Freight companies are dialing back expectations that demand will recover strongly in the second half of the year amid growing economic uncertainty and signs retailers are growing more guarded about placing big orders in 2023.
“There was more optimism a few months ago than there is now,” said Paul Svindland, chief executive of Bensenville, Ill.-based logistics provider STG Logistics Inc.
Logistics executives say the volumes of goods moving through supply chains have tailed off more than anticipated to start the year, while broader indicators such as retail sales figures are raising concerns about the direction of the economy.
”As we’ve progressed through the quarter, I’m slightly less optimistic than our customers,” Shelley Simpson, president of U.S. freight bellwether J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., told a March 14 investor meeting.
