Cover Story
Diesel price hikes accelerating truckload rate revival
National US average shipper-paid spot truckload rates, in USD per mile
USD per mile
$ 3.9
$ 3.5
$ 3.0 $ 1.5
$ 2.5
$ 2.0
$ 1.5 L Jul Jan 2025
Jul
Jan 202626 Mar, 2026 said.“ There are some real savings opportunities with intermodal.”
The latest data from the Intermodal Association of North America( IANA) reveals that“ revisit” is already underway. Amid the continued decline in overall surface shipments, North American domestic intermodal rail volumes jumped 9.5 % year over year in March and 8.6 % in April. The 785,000 containers hauled in March was the third-highest monthly total on record, according to IANA.
And the impacts of the war-induced oil shock stretch well beyond diesel fuel. For Smithfield, the soaring oil prices have also increased the cost of resin-based packaging and agricultural feed supporting hog production, Smith said.
In addition to raising their rates, ocean carriers and airlines are attempting to mitigate elevated prices for marine bunkers and jet fuel by increased slow steaming and grounding flights. That’ s already leading to some mismatch between freight and capacity when shipments arrive in the US, and that dislocation leads to more truck miles and, in turn, even higher transportation costs for shippers.
“ People who had lead times built into supply chains, those lead times have been compressed,” Ryan Carter, executive vice president of the Americas at AIT Worldwide Logistics, told the Journal of Commerce.
Weighted Unweighted
“ A revisit with intermodal is
Source: Journal of Commerce analyses of data from Cargo Chief, DAT, Loadsmart, survey of 3PLs © 2026 S & P Global
L needed. There are some real savings opportunities.”
“ Time is your most valuable commodity,” he said.“ We’ ve seen an increase in tie-ins [ between international and domestic transportation ] that claws back time for those sourcing goods internationally that’ s been lost since the conflict began.”
email: ari. ashe @ spglobal. com email: bill. cassidy @ spglobal. com www. joc. com June 1, 2026 | Journal of Commerce 13