Freight Truck Capacity in the USA and Canada

What is Freight Capacity and What Are The Factors That Influence It

Capacity refers to the supply of trucks (and drivers) available to haul loads at a given time. When demand outpaces this supply, it becomes difficult to find an available truck. At Freightera, we’ve seen firsthand how capacity fluctuations can impact businesses. In this article, we’ll demystify freight truck capacity in the USA and Canada, explain why carriers reach capacity, and share how you can counteract them. All in plain English.

What is Freight Truck Capacity?

Freight truck capacity is the availability of trucks and truck space to carry freight. It’s a balance between how many loads need shipping and how many trucks (with drivers) are ready to move them. Too much freight and not enough trucks means that we’re in a capacity crunch.

It’s not just about the total number of trucks in existence – it’s about having the right trucks in the right place at the right time.

Why Do Carriers Reach Capacity?

Surges in Freight Demand

Sudden or seasonal spikes in shipments can overwhelm available trucks. Annual peak seasons like the fall holiday retail rush or agricultural harvests often push carriers to their limits. In December 2025, industry surveys reported that available truck capacity “plummeted” due to the holiday shipping surge, hitting the lowest level of availability seen since 2021. When everyone ships at once, trucks run out fast.

Driver Shortages

A truck is useless without a qualified driver behind the wheel. This may change with automation, but that future isn’t here now. Entire North America is grappling with a persistent truck driver shortage. In the USA, the industry was short by about 78,800 drivers in 2022, and that number ballooned to roughly 115,000 by 2025. Canada faces a similar challenge; a 2020 study projected Canada could be short 25,000 truck drivers by 2023, a shortage that has continued to grow.

Regulatory and Operational Constraints

The Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate and strict Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules ensure safety by limiting drivers’ hours on the road. These rules, while important for safety, had the side effect of slightly reducing each truck’s productive time. When such regulations came into play around 2017-2018, they contributed to a notable capacity crunch in 2018. Carriers could no longer “stretch” driver hours to cover extra loads, so available capacity effectively shrank.

Economic Cycles and Carrier Business Decisions

The freight industry is cyclical. In boom times, carriers add trucks and drivers; in downturns, some carriers downsize. During a freight recession or slow economy, many small trucking companies struggle to stay afloat, and when they exit the market, their capacity disappears. From late 2022 through 2025, over 48,000 trucking operators in the USA ceased operations. This quiet erosion of capacity means that when demand swings back upward, fewer trucks are available to handle it.

High Operating Costs

If fuel prices skyrocket or insurance costs rise, some carriers respond by limiting operations for marginally profitable routes or they simply charge more. While this is more of an indirect cause, it can accelerate capacity issues during tough economic periods.

The Consequences of a Capacity Crunch

Rising Freight Rates

The most immediate impact is cost. It becomes a classic seller’s market for trucking services. Shippers find that to secure a truck, they often have to pay higher shipping rates. Spot market prices (one-time freight rates) surge, and even contract rates can ratchet up on renewal. A clear example occurred in late 2025. Even though shipment volumes were relatively soft, shippers “paid more to move less freight”, indicating that capacity had tightened and carriers were able to charge more despite moving fewer loads.

Service Delays and Disruptions

In a capacity crunch, you may experience pickup or delivery delays as you wait for a truck to free up. Longer delivery times, inventory shortages, and production delays are all common consequences of tight capacity.

Selective Service (Who Gets a Truck First)

When trucks are scarce, carriers can afford to be picky about which loads they take on. This means larger shippers or those willing to pay more may secure capacity, while smaller shippers struggle. Shippers who only ship freight sporadically or who negotiated rock-bottom rates might find themselves low on the priority list.

Ripple Effects

The cost inflation in freight rates can contribute to higher consumer prices for goods ranging from groceries to construction materials. In severe cases, capacity issues in trucking (which moves the majority of inland freight) can even slow economic growth or complicate disaster recovery efforts. Imagine not enough trucks to quickly bring relief supplies.

How the Industry Mitigates Capacity Constraints

Recruiting and Retaining Drivers

In a 2025 industry survey, 56% of U.S. freight businesses said they plan to boost driver compensation to improve retention. Many companies now offer signing bonuses, better home time, and even tuition reimbursement for commercial driver’s licence (CDL) training.

In Canada, programs are in place to make it easier for newcomers to enter the profession. Training programs are expanding too… Some colleges and employers partner up to offer quicker ways to a Commercial Driver’s License. All these efforts aim to increase the supply of qualified drivers, which in turn increases effective capacity.

Using Other Transport Modes

When truck capacity is maxed out, you may want to shift some loads to other freight modes like rail, or intermodal. Rail, in particular, can relieve some pressure from trucking if transit time is not critical. While this doesn’t “create” more truck capacity, it frees up trucks for loads that truly need the speed and flexibility of road transport.

Technology and Load Matching Platforms

Platforms like Freightera have dramatically improved the utilization of available capacity. Freightera allows shippers access to many carriers, which makes it much faster to find a match. In the past, a truck might sit idle because the driver didn’t know a load was available nearby.

Carrier Tactics – Fleets Adjusting Operations

On the carrier side, fleets try to optimize what capacity they do have. In tight times, carriers may reposition equipment strategically. For example, they might move empty trucks to regions with load overflow (even if it means “deadhead” miles without cargo) to take advantage of high demand. They also focus on their most efficient lanes and customers or may have trailers prepared in advance for drivers to simply switch out and avoid waiting times. Carriers pull out all the stops to haul as much as possible when rates are high, but there’s only so much they can do if all drivers are working and all trucks are rolling.

What Can Shippers Do to Secure Capacity?

Plan Ahead and Book Early

One of the simplest ways to avoid capacity trouble is to give yourself lead time. If you know a large order or a busy season is coming, start arranging transport well in advance. Flexibility with pickup and delivery dates can also help. Intermodal shipping might be slow, but it helps avoid unused truck space.

All in all, don’t treat freight as an afterthought.

Use a Marketplace

Relying on a single carrier or one option is risky. If that carrier is full, your freight sits. It’s far better to have multiple options. Large shippers accomplish this with carrier contracts across many companies. For small to mid-sized shippers, using an online freight marketplace like Freightera is an effective shortcut. It gives you instant access to hundreds of carriers in one place. The idea is to widen your capacity pool. More carrier options means a higher chance someone always has space for your pallet.

How Freightera Helps Avoid Capacity Issues

Freightera works “like Expedia for freight”. We offer you instant quotes from hundreds of vetted carriers across the USA and Canada with one search.

We offer LTL, FTL, flatbed/heavy haul, rail, and intermodal options. If standard LTL carriers are experiencing a crunch, a rail shipment or an intermodal route could solve your problem.

The thousands of shippers in our network mean we have pre-negotiated exclusive discounted rates with carriers. Even during tight periods, you can benefit from better pricing that Freightera’s buying power provides.

You get all-in pricing and transit times upfront, so you can make quick decisions. You can also track your shipment in one place.

Behind the scenes, our 5-star customer-centric team works to assist you when unusual situations arise. If you have a complex or oversized shipment, our experts can help find a solution. See our reviews to judge for yourself.

Perhaps most importantly, Freightera spares you from having to negotiate and coordinate with multiple carriers individually. You don’t have to call 10 carriers and repeat your load details 10 times.

Conclusion

A capacity crunch can directly impact your ability to serve customers and manage costs. The good news is that by staying informed and planning ahead, and leveraging tools like Freightera’s freight marketplace can help you significantly mitigate the pain of capacity constraints. At Freightera, our goal is to make freight easier and simpler for you, the shipper.

The freight world will always have ups and downs, but with the right approach (and partners), you can keep your supply chain running smoothly no matter what.

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