---
title: Weekly Transportation Update: The economy sees solid growth in Q4 as does the freight economy
description: Discover the latest transportation updates in this weekly blog post. Learn about retail sales, housing sales and trucking equipment and rail updates.
image: https://today.ftrintel.com/hubfs/Hero%20Images/Shippers%20Hero%20Images/Shippers%20warehouse%202.png
---

![](https://today.ftrintel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Hero%20Images/Shippers%20Hero%20Images/Shippers%20warehouse%202.png?width=1600&height=500&name=Shippers%20warehouse%202.png)

Economy WTU

# Weekly Transportation Update: The economy sees solid growth in Q4 as does the freight economy

![The FTR Experts](https://7528315.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528315/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-cms-elevate-theme_hubspot/elevate/images/avatar-placeholder.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=avatar-placeholder.jpg)

 The FTR Experts

January 29, 2024

In the final quarter of 2023, the economy continued its remarkable growth, and this positive trend extended to the freight transportation sector. However, it is important to note that the data pertaining to last week in the freight transportation industry was distorted by the severe winter weather that prevailed across the country. This weather condition led to substantial increases in truck spot rates and had a detrimental impact on rail and intermodal volumes.

- Consumer spending posts another strong gain in December.
- Sales of new homes recover most of the prior-month’s decrease.
- Severe winter weather sends truck spot rates soaring.
- Surface Transportation Board adopts final rule concerning emergency service directives.

## Share this post

<https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftoday.ftrintel.com%2Fthe-economy-sees-solid-growth-in-q4-as-does-the-freight-economy><https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftoday.ftrintel.com%2Fthe-economy-sees-solid-growth-in-q4-as-does-the-freight-economy><https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftoday.ftrintel.com%2Fthe-economy-sees-solid-growth-in-q4-as-does-the-freight-economy><https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftoday.ftrintel.com%2Fthe-economy-sees-solid-growth-in-q4-as-does-the-freight-economy>[mailto:https%3A%2F%2Ftoday.ftrintel.com%2Fthe-economy-sees-solid-growth-in-q4-as-does-the-freight-economy](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Ftoday.ftrintel.com%2Fthe-economy-sees-solid-growth-in-q4-as-does-the-freight-economy)

## Keep reading

[![](https://today.ftrintel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing%20Collateral/Blogs/Blog%20images/2026/July/_Class%208%20July%202026%20blog.png?width=1600&height=500&name=_Class%208%20July%202026%20blog.png)

class 8 trucks forecasting

### Class 8 Orders Surge Again as Industry Nears 2026 Production Capacity

](https://today.ftrintel.com/class-8-july-2026)

[![](https://today.ftrintel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing%20Collateral/Blogs/Blog%20images/2026/June/_RMU%20June%2026%202026%20blog.png?width=1600&height=500&name=_RMU%20June%2026%202026%20blog.png)

intermodal carload Rail

### Rail Traffic Holds Steady While Intermodal Extends Its Winning Streak

](https://today.ftrintel.com/rmu-june-26-2026)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "The FTR Experts",
    "url" : "https://today.ftrintel.com/author/experts"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2024-01-29T15:46:01.451Z",
  "datePublished" : "2024-01-29T15:45:42.000Z",
  "headline" : "Weekly Transportation Update: The economy sees solid growth in Q4 as does the freight economy",
  "image" : [ "https://today.ftrintel.com/hubfs/Hero%20Images/Shippers%20Hero%20Images/Shippers%20warehouse%202.png" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://today.ftrintel.com/the-economy-sees-solid-growth-in-q4-as-does-the-freight-economy",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://today.ftrintel.com/hubfs/FTR%20Logos%20and%20Icons/FTR_Logo_Primary_FullColor.png"
    },
    "name" : "FTR | Transportation Intelligence"
  }
}
```