Spring Is Here – And It’s Messing With Trucking Capacity Again

by TRUCKERS VA
(UNITED STATES)

🌱 Intro:

You ever notice how when the weather changes, so does the entire freight game?

Yep — spring is trucking's mood swing season. Just when you thought lanes were stabilizing, here comes the great produce shuffle, the construction rush, and every regional market doing its own thing.

One week you’ve got your pick of loads. The next, it’s ghost town rates or total chaos. Let’s break down what’s going on out here as the season shifts — and what it really means for your paycheck.

🚛 Key Points: Why Things Are Getting Weird
Produce Season Is Kicking In
Warmer regions like the Southeast and parts of California are popping off with harvests. That means reefer freight is tight, and dry van rates might bump too as more trucks chase higher-paying produce loads.

Construction Season = Flatbed Frenzy
From Texas to the Midwest, infrastructure and building projects are spiking demand for flatbeds and hotshots. If you haul steel, lumber, or equipment — it’s go time.

Northern Regions? Capacity Loosening Up
In colder states that are just starting to thaw, capacity is opening up. That’s great for shippers, not so great if you're a driver competing in a slow market.

Carrier Migration Begins
Like snowbirds with MC numbers, trucks are migrating to hot freight markets. If you’re not rolling with the trends, you’re probably chasing crumbs.

🔄 Multiple Perspectives:
Owner-Operators:
If you know your seasonal lanes, this is your time to shine. If not, get ready to deadhead unless you pivot fast. Rates are everywhere right now — you gotta go where the freight is, not where your cousin lives.

Company Drivers:
Some of y’all are suddenly getting all the miles you wanted in February. Others are sitting. Dispatchers are trying to figure it out in real time. You already know: luck favors the loudest on the Qualcomm.

Shippers:
Northern shippers are chilling — literally. With more trucks available, they’re negotiating harder. Down South? They're bidding against the watermelon rush, and prices are getting spicy.

🧠 Industry Response & Smart Moves
This isn’t new — but the smart folks always get ahead of it. Here’s how:

Seasoned carriers reposition early.
They’re already in Florida, Texas, or the Carolinas before the rate spike hits. Or they’re lined up near warehouses moving spring inventory.

Load board sharks follow the trend.
Watch for volume spikes in DAT, Truckstop, or your TMS. When one region heats up, it usually drags the surrounding ones up with it.

Independent dispatchers adjust fast.
The best dispatchers are already shifting their focus to produce regions and flatbed lanes — if yours isn’t, get a new one.

💬 The Bottom Line
Spring isn’t just about flowers blooming and birds chirping. In trucking, it’s survival of the fastest. If you’re not paying attention to what’s shifting, you’ll be stuck running dollar-per-mile loads while others clean up on seasonal gold.

This season favors the flexible. It punishes the parked.

So if your freight is drying up or your rates are looking weak — ask yourself: Am I in the wrong place, or just late to the party?

💡 Final Call to Action
Most drivers ride the waves. Smart ones learn to surf ‘em. And if you’re tired of freight being the only way to make money, now’s the time to build your off-duty income stream too.

👉 Go to RetireFromTrucking.com to learn how truckers are using AI tools and side hustles to create freedom outside the cab.
👉 For the realest trucking advice online, check out LifeAsATrucker.com