bit late to this but ...
I'm in the transport business - own trucks. Costs have been through the roof since early 2022. Fuel went to over 5.00 a gallon, Repair parts went up something like 40% last June from just Caterpillar, Tires are nearly double the cost from 2 years ago, new truck prices are up something like 100% - used truck prices are up more than that.
all the while shippers and the brokers want to maximize profit (I mean who doesn't) - one broker I've dealt with frequently in the past has a MINIMUM profit margin of 40% on every load they handle, meanwhile the O/O pulling the load has a single digit profit margin at times.
Yes you see it as a trailer full of packages at this high rate but you gotta figure the guy behind the counter makes more, his health insurance cost is up, brick and mortar costs are up, plus the costs to transport said package along with every hand that touches it along the way earning more. On top of that, the majority of the companies are showing record profits (greed) all the while complaining that they can't find staff who want to work for minimum wage -
Sadly there's no easy answer - Inflation, Greed, Higher operating costs, Greed, and did I mention greed??
As a side note, Rates for loads were pushing 5 dollars a mile before the market tanked late spring of 2022, rates have stabilized and somewhat rebounded but they're still much lower. I think the National Dry Van average is something like 2.25 a mile last week (now before you react with I want to make that much money - it costs me close to 1.75 a mile to operate one truck without paying the driver or making a penny of profit ... there are plenty that have gone under already and there are going to be bunches more that will fall yet.
Personally I'm hoping to see things return to a normalish level - People need to make a living wage, need health coverage, and the corporations do not need to rake in record profits all the while blaming rising wages for higher prices.
I'm back quiet ... y'all have a wonderful evening!