Tank Transport: uneven US milk growth strains tanker capacity
US milk production has risen as dairy herds have expanded and yields per cow have improved. But the geographic distribution of that growth has created different operating conditions for hauliers, according to Tank Transport’s analysis of recent USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service data. In September 2026, Kansas produced 14.7% more milk than a year earlier, an increase of 63 million pounds. Wisconsin’s output rose by 88 million pounds from a larger production base, while South Dakota recorded growth of 7.9%.
California’s production was almost unchanged, increasing by 0.03%, while Arizona’s fell by 4.9%. Tank Transport described a mismatch between the location of available transport equipment and demand for collections. Areas with rapidly expanding output require more insulated, stainless-steel milk tankers, while falling production elsewhere can leave regional fleets with unused capacity. Carriers must accommodate these differences through collection routes and delivery arrangements.
Greater regional production also does not necessarily mean more milk is available for additional processing orders. USDA Dairy Market News reported that cheesemakers in the Central region faced limited supplies on the spot market as commitments for Class I drinking milk and Class IV butter and powder absorbed local supplies. Redirecting a tanker requires commercial arrangements to be in place and a confirmed appointment at the destination. Labour shortages and processing limitations at Grade A receiving stations and manufacturing facilities can leave vehicles waiting several hours before unloading.
Those waits reduce the number of trips a fleet can complete. Longer journeys to alternative processing sites also consume time within drivers’ regulated working hours. According to the analysis, the combination of extended travel and unloading queues reduces usable transport capacity and raises carriers’ operating costs. Operators are also dealing with fluctuating diesel prices, rising insurance premiums and the maintenance requirements of specialist tank trailers. Higher milk production therefore operates alongside constraints on how frequently existing vehicles can collect and deliver loads.
Central-region spot milk prices have reached a premium of $4 per hundredweight above Class III. Transport economists cited in the analysis attributed such premiums to processors competing for milk components; they did not identify them as an increase in hauliers’ freight margins. Tank Transport identified revenue from completed routes and measures of vehicle turnaround as indicators for assessing carriers’ operating position alongside production figures.
With new processing facilities coming into operation heading into 2027, the analysis called for closer coordination among dairy cooperatives, privately owned processors and freight operators. Its proposed measures included more flexible plant receiving timetables, better dispatch planning and freight-rate arrangements that account for transport operations.
