Freight Transportation: State of the Global Transports Union

Research evidence excerpt

Freight Transportation: State of the Global Transports Union

Update

June 10, 2026 01:27 PM GMT

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLCMFreight Transportation | North America Ravi Shanker

Equity Analyst

State of the Global Transports Ravi.Shanker@morganstanley.comMorgan Stanley Asia Limited+ +1 212 761-6350

Qianlei Fan, CFA

Equity AnalystUnion Qianlei.Fan@morganstanley.com +852 2239-1875

Together with our Global Freight Transportation colleagues, we Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co., Ltd.+

Takuya Osaka

Equity Analysthighlight important topics and updates that occurred over the

Takuya.Osaka@morganstanleymufg.com +81 3 6836-5438

past month.

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc+

In order to get a better sense of the Global Freight Transportation space, we update Cedar Ekblom, CFA

our monthly State of the Global Transports Union report. This includes data for Equity Analyst

Cedar.Ekblom@morganstanley.com +44 20 7425-4623

domestic and international freight transportation companies and trends.

See below for key highlights this month:

United States: The Truckload Freight Index (TLFI) continued to outperform

seasonality amid tightening capacity and increasing rates, reaching the highest level

for this time of year for the fourth update in a row. Spot rates rose ~33% y/y, while

contract rates increased ~9.5% y/y, further indicating a tightening market and rising

costs.

Europe: European freight markets remain constructive, with strong Asia headhaul

container volume growth, higher freight rates driven by an early peak season, and

healthy air cargo demand across most regions, partially offset by weakness in the

Middle East due to the Iran conflict.

Japan: May trucking data signal improving freight cycle momentum: spot rates rose