FTR | State of Freight
Episodes
768 episodes
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning May 4, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we recap the week for diesel prices and the spot market for truck freight and review some key indicators of the industrial, consumer, housing, and international trade sectors. Plus...
Rail Market Update - Week ending May
In this episode of FTR’s Rail Market Update, host Joseph Towers covers: Updated Section 232 tariffsWeekly rail trafficUpdated UP-NS merger application The Rail Market Update is hosted ...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning April 27, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we review a record-setting week in the spot market for truck freight and recap the week in diesel prices and petroleum as usual. Plus, we look at retail sales for March and at inve...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning April 20, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we discuss a couple of notable changes in Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulatory and enforcement policy, one of which could make a difference in the driver populati...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning April 13, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we review the latest data on diesel prices and the spot market for truck freight. Plus, we dig into several notable economic indicators for the consumer, industrial, and housing se...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning April 6, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we review the continued surge in both diesel prices and spot rates and discuss some key metrics related to capacity, including payroll employment in trucking and orders for Class 8...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning March 30, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we recap the week in diesel and crude prices and in the spot market for truck freight. We also review the latest data on new applications for trucking authority and discuss nonresi...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning March 23, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we revisit diesel and crude prices and related changes in the spot market for truck freight. We also address sales of new homes, pricing at the producer level, inventories and sale...
Rail Market Update - Week ending March 20, 2026
In this episode of FTR’s Rail Market Update, host Joseph Towers covers:The impact of Iran on rail trafficContainer activity at the Port of Los AngelesWeekly traffic update The Rail Market ...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning March 16, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we revisit diesel prices after the previous week’s record surge, and we consider what that increase meant for the spot market for truck freight. We also review some key indicators ...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning March 9, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we discuss the largest one-week spike in diesel prices in history and address the latest data on payroll employment, retail sales, and a few other metrics, along with the latest we...
Rail Market Update - Week ending March 6, 2026
In this episode of FTR’s Rail Market Update, host Joseph Towers covers:The Supreme Courts decision and implications to railWeekly rail traffic The Rail Market Update is hosted by FTR’s Senior Analy...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning March 2, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we review changes in the for-hire carrier population during February and consider what’s going on with diesel prices and the spot market for truck freight. We also review pricing i...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning February 23, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we discuss revenues for the trucking industry in the fourth quarter of last year and for all of 2025. We also review economic growth in the fourth quarter and examine key economic ...
Rail Market Update - Week ending February 20, 2026
In this episode of FTR’s Rail Market Update, host Joseph Towers covers:UP-NS merger update Port of Los Angeles container data Weekly rail traffic The Rail Market Update is hosted ...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning February 16, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we dig into the latest payroll employment data on trucking, including substantial data revisions that change our view of capacity in the market. We also discuss a final rule on non...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning February 9, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we review some developments related to the English language proficiency requirement and discuss several other topics specific to the trucking industry, including overall market con...
Rail Market Update - Week ending February 6, 2026
In this episode of FTR’s Rail Market Update, host Joseph Towers covers:Weekly rail trafficBreaking down the latest ARCI reportThe Rail Market Update is hosted by FTR’s Senior Analyst, Rail, Joseph Towers...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning February 2, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we discuss a huge week in the spot market for truck freight. We also review U.S. trade in goods, pricing at the producer level, inventories and sales in the wholesale sector, and d...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning January 26, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we review indicators of manufacturing demand, consumer spending and pricing, vehicle sales, construction spending, and establishments of new businesses. Plus, we recap the week in ...
Rail Market Update - Week ending January 23, 2026
In this episode of FTR’s Rail Market Update, host Joseph Towers covers:STB's ruling of the UP-NS application as "incomplete"Weekly rail trafficThe Rail Market Update is hosted by FTR’s Senior Analyst, Ra...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning January 19, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we review several key indicators of the industrial, consumer, and housing sectors of the economy and recap the week in the spot market for truck freight. The Trucking M...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning January 12, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we discuss payroll employment in trucking and for the overall U.S. economy. We also address residential construction and U.S. trade in goods. Plus, we recap the week in diesel pric...
Rail Market Update - Week ending January 9, 2026
In this episode Joseph Towers opens the year with a comprehensive review of full-year 2025 rail traffic, highlighting modest overall growth driven by grains and coal, continued softness in industrial commodities such as metals and forest produc...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning January 5, 2026
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we discuss the changes in the for-hire trucking firm population in December and the number of heavy-duty truck orders during the month. We also review U.S. Gross Domestic Pro...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning December 22, 2025
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we review several metrics that suggest that trucking capacity has tightened, including stronger than seasonal performance for spot rates. We also discuss some key economic indicato...
Rail Market Update - Week ending December 19, 2025
This episode of FTR’s Rail and Intermodal Update focuses on year-end trends in North American rail traffic, with Joseph Towers breaking down the latest carload and intermodal performance by commodity and carrier. The podcast also addresse...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning December 15, 2025
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we review the latest data on payroll employment and wages in trucking and the employment situation for the U.S. economy as a whole. We also discuss trucking industry revenues for t...
Trucking Market Update - Week Beginning December 8, 2025
In this week’s episode of FTR’s Trucking Market Update podcast, we briefly discuss some recent safety enforcement moves and examine the change in the for-hire carrier population in November. We also review indicators related to the industrial a...
Rail Market Update - Week ending December 5, 2025
This week’s Rail and Intermodal Update delivers a concise look at rail traffic trends as the industry moves through a quiet holiday period with limited major news expected. Joseph Towers highlights the upcoming Midwest Association of Rail...