NEW YORK — As capacity continues to tighten in the U.S., truckload rates in certain markets are spiking faster than at anytime in the last two years.

According to a recent report in the Journal of Commerce, freight brokers and logistics were surprised with equipment shortages in some lanes in May as demand outpaced truck and trailer availability.

Rates in certain truckload markets are also increasing faster than expected — around 10 percent; and even more than double that in a few niche lanes, according to transport and logistics providers quoted in the JOC.

“In certain markets I’d put it as high as 30 percent," said Gail Rutkowski, president of Wabash Worldwide Logistics in Chicago. "In some markets you can’t even buy a truck."

With some markets sharply aloft, some larger providers are finally putting parked trucks back on the road.

"We’re hitting equipment utilization numbers that haven’t been seen in years," said Dave Rusch, president and CEO of Iowa-based CRST International.

With pricing power swinging back towards truckers, though, don’t expect most carriers to be adding too much capacity right away.