Record-breaking rise in fleet businesses rushing to prioritize growth

New data from Tech.co has revealed a recent record-breaking rise in US fleet businesses rushing to prioritize growth strategies in March.

Growth strategy rapidly spikes in March

Tech.co has been tracking growth and stability within the logistics industry since May 2025, monitoring how businesses are trying to both maintain stability and expand.

The ‘US Logistics Growth Stability Index’ reached its highest figure (1.3) in March 2026, highlighting a spike in prioritizing growth and stability. This is the highest figure recorded by Tech.co since May 2025.

This score has risen rapidly from its lowest in February (0.8), to its highest in March (1.3), highlighting an immediate need to diversify and expand business across the US logistics industry.

Fleet companies are implementing growth strategies at a rate Tech.co’s data has never witnessed before.

Tech & recruitment are top growth strategies

A recent survey by Tech.co also found a two percentage point increase in US fleet businesses prioritizing new technology adoption (rising from 17% in February to 19% in March).

This places ‘adopting new technology’ as the top priority for US fleet businesses in March.

The second-highest priority for US fleet businesses is retention and recruitment. A gradual increase since January makes it the second common priority (18%) however, this is solely due to the increase in recruitment efforts.

What’s causing a spike in growth strategy?

• High freight demand: High levels of freight could be driving companies to expand their workforce and recruit more drivers to keep freight moving. Tech.co’s ‘Freight Demand Index’ found that 83% of US fleet businesses had a moderate to high level of freight to haul in March.
• Lower operational pressure: Lower operational pressure could be leaving time for business leaders to move away from optimization and focus instead on growth. Tech.co’s ‘Operational Pressure Index’ score saw a sharp drop from its peak score in February (44) to its second lowest score in March (37).
• Regulatory concerns for drivers: Regulatory concerns surrounding foreign drivers as the government bans them from having commercial driver’s licenses could be fuelling a need to hire more drivers and retain current staff.
• Volatile fuel costs: Tech.co’s findings show a 10 percentage-point rise in fuel card adoption from 9% in February to 19% in March. This is likely due to a recent increase in diesel prices, which could be pushing companies to take control of their fuel costs by expanding their current fuel card adoption.

For a potentially similar reason, an increase of 10 percentage-points was also seen in route optimization adoption, possibly due to its 20%-30% reduction in fuel costs.

Tech.co’s Editor, Jack Turner, comments: “The logistics industry has been travelling along a troublesome path over the past year, and Tech.co's latest survey findings reflect the moves that it is making to mitigate this challenging period. From adopting new technology to addressing recruitment woes, the industry is not standing still, but being forced to adapt quickly or face the consequences.”

The State of U.S. Logistics in March 2026:

(according to Tech.co’s March Logistics Pulse Index*)

• Growth vs. Stability Stance: High
• Operational Pressure Score: Medium
• Freight Demand Levels: Medium