Supply Chain & Logistics News, Trends, and Insights

The fourth quarter begins with a mix of encouraging economic signals and continued uncertainty. Demand is strengthening in several areas, but rising fuel costs, tighter capacity, regulatory changes and global transportation disruptions are creating new challenges for shippers.

Q3 2026 marks a turning point.  After one of the longest freight downturns in modern trucking history, soft capacity and shipper-favorable pricing dating back to 2022, the market is tightening across nearly every mode.

If you have international shipments moving from Asia to the U.S., conditions in the Transpacific Eastbound (TPEB) market have changed significantly in recent weeks. Space is tight, rates are climbing, and the window to act is narrowing.

On May 14, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC that immediately changed the freight brokerage industry. For brokers who have been cutting corners on carrier vetting, the ruling is a wake-up call. For Averitt, it is confirmation of what we have been doing all along.

Q2 2026 arrives with more complexity than clarity. The Middle East conflict has introduced a new layer of economic uncertainty that is rippling across every mode of transportation, driving fuel costs higher, disrupting international trade lanes, and adding pressure to supply chains that were just beginning to find their footing.

The AI data center buildout is the largest infrastructure investment cycle in modern history. U.S. spending on data center construction starts reached an estimated $77.7 billion in 2025 according to Equipment World – a 190% year-over-year increase – and Moody's projects $3 trillion in global spending over the next five years to keep pace with AI capacity demand. With more than 2,788 data centers currently announced or under construction across the U.S., the pressure on every link in the supply chain – including logistics – has never been greater.

As we move into 2026, the warehousing market is showing early signs of moderation—but not normalization. While select markets are beginning to soften, warehouse costs nationally remain elevated compared to pre-2020 levels, and pricing behavior continues to vary widely by geography.

As supply chains move into 2026, the conversation has shifted. Shippers are no longer reacting to constant disruption—but they aren’t operating with full confidence either. Instead, planning decisions are being made with greater discipline, tighter assumptions, and far less margin for error.

Artificial intelligence is now part of nearly every conversation in logistics. Pricing, planning, customer service, forecasting—AI shows up in all of it. Some of that progress is meaningful. Some of it is noise.