Supply Chain Intelligence Brief

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The Supply Chain Intelligence Brief Will Return On Monday, December 29 

TRUCKING

Truck Tonnage Nudges 0.2% Higher in November

Transport Topics Keiron Greenhalgh December 23, 2025

“November’s tonnage reading continues to point to a constrained freight market despite the small sequential increase,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “The index was also down from a year earlier, the second straight year-over-year decline.

Link: American Trucking Associations Press Release ATA Truck Tonnage Index Rose 0.2% in November

Persistent supply-demand imbalance to keep US truckload rates in check

Journal of Commerce William B. Cassidy December 23, 2025 $Subscription Based

The big picture: The depression in demand that has gripped the US truckload sector for three years will likely continue through the first half of 2026. That could mean a sharper correction in capacity followed by higher rates late in the year or in 2027, which some believe will be the real recovery year for truckload carriers.

Market Uncertainty to Follow Trucking Into 2026

Transport Topics Connor D. Wolf  December 23, 2025

“Uncertainty is moving into [2026] without any real understanding of why that uncertainty is there, other than just lack of clarity,” said Eric Starks, chairman of FTR Transportation Intelligence. “Everybody is realizing that they are not going to get that type of certainty. The only time that you get that certainty is when something has been enacted and it has stuck.”

Averitt names new VP of truckload sales

Trucking Dive David Taube December 22, 2025

Averitt’s Jeff Edwards will become VP of truckload sales at the end of 2025, the company announced last week.

Edwards will be a key force in the company’s sales strategy and customer relationships across its business network, working in conjunction with Averitt’s VP of corporate business development and regional sales VPs that cover nine regions.

SHIPPERS / 3PLs

30 days to comply: FMCSA details truck broker trustee purge

Freight Waves John Gallagher December 23, 2025

Starting January 16, 2026, FMCSA will begin verifying that all BMC-85 trust providers meet updated federal requirements. If the agency determines a provider is no longer eligible to hold these funds – if they lack Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insurance or proper state charters, for example – every broker relying on that provider will be notified.

By the numbers: 2025 manufacturing trends

Manufacturing Dive Nathan Owens et al. Dive December 23, 2025

We reflect on the year through key data points about tariffs, domestic investments, M&A, the manufacturing workforce, federal policy, AI and more.

INDUSTRY

Benchmark diesel down yet again, five straight weeks of declines

Freight Waves John Kingston December 23, 2025

Another decline in the benchmark price of diesel has sent that number down by the biggest amount in a five-week period in two years.

The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average weekly retail diesel price fell 6.3 cents/gallon go $3.544/g. It stood at $3.868 before this five-week run of falling numbers.

Links: U.S. Energy Information Administration  Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update  and Weekly U.S. No 2 Diesel Ultra Low Sulfur (0-15 ppm) Retail Prices (Chart)

Tariffs, strikes and tragedies: How 2025 transformed supply chains

Supply Chain Dive December 23, 2025

Supply chains faced tumult, with changes to U.S. trade policies and labor unrest contributing to a mosaic of uncertainty. Here is a visual look at the busy year.

TECHNOLOGY

Meet your new AI assistant

DC Velocity Ben Ames December 23, 2025

“Everything we do with technology is done with the purpose of enhancing our Pyle people,” says Craigh Lough, A. Duie Pyle’s director of strategic planning. “We have survived 101 years because of the relationships our organization has with everyone we serve. So our goal is not to cut jobs but to help our people and empower them to deliver better service to customers.”

Companies reinvest AI productivity gains into more automation

CIO Scarlett Evans December 23, 2025

AI-driven productivity gains are being used to further expand AI capabilities, research and talent development, according to EY’s latest U.S. AI Pulse Survey. The company surveyed 500 U.S.-employed decision-makers across industries.

Link: EY US AI Pulse Survey

BUSINESS AND THE ECONOMY

The U.S. Economy Keeps Powering Ahead, Defying Dire Predictions

The Wall Street Journal Jeanne Whalen and Rachel Wolfe December 23, 2025 $Subscription Based

The U.S. economy continues to power through the trade and immigration shocks of 2025, defying widespread expectations of a slowdown or even a recession and blowing past other developed countries.

One big reason: Americans continue to spend, despite their pessimistic outlook on the economy, their lingering anger about high prices and even a slowdown in the job market.

Related: Transport Topics Economy Expands at Surprisingly Strong 4.3% Annual Rate

Consumer Confidence Falls as Jobs, Economic Worries Persist

The Wall Street Journal Ed Frankl December 23, 2025 $Subscription Based

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. weakened for a fifth consecutive month in December, amid enduring concerns over jobs and business conditions, a monthly survey said.

Link: The Conference Board US Consumer Confidence Fell Again in December

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