Great Recession Freight Downturn
The Great Recession Freight Downturn was the collapse in freight demand during the 2008 to 2009 financial crisis, when the Cass Freight Index showed US shipments about 25% lower in April 2009 than a year earlier.
What happened and why it matters
The Great Recession showed how quickly freight demand can collapse, and its lessons still shape how shippers and carriers plan capacity, inventory, and contracts. As credit froze and consumer spending fell, the Cass shipment index dropped in April 2009 to its second-lowest reading since 1992, about 25% below a year earlier, and it stayed weak through the rest of the year. Carriers parked trucks and ships while retailers cut orders and drew down stock. Fulfillment operators still see this cycle: in a downturn, spot rates fall and capacity is easy to find, but carriers that shrank often tighten service and raise rates when volume returns.
Related events
Sources
- Freight index hints at recovery (DC Velocity) dcvelocity.com
- Supply Chain News Bites (SCDigest) scdigest.com