Elevated fuel costs: The Middle East conflict drives oil prices higher, directly impacting the operational costs for trucking companies like Covenant Logistics Group, squeezing profit margins.

Soft freight market and excess capacity: Global growth forecast downgrades and persistent volume weakness in the trucking sector lead to weak truckload spot rates and oversupply of capacity.

General economic slowdown and industrial demand: Broader economic concerns, including potential stagflation fears and reduced industrial demand, negatively affect the overall volume of freight being transported.