ACT Research released the latest installment of the ACT Freight Forecast, U.S. Rate and Volume OUTLOOK report.

“One decidedly different factor becoming clear in this economic recovery is that the ceiling on the capital goods cycle has been decisively broken for the first time since the late-1990s. While not as large as retail in terms of overall freight generation, capital goods spending is freight intensive, and the coming CAPEX boom will certainly benefit freight demand in the next few quarters,” said Tim Denoyer, ACT Research’s Vice President and Senior Analyst.

He added, “May’s surge in the Cass Shipments Index surpassed expectations amid strong freight fundamentals, with the second-best result in its long history. Soaring freight demand has been overwhelming the industry’s capacity these past ten months, as the industry continues to cope with bottlenecks and shortages in this extraordinary recovery.”

Denoyer concluded, “While the pendulum of pricing power is clearly with the asset owners, we analyze several leading indicators which suggest it will begin swinging back to shippers in the coming months, with rebalancing likely in 2022.”

The monthly 56-page ACT Freight Forecast report provides forecasts through 2023 for volumes and contract rates for the truckload, less-than-truckload and intermodal sectors of the transportation industry, including the Cass Shipments Index and Cass Truckload Linehaul Index.