases in the “mid-single digits” or higher in truckload, CEO Adam Miller said Jan. 22.

“We’re expe…