Ty Schroeder's 2026 Freight Forecast

Although the industry’s outlook may seem bleak, reactions vary, Ty Schroeder, Account Specialist at BBI Logistics, expresses a more cautious—rather than optimistic—view.

He shared his market predictions, the formula for growing a brokerage from 50 to 300 employees in under 5 years, strategies for combating cargo theft, and much more.

Ty’s journey began in 2015, shortly after college, when he spent a year at TQL. He then took a brief detour into mortgages for about four years.

So why come back to logistics? A friend who worked at the company suggested he join their team. Being one of the first 50 employees, Ty felt like he was truly a part of something growing, something special– and he still feels the same way.

Over the past five years at BBI, Ty has observed the formula for building a successful brokerage.

“If you continue to hire the right people, train them correctly and spend an adequate amount of time with each employee – and pay them well – I feel like it’s a recipe for success.”

When asked about AI and its role at BBI, Ty can confidently say that the company is doing everything to adapt to the times.  

In his opinion, while AI can’t replace the human touch that defines personal relationships in logistics, it can serve as a “helping hand” to enhance it.

“I think it always comes to a tipping point where things do have to change, but I see the truth somewhere in the middle, where it’s not going to overtake everything, but it will be a part of our new reality."

Looking ahead, Ty predicts the market will remain tight, if not more, than it has been. Finding trucks may be a challenge, but he sees benefits—customers paying more for freight can help ensure loads aren’t stolen. 

Despite current market challenges, he remains optimistic about a rebound within the next two years:

“Within any market in the world that has ever happened in history, it’s always rebounded. There’s been times where it’s been down maybe for a year, five, ten years, but at some point it’s going to happen.”

Cargo theft is another challenge BBI takes seriously. Ty admits the company has been a victim but emphasizes learning from mistakes and training as key defenses.

“Learning where we went wrong and how to improve from that, as well as training and retraining people that have been here for a couple years, installs it in the minds of the new hires that it doesn’t matter to make a little bit more margin each load if you’re going to get your load stolen.”

While we can expect the market to rebound within the next two years, Ty doesn't have the best outlook regarding the economy.

"I hate to be pessimistic, but at the same time, I don’t see the overall U.S. economy growing significantly, where it would cause an influx of so many shipments where we’re paying a lot of money and need a lot more trucking companies on the road. I think it’s going to be a tough next year and a half to two years.”

While the general outlook is bleak, Ty Shroader isn’t losing hope – and neither should you.