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An inflection point in the spot market for the trucking industry : Planet Money : The Indicator from Planet Money The trucking industry saw a boom in the early months of the pandemic as consumer demand for goods surged. This caused a key trucking indicator known as the spot market rate to hit historic highs. Today, we learn what the recent decline in the spot rate could mean for the economy.

The Indicator from Planet Money

The market for on demand trucking

Paddy Hirsch

Wailin Wong

The market for on demand trucking

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(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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During the early months of the pandemic, the trucking industry shifted its operations in response to the historic demand for goods ordered online. This was reflected by the rise in an indicator known as the "spot market rate." It's often used as a recession predictor, so what does it mean that this index has decreased 15% since January 2022?

Today, we explore the spot market in the trucking industry.

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