Freight LMI hits 95.0; container $4,131

The April Logistics Managers’ Index showed transportation prices at 95.0, one of the highest readings in the survey’s 9.5-year history, as U.S. freight markets tightened in April. The report, released May 5 by researchers at Colorado State University and other universities with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, also showed transportation capacity at 28.4, the second-lowest reading ever recorded. Taken together, the figures pointed to a market in which trucks were both scarcer and more expensive. Separate container data from Drewry showed ocean rates also rising in mid-May on key east-west routes. ### Why did the freight index jump so high? The April Logistics Managers’ Index put the overall LMI at 69.9, up 4.2 points from March, while transportation prices rose 5.6 points to 95.0. The report said that was the second-fastest rate of expansion for that metric in the index’s history, with only March and April 2018 running hotter. Transportation capacity fell 10.9 points to 28.4 in April. The report said the 66.6-point spread between transportation prices and transportation capacity was the largest gap it had ever recorded, indicating carriers were gaining pricing power as available equipment tightened. ### What is pushing trucking and domestic freight costs up? The LMI report said freight markets were already strengthening at the start of 2026, but the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting increase in fuel costs had “supercharged” those moves. (the-lmi.com) It also showed aggregate logistics costs at 242.4, the fastest rate of expansion since March 2022. Cass Information Systems reported a similar pattern in April. (the-lmi.com) Its truckload linehaul index rose 3.2% from March and 5.6% from a year earlier, while spot rates were up 25% year over year in April, according to ACT Research’s analysis in the report. ### What happened in container shipping? Drewry said on May 14 that its World Container Index rose 12% to $2,553 per 40-foot container. (the-lmi.com) The increase was driven by higher freight rates on transpacific and Asia-Europe trade routes, according to the firm. Shanghai-to-New York rates increased 14% to $4,252 per 40-foot container, while Shanghai-to-Los Angeles rates rose 10% to $3,357 per 40-foot container. (cassinfo.com) On Asia-Europe lanes, Shanghai-to-Genoa climbed 20% to $3,701 per 40-foot container and Shanghai-to-Rotterdam rose 11% to $2,413, Drewry said. ### Where does the $4,131 figure fit? The specific $4,131-per-TEU figure cited in social-media posts could not be confirmed from the primary industry sources reviewed for this story. (drewry.co.uk) Drewry’s published May 14 data is quoted per 40-foot container, not per TEU, and listed Shanghai-to-New York at $4,252 per 40-foot container. The verified direction of travel is the same across sources: container prices rose in May as carriers added emergency fuel surcharges, peak-season surcharges and general rate increases, while blank sailings and tighter vessel space supported rates. (drewry.co.uk) Drewry said seven blank sailings had been announced on the transpacific trade route for the following week. ### Are inventories and warehouses showing the same pressure? Inventory costs were 74.7 and warehousing prices were 72.2 in the April LMI report, both above the 70.0 level that the report described as “significant” expansion. The report also said inventory levels rose to 59.8 from 52.4 as firms consolidated shipments to avoid transportation surcharges. Logistics Management, citing the same LMI release on May 15, said the gains were being driven by improving freight volumes and carrier rate increases tied more to reduced capacity than to a broad surge in demand. (drewry.co.uk) ### What should readers watch next? Drewry said it expects rates to increase further in the coming week, with its next World Container Index update scheduled for May 21. (the-lmi.com) The next monthly Logistics Managers’ Index release will provide a read on whether May fuel costs, capacity tightening and surcharge activity pushed transportation prices beyond April’s 95.0 reading. (drewry.co.uk) (logisticsmgmt.com)