Category: Freight Research

The number and share of miles that trucks drive empty is a critically important metric for the freight industry. However, as we have documented, there is a wide range of estimates of empty miles that are not necessarily comparable. There are no industry-wide standards or guidelines for calculating and reporting empty miles. Some carriers do…

Self-employed truck drivers — known as owner-operators in the freight industry — earn more per hour and work more hours for a combined higher income than company drivers who are paid per mile or per hour, though owner-operator earnings also vary more widely. [1] Eleven percent of truck drivers [2] nationwide are self-employed, a share…

This July, the United States economy marks the 120th consecutive month of economic growth. The economic expansion that began in June 2009 is now the longest period of sustained growth in American history.  It is a nervous anniversary. With each passing month the questions grow louder, asking how long the good times can continue. Recent…

Today we are launching Freight Economics at Convoy — an initiative to feature the best of our economic analysis and freight data on the Convoy Blog and to share our perspective on freight market developments. As a marketplace that connects shippers that move goods around the country with the tens of thousands of carriers who…