The report from Geotab, analyzed by its research division Altitude, highlights that regional truck trips and vehicle miles traveled climbed 5.4% through mid-2026. This adaptation suggests a supply chain increasingly focused on inventory proximity to end markets. Notably, hub-and-spoke operations reached an 84.3% in-service utilization rate, reflecting heightened efficiency in managing post-holiday recovery cycles.

Urban logistics patterns further underscore this shift toward shorter, high-frequency routes. In cities like Los Angeles and Atlanta, last-mile delivery volumes rose significantly, even as the average miles per trip declined. This trend suggests that fleet operators are prioritizing route optimization over simple volume increases to manage costs. Meanwhile, drayage activity at major ports remained stable despite record freight growth, pointing to rail networks absorbing a larger share of the load. These findings provide an early, ground-level view of economic movement that typically precedes traditional financial reporting.