By Lisa Baertlein
LOS ANGELES, Oct 29 (Reuters) - US shippers in the third quarter paid the most to move freight since 2021, after soaring diesel prices due to the US and Israeli war on Iran and a reduction in available truck drivers following federal immigration crackdowns helped send rates higher, data from the US Bank Freight Payment Index released on Thursday showed.
• Shipper spending surged 32.1% from the third quarter last year on widespread cost pressure, the US Bank Freight Payment Index showed.
• Trucking rates increased after immigration enforcement actions reduced the number of drivers to haul domestic loads and hostilities with Iran sent the national diesel price above $6 per gallon.
• Spending was up in every region, led by the Southwest at 51.6%.
• "Outlays are rising much faster than freight volume," said Bob Costello, chief economist at the American Trucking Associations.
• National shipment volumes rose a scant 0.5% year over year.
• "Even where volumes are flat or declining, tighter capacity and higher operating costs are driving spending higher," said Bobby Holland, director of freight business analytics at US Bank.
(Reporting by Lisa BaertleinEditing by Keith Weir)