The Official Blog for Penske Truck Leasing, Truck Rental and Logistics

Motor carriers, private fleets and shippers are navigating an increasingly complex operating landscape. Economic pressures, shifting demand patterns and evolving trade policies are shaping the need for transportation and warehouse capacity, and the ability to adapt to capacity fluctuations is crucial to maintaining operations.

Factors Influencing Capacity Fluctuations

Several interconnected factors influence the supply and demand for freight as well as capacity.

The Economy: Economic growth typically leads to increased demand for goods, driving up the need for transportation services and warehousing space. However, economic slowdowns or inflationary pressures can reduce consumer spending and business expansion, cooling demand for goods and slowing business growth.

Consumer Confidence: Economic optimism directly impacts consumer spending, and confident consumers are more likely to spend money on everything from clothing to cars. Consumer confidence also affects spending on services, travel and entertainment. A shift in consumer sentiment, whether positive or negative, can lead to fluctuations in freight demand.
Housing and Construction: Housing starts, existing home sales and construction are significant drivers of freight demand. On the housing side, there is an ongoing need for raw materials for new construction, as well as products for home renovations, upgrades and moving. Infrastructure improvements, such as highway and bridge construction, also fuel demand for freight.

Manufacturing: Manufacturing levels and factory output influence the amount of inbound and outbound freight at production facilities. Manufacturing can also impact the overall economy, with the National Association of Manufacturers estimating that for every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, there is a total impact of $2.64 to the overall economy.

Seasonal Surges: Trucking has a variety of peak seasons. Historically, the most notable peak typically occurs in the fall as retailers stock up for the holiday shopping season. Even though seasonal surges may be brief, they can strain capacity.

Weather Events: Severe weather events, such as hurricanes or snowstorms, can disrupt expected freight flows and create sudden spikes in demand. Consumers may rush to stock up on groceries or other essentials ahead of an event, and emergency supplies or reconstruction materials can also increase the need for trucking services.

Global Trade: Geopolitical disruptions, trade agreements, tariffs and customs regulations can impact the flow of goods, which directly influences the demand for trucking and warehousing.

Trucking Trends: Freight rates play a crucial role in influencing trucking capacity. When rates are high, new carriers may enter the market, adding capacity. As rates fall, financial pressures may increase, causing some carriers to leave the market, reducing capacity.

Solutions To Address Capacity Fluctuations

Given the significant number of variables that influence both the supply of and demand for capacity, fleets need to remain agile, especially in an uncertain operating environment.

There are several tools and strategies to help businesses prepare for capacity fluctuations:

Flexible Leases: Full-service leases provide a flexible way for fleets to replace equipment and adjust capacity without committing to long-term investments in purchased vehicles. This enables businesses to scale their operations up or down in response to demand fluctuations without the capital expenses associated with purchasing new assets.

Short-Term Access: Rental agreements can provide even more flexibility, allowing fleets to increase capacity for days, weeks or months. If longer-term needs arise, the switch to leasing becomes a welcome option.

Owned Capacity: The used truck market can offer a cost-effective alternative to new equipment for fleets that prefer to own their assets. Adding used trucks allows fleet operators to meet increased demand quickly. New equipment can come with extensive lead times, but used trucks are often readily available.

Logistics Solutions: Third-party logistics providers help businesses optimize their supply chain and ensure that they have access to the right amount of transportation and warehousing capacity when they need it. Some, like Penske, also have tools to improve efficiency, increase visibility and enable data-driven decision-making.

Brokerage Services: Freight brokers offer flexible solutions to manage capacity in real time. For shippers, brokers provide immediate access to an extensive network of vetted carriers to fill short-term or unexpected gaps in a shipper’s capacity. Brokerage can also be a valuable tool for fleets that need to access freight.




The trucking and freight transportation industries have experienced several years of low rates, excess capacity and challenging headwinds. While the freight market is beginning to stabilize, uncertainty remains. Throughout 2026, shippers and carriers will need to rely on strategic planning, disciplined asset management and flexible operations to succeed in this evolving landscape.

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Penske Logistics is requesting insights from supply chain professionals to participate in the 2023 Third-Party Logistics Study. The survey is now live and will close on June 29. Please click here to begin.

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Penske Logistics is taking part in a Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) webinar, 2021: The Road Ahead, on January 27. Andy Moses, senior vice president of sales and solutions, will join a panel of experts that examines challenges facing 2021 supply chains and discuss current industry trends.

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Penske Logistics today announced they have won a pair of Quest for Quality Awards from Logistics Management Magazine. Both honors came in the Third-Party Logistics category: Transportation Management Solutions and the Value Added Warehousing and Distributions Solutions. In the latter honor, Penske recorded the highest score in customer service/value added services.

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A.T. Kearney, a top global management consulting firm, is the new author and researcher of the 27th annual State of Logistics Report, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) announced. Penske Logistics has been the report presenter since 2009.

The State of Logistics Report will debut at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., on June 21. The report has tracked and measured all costs associated with moving freight through the U.S. supply chain since 1988.

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Penske Logistics is a recipient of the 2014 Green Supply Chain award from Supply and Demand Chain Executive magazine. It is the second straight year the company has attained this honor.

According to the publication the award highlights: “companies making green or sustainability a core part of their supply chain strategy, and are working to achieve measurable sustainability goals within their own operations and/or supply chains, in the areas of sourcing/procurement, fulfillment/logistics, operations, product life cycle management, and other areas of the supply chain.

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Global third-party logistics providers are optimistic about the current state of the industry along with the future revenue growth of both their individual companies and the regional 3PL industry as a whole. Among service providers in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, e-commerce and near shoring are among the factors contributing to the most significant growth.

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Today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) released its 25th Annual “State of Logistics Report®", presented by Penske Logistics. The report reveals that total U.S. business logistics costs in 2013 rose to $1.39 trillion, a 2.3 percent increase from the previous year.

Logistics as a percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) declined for the second year in a row, indicating that the logistics sector is not keeping pace with the growth in the overall economy (hashtag #SofL14).

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