05/29/2026
Carrier capacity in the U.S. just hit its lowest point in years. From December 2022 to December 2025, the number of carriers with active operating authority fell 11.4%. FleetOwner Trucking employment followed the same direction.
For oil and gas operators and bulk material companies, this isn't a freight market story. It's an operational risk story.
When carrier pools shrink, the operators who get covered are the ones carriers want to work with: predictable loads, clean paperwork, fair wait times, and invoices that pay on time without a dispute.
That's not a relationship problem. That's a logistics infrastructure problem.
FleetOwner breaks down where the market is headed and why 2026 is the year when carrier relationships become either a competitive advantage or a constraint.
Read it here: https://shorturl.at/XZSiG