The peak shipping season is fizzling as overstocked retailers cancel overseas orders and freight companies scale back expectations for heavy freight volumes heading into the holidays.
Typically in the last quarter of the year, cargo carriers from container lines to parcel operators bulk up their profits on strong demand. But a range of measures of shipping demand across the U.S. are sliding, freight rates are falling as a result, leading carriers to pull back capacity amid concerns a deeper downturn is coming.
