The Hidden Cost of Rising Imports on US Trucking

Episode 29 of The Supply Chain Economy explores a puzzle: US factory orders and industrial production are up, but truck tonnage is flat. Lucas and Luna dig into the data — manufacturers' new orders hit $662.7 billion in April, imports are rising faster than exports, and the trade deficit widened to $60.3 billion in March. They connect these numbers to a structural shift: more goods are coming in by container, but fewer full truckloads are leaving warehouses. The hosts walk through how the import surge is creating empty miles for truckers, squeezing owner-operators, and why capacity utilisation at 76.1% isn't translating to freight demand. A specific look at the mismatch between factory output and trucking demand in mid-2026. #SupplyChainEconomy #TruckingCrisis #ImportSurge #TradeDeficit #FreightDemand #OwnerOperators #EmptyMiles #IndustrialProduction #FactoryOrders #Logistics #Shipping #USManufacturing #PortCongestion #CapacityUtilisation #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #SupplyChain Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo