FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index Falls Sharply Again in June to Near Neutral Reading
Spot tightness in the trucking market and surging domestic intermodal volumes put downward pressure on the index
After two historic months, FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index weakened markedly in June’s reading of 1.03, down from 24.8 in May. The key shift m/m was in capacity utilization which had been a strong positive in May but was the only negative factor in June. Rates remained a positive contributor to the June SCI but a much smaller one than in May. FTR’s current outlook is for stronger conditions with SCI readings in the mid-to-high single digits through the rest of 2020.
Todd Tranausky, vice president of rail and intermodal at FTR, commented, “Spot tightness in the trucking market and surging domestic intermodal volumes put downward pressure on the index. Through the balance of the year, uncertainty remains high, but FTR expects a positive environment for shippers through the end of 2020.”
The August issue of FTR’s Shippers Update, published August 7th, details the factors affecting the June Shippers Conditions Index and provides the forecast for this index through June of 2021. The additional commentary in this report looks at some of the barriers to restoring trucking capacity, especially driver supply.
The Shippers Conditions Index tracks the changes representing four major conditions in the U.S. full-load freight market. These conditions are: freight demand, freight rates, fleet capacity, and fuel price. The individual metrics are combined into a single index that tracks the market conditions that influence the shippers’ freight transport environment. A positive score represents good, optimistic conditions. A negative score represents bad, pessimistic conditions. The index tells you the industry’s health at a glance.
FTR tracks and forecasts 200+ unique commodity groups both quarterly and annually using their proprietary Freight•cast™ freight forecasting model.
Category: Driver Stuff, Equipment, Featured, General Update, Management, News
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