ITS Logistics June freight index warns drayage and intermodal markets face downstream price surges

ITS Logistics published its June Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index on June 11, warning that drayage and intermodal markets are bracing for downstream price surges — a signal that cost pressures building at the port and rail ramp level are set to ripple further into supply chains.

Downstream pricing pressure builds at port and rail

Drayage — the short-haul trucking that connects ports and rail ramps to warehouses and distribution centers — sits at a critical junction in freight cost transmission. When rates rise at that first mile, the increase typically cascades through subsequent legs of the supply chain within weeks.

The June index, authored by Taralyn Wallace, identifies this dynamic as the central risk for shippers managing import flows through U.S. ports and intermodal facilities. The firm did not disclose specific rate figures in the summary, but the directional warning aligns with a pattern of escalating cost alerts ITS Logistics has issued throughout 2025.

Fuel shock and broker liability add to an already strained market

The June report does not stand alone. ITS Logistics' May Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index flagged a Strait of Hormuz closure as sending a fuel shock through supply chains — a development with direct bearing on diesel-dependent drayage operations.

Separately, the firm's May supply chain report described current conditions as the most expensive freight market in years, noting that a broker liability ruling and a wave of inventory replenishment demand had converged simultaneously. Rising transportation costs were also the central finding of ITS Logistics' Q1 Distribution and Fulfillment Index, which examined how lean inventory strategies are being tested by the rate environment.

Capacity and compliance pressures reshape trucking supply

On the supply side, ITS Logistics has pointed to structural shifts in carrier capacity. A recent blog post from the firm examined how regulatory compliance requirements, demographic changes in the driver workforce, and broader market dynamics are reshaping available freight capacity — a factor that tends to amplify rate increases when demand surges.

The April supply chain report, covering the Hormuz crisis and its Q2 implications, preceded the fuel-cost data that appeared in May's index, suggesting ITS Logistics had been tracking geopolitical risk to freight markets well before it materialized in price data.

ITS Logistics recognized for fraud prevention amid market stress

In a separate development, ITS Logistics was named a 2026 Fraud Fighters Award winner by FreightWaves. The recognition covers logistics operations fraud prevention — an area that tends to attract greater scrutiny when freight markets tighten and bad actors exploit capacity shortfalls.

Carrier fraud and double-brokering have been recurring concerns for shippers and third-party logistics providers during periods of market volatility, making fraud-mitigation capabilities an increasingly valued operational differentiator for brokers and 3PLs.

What shippers and operators should watch

Taken together, ITS Logistics' June index and its recent body of market reporting describe a freight environment where multiple cost drivers — fuel, regulatory compliance, inventory demand cycles, and geopolitical disruption — are active at the same time.

For supply chain managers relying on drayage to clear port congestion or intermodal ramps, the firm's June warning suggests that rate negotiations and carrier commitments should be revisited sooner rather than later. The downstream pricing effect the index forecasts typically reaches truckload and final-mile segments within one to two billing cycles after port-level increases take hold.