Several regions across the U.S. are seeing a pickup in demand for freight transportation services, according to the Federal Reserve.

In its latest Beige Book report released Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said the freight transportation industry has reported gains in the Cleveland, Atlanta, Kansas City, Dallas, and Philadelphia districts. Boston, Minneapolis, and Dallas reported a pickup in demand for some consulting firms.

While freight transport executives in Cleveland said volumes are up, they expect the rate of volume growth to begin to moderate. One contact there was worried about the strength of consumer demand. Several others have tried to negotiate rate increases, with some success.

At the moment, fleets in Cleveland are buying equipment at replacement levels, but the need to replace equipment may grow toward the end of this year, as fleets age and demand picks up, the report said. However, many there said prices for tractors and trailers are rising.

In addition, Cleveland transportation executives are hiring for replacement purposes only, but they expect to add capacity soon as volumes grow.

In Atlanta, freight activity was higher on a year-over-year basis, due to increased shipments of motor vehicles, metals and chemicals, the report said.

Demand for transportation services improved in Dallas as well, with several contacts there noting increased cargo volumes across industry sectors. However, executives remained cautious about future demand.

One fleet owner in Dallas was offering signing bonuses for truck drivers, while a few other companies reported difficulty finding skilled workers, a sign of an upcoming driver shortage.

In Kansas City, growth in manufacturing activity eased slightly in June, while transportation reported solid growth in sales and activity. Transportation firms saw an increase in activity when compared to both the previous period and a year ago. Some firms continued to have difficulty finding qualified drivers, and most transportation firms plan to increase their capital spending the next six to 12 months.

Transportation executives in Philadelphia also reported increases in freight volume.