That’s how many tractors carrier JB Hunt had in its truckload segment at the end of Q3 – up from 1834 a year ago. That is notable for two reasons: (1) Until just recently, Hunt had been reducing its tractor count in its truckload sector over many quarters, just reversing that trend in 2015; (2) Hunt wasn't the only truckload carrier at last expanding capacity. Swift, for example, said its average operational truck count across all segments increased by 831, or 4.8%, year over year in the third quarter, and a number of other carriers reported similar increases. A lack of drivers continues to constrain fleet expansions, but at long last it seems carriers are starting to grow capacity at least modestly after years of almost no expansion.

That was the vacancy rate for US warehouse and distribution space in the third quarter, according to the latest report from the real estate analysts at Costar. That rate was unchanged from Q2 - marking the first time since 2009 that the vacancy rate has not declined quarter over quarter, as demand for logistics space has remain strong. Costar says additions to logistics inventory nearly matched net absorption, with demand rising a strong 3.4% in the quarter year over year. That strong demand and low vacancy rates have naturally pushed up rents. Costar says rent growth "remains an astounding five times above the historical industrial real estate average of 1%, with light-industrial rental rates up 5.7% year over year, while logistics properties are 5.4% above a year." However, Costar says supply is finally starting to catch up a bit with demand, which may push rent growth back down over the next year.