Hurricanes, ELDs and capacity: perfect storm for haulage capacity crunch and rates boost?

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The recovery and rebuilding in Florida and Georgia will trigger higher spot and contract rates in US haulage. Flatbed capacity is likely to be particularly affected by the hurricanes, while the large amounts of cargo going into southern states will hit rates, as there will be little backhaul traffic. And the market is also going to be affected by the electronic logging device mandate, which could make 2018 a “nasty year”. “The spot market is getting scary. Things are getting very tight,” said one truck industry economist.