New U.S. Bank freight data reveals a costly disconnect between shipping volume and transportation spending. For supply chain leaders, the response requires more than negotiating carrier rates.
Freight costs are climbing, but shipment volumes are barely moving.
According to the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index released October 29, 2026, U.S. shipper spending increased 32.1% year over year in the third quarter, while shipment volume rose just 0.5%.
Spending also increased 5.2% compared with the previous quarter.
The figures represent the largest annual increase in shipper spending recorded by the index since 2021.
For supply chain executives, the numbers present a difficult reality: Moving approximately the same volume of freight can now require substantially more transportation spending.
Tighter carrier capacity, higher shipping rates, and elevated diesel prices are contributing to the pressure.
But while individual shippers cannot control those market conditions, they can examine how efficiently freight moves through their own supply chains.
The question isn’t simply why freight costs are rising. It’s where unnecessary costs can be prevented before a shipment reaches its destination.
Why Are Freight Costs Increasing When Shipment Volumes Are Nearly Flat?
Normally, businesses expect transportation spending to rise when they ship more freight.
The latest U.S. Bank data demonstrates that the relationship is not always that straightforward.
Third-quarter freight spending increased sharply even though overall shipment growth remained minimal.
The index identifies several contributing factors:
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Tighter truck capacity limiting available transportation options.
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Higher carrier rates as supply and demand become less favorable for shippers.
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Elevated diesel prices increasing operating costs.
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Regional differences in freight demand and capacity availability.
These conditions affect transportation budgets in ways that individual distribution operations cannot fully prevent.
The Southwest experienced a 51.6% annual increase in spending, while the Southeast recorded a 32.7% increase. Shipment trends varied considerably across regions.
The lesson for shippers is that a stable shipment count does not guarantee a stable freight budget.
And simply asking carriers for lower rates may not be enough.
Where Can Shippers Find Transportation Cost Relief?
When freight rates rise across the market, supply chain leaders need to separate costs they can influence from those they cannot.
Diesel prices, marketwide driver availability, and general carrier pricing are largely external factors.
However, several aspects of freight execution remain within a shipper’s operational influence.
These include transportation mode selection, load planning, freight consolidation, dock scheduling, carrier coordination, shipment readiness, and warehouse productivity.
Each affects how efficiently available transportation capacity is used.
FHI’s approach to transportation performance and logistics coordination emphasizes the relationship between transportation planning and warehouse execution.
The opportunity is not to eliminate market-driven freight inflation.
It is to avoid making an expensive transportation environment even more costly through preventable operational inefficiencies.
Five Areas Supply Chain Leaders Should Examine Right Now
1. Transportation Mode and Load Planning
When transportation rates increase, selecting the appropriate mode becomes even more important.
Full truckload (FTL) shipping may make sense for larger, consistent shipments. Less-than-truckload (LTL) can serve smaller freight movements, although shipment characteristics, handling requirements, and accessorial charges influence the total cost.
Partial truckloads and freight consolidation may offer alternatives when shipment schedules and delivery requirements allow.
The objective is not always to select the lowest quoted rate.
Instead, evaluate total transportation cost, transit requirements, shipment characteristics, service reliability, and the possibility of additional handling or accessorial expenses.
A coordinated transportation strategy can identify opportunities that individual shipment decisions may overlook.
2. Dock Scheduling and Trailer Turnaround
Transportation capacity becomes less productive when equipment and drivers spend unnecessary time waiting at distribution centers.
Congested receiving lanes, unavailable dock doors, inconsistent unloading performance, paperwork delays, and poorly coordinated appointments can extend trailer turnaround times.
Depending on carrier agreements, excessive delays may also create detention charges.
Not every delay is caused by the warehouse. Carrier arrival patterns, appointment adherence, yard constraints, and other factors can contribute.
The key is measuring each stage of the process.
Track gate arrival, check-in, door assignment, unloading or loading start, completion, and driver release.
These measurements can help distinguish normal processing time from avoidable delays.
For a closer examination, see FHI’s article, Why Truck Detention Often Starts Inside the Warehouse.
3. Outbound Shipment Readiness
An available truck offers little value when the freight it is scheduled to collect is not ready.
Late replenishment, delayed order selection, product-location issues, and last-minute shipping changes can create problems at dispatch.
A missed pickup window may require rescheduling, additional handling, or alternative transportation arrangements.
Distribution leaders should connect outbound labor planning with scheduled carrier activity.
That means understanding when orders must be completed, verified, staged, and ready for loading—not merely when the truck is expected to arrive.
Warehouse performance and transportation execution should operate against the same schedule.
4. Labor Productivity Across the Distribution Center
Warehouse labor and transportation spending are different cost categories, but they can influence each other.
Inconsistent unloading can contribute to longer trailer turnaround times. Delayed put-away can affect inventory availability. Replenishment problems can slow order selection, while inefficient loading may affect dispatch readiness.
Additional headcount is not necessarily the solution.
More useful questions include:
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Are labor hours aligned with the actual workload?
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Which warehouse functions consistently miss their productivity targets?
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Are operational constraints causing freight to be handled more than once?
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Can supervisors adjust staffing before a backlog affects transportation schedules?
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Are teams measuring completed work or simply hours worked?
Strong operational performance supports more predictable freight movement.
FHI’s managed distribution services address labor-intensive warehouse functions through coordinated execution, onsite leadership, and productivity measurement.
5. Transportation and Warehouse Visibility
A transportation management team may monitor carrier rates, delivery schedules, and freight spending.
A warehouse operations team may focus on unloading productivity, receiving, replenishment, and outbound orders.
When those teams operate without shared information, problems can develop between them.
A shipment may be scheduled before inventory is available. A trailer may arrive without sufficient dock capacity. Transportation planners may be unaware that an outbound backlog will affect departure times.
Connecting transportation data with warehouse operating information helps leadership identify these issues earlier.
That coordination can improve scheduling, escalation, capacity planning, and accountability.
Which Metrics Should Shippers Monitor?
Rising freight costs make visibility into operational performance increasingly important.
Rather than looking only at the total freight invoice, evaluate the measures that explain how transportation spending and distribution execution interact.
| Performance measure | What it helps identify |
|---|---|
| Freight cost per shipment | Changes in average transportation spending |
| Freight cost per unit or pallet | Transportation cost relative to actual product movement |
| Cost by mode and lane | Opportunities for mode selection and routing improvements |
| Trailer turnaround time | Delays during arrival, unloading, loading, or release |
| Detention charges | Potential accessorial costs associated with excessive waiting |
| On-time shipment readiness | Whether outbound orders are prepared before carrier arrival |
| Loading and unloading productivity | Labor execution affecting dock availability |
| Freight consolidation opportunities | Whether compatible shipments could move more efficiently |
These measures should be reviewed together.
A lower transportation rate does not necessarily produce a lower total cost if it creates additional handling, delays, or service failures.
Likewise, improving warehouse productivity matters most when those improvements translate into measurable operating benefits.
How Can FHI Help Shippers Respond?
FHI supports two connected areas of the distribution network: the movement of freight through transportation channels and the execution of labor-intensive warehouse operations.
Through FHI Logistics, businesses can access transportation management capabilities involving FTL, LTL, specialized freight movements, carrier coordination, and shipment planning.
Through FHI’s managed warehouse labor and distribution services, operations can address unloading, receiving, put-away, order selection, loading, and other processes that influence freight readiness and execution.
The connection matters.
Transportation planning is more effective when warehouse operations are prepared to support it. Warehouse efficiency becomes more valuable when its benefits extend to reliable inbound and outbound freight movement.
An integrated operational perspective helps companies evaluate performance across the distribution process rather than treating transportation and warehousing as completely separate activities.
When Freight Costs Rise, Operational Discipline Matters More
The latest U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index underscores an uncomfortable reality for shippers.
Transportation spending can increase substantially without a comparable rise in shipment volume.
Market forces will continue to influence freight rates, carrier availability, and fuel-related costs.
But those external conditions make the costs within a company’s control even more important.
Better load planning, dependable dock execution, productive warehouse labor, and stronger coordination between operations and transportation can help reduce avoidable expenses.
You may not control the freight market. But you can take a closer look at how effectively your freight moves through it.
Take Control of What You Can
Is your distribution operation experiencing higher transportation costs, inconsistent trailer turnaround, or avoidable shipping delays?
FHI can help you evaluate opportunities to improve transportation coordination and warehouse execution.
Talk with FHI about your transportation and distribution requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did freight spending increase 32.1% in the third quarter of 2026?
The U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index reported a 32.1% year-over-year spending increase, driven largely by tighter trucking capacity, higher carrier rates, and elevated diesel prices.
Did shipment volumes also increase significantly?
No. National shipment volumes in the U.S. Bank index rose only 0.5% year over year and 0.4% quarter over quarter, substantially less than the increase in freight spending.
How can businesses control transportation costs when freight rates rise?
Businesses can examine transportation mode selection, freight consolidation, route planning, shipment scheduling, carrier coordination, and operational expenses such as detention and unnecessary handling.
Can warehouse operations affect transportation costs?
Yes. Dock scheduling, unloading performance, shipment readiness, loading productivity, and coordination between warehouse teams and carriers can influence transportation efficiency and certain accessorial costs.
What is truck detention?
Truck detention generally refers to time a commercial driver or trailer spends waiting beyond the period allowed under applicable carrier agreements. Definitions, thresholds, and charges vary by contract.
What is the difference between FTL and LTL transportation?
Full truckload transportation generally dedicates a trailer to one shipment or shipper, while less-than-truckload transportation combines smaller shipments from multiple customers within a carrier network.
How does FHI support transportation and distribution efficiency?
FHI combines transportation management capabilities through FHI Logistics with managed warehouse services, including unloading, receiving, order selection, and related distribution functions, to support coordinated freight movement and operational performance.
Additional reporting: Reuters, October 29, 2026, “US shipper costs hit five-year high, even as demand stalls, US Bank data shows.”
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