Cass Truckload Linehaul Index up in November

For those looking for another sign of the economic recovery, the November Cass Truckload Linehaul Index, up 6.7% year over year, provides another clue.

Squeezed capacity and steadily improving demand, spurred by strong industrial production and unprecedented levels of port congestion, continue to drive truckload linehaul costs up for the near term.

According to Avondale Partners, “We would point out that contract pricing (which applies to 95+% of the public carriers’ freight) has been accelerating of late after a drawn out bid season. As a result, although spot market pricing has decelerated somewhat (it remains strong), we are not surprised to see our index continue to post mid-to-high single digit gains and we expect this to continue through 4Q’14.”

He added that he expects contract TL pricing to rise 4-6% in 2015, with the higher end looking increasingly likely.

The Cass Intermodal Price Index rose 3.1% year over year in November, which was a slight drop from October’s costs. This year over year growth has slowed slightly from the 3.9% increase in October but still demonstrates a trend towards continued increases into 2015.

Category: Featured, General Update