US Freight Market Faces Capacity Squeeze as Trans-Pacific Rates Stabilise Ahead of Peak Season

## US Freight Market Briefing: Capacity Pressures Mount as Peak Season Approaches The US freight market is navigating a period of significant transition, with tightening capacity on domestic trucking lanes, evolving container rate dynamics on trans-Pacific trades, and a major logistics bankruptcy resolution all shaping the near-term outlook for shippers and carriers alike. ### Trans-Pacific Rates Level Ahead of Anticipated Peak Season Trans-Pacific container freight rates have stabilised in the latest reporting week, according to FreightWaves, as the market edges toward what many analysts expect to be a robust peak season. Rates have been running at elevated levels relative to historical baselines, partly underpinned by high fuel-cost components. Seasonal demand patterns and fleet capacity management by major carriers are expected to drive further rate movement in the weeks ahead. The key question for shippers is whether current rate levels represent a plateau before a peak-season surge or a ceiling constrained by softening import demand. ### Trucking Capacity Tightens on Multiple Fronts On the domestic intermodal and trucking side, capacity is under pressure from a combination of factors. FreightWaves reports that the annual Roadcheck Week enforcement blitz — during which commercial vehicles face heightened roadside inspections — has temporarily reduced available truck capacity. Compounding this, a recent Supreme Court ruling is generating insurance-related uncertainty across the trucking sector, with carriers reassessing liability exposure. EASE Logistics has warned that this confluence of enforcement activity, insurance concerns, and seasonal freight demand could sustain upward pressure on US freight capacity well into 2026, with meaningful implications for shippers reliant on drayage and last-mile connectivity from major port gateways. ### STG Logistics Emerges from Bankruptcy In a significant development for the intermodal logistics sector, a federal bankruptcy court in New Jersey has approved the reorganization plan for STG Logistics, according to FreightWaves. The approval clears the path for the company to restructure its operations and obligations, offering a degree of certainty to creditors and customers. STG Logistics operates as a key intermodal drayage and logistics provider, and its reorganization will be closely watched by port-adjacent freight communities dependent on its services. ### Market Implications Taken together, these developments underscore a freight market in which capacity — both at sea and on land — remains a critical variable for supply chain planners. With peak season demand potentially arriving earlier than in recent years, shippers are advised to secure capacity commitments across both ocean and inland transport legs to mitigate disruption risk.