Trucking Conditions Index for July Improved to a Reading Above Neutral

The truck freight market as a whole is hardly collapsing

FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index for July improved slightly to a just above neutral reading of 0.28.  Lower diesel prices offset the effects of lower capacity utilization pushing the reading into positive territory for the first time since January. Although some positive readings are possible over the next year, the outlook is for primarily negative to neutral readings throughout the time frame. 
 
Details of the TCI for July are found in the September t issue of FTR’s Trucking Update, published August 30. The ‘Notes by the Dashboard Light’ section issues readers a warning about the possibility for slower growth ahead. 
 
Along with the TCI and ‘Notes by the Dashboard Light,’ the Trucking Update includes data and analysis on load volumes, the capacity environment, rates, costs, and the truck driver situation.
 
Avery Vise, vice president of trucking, commented, “Although it has become common to hear dire warnings about the state of the trucking industry, the truck freight market as a whole is hardly collapsing. Rapid cooling from last year’s extraordinarily strong market certainly has left many weak carriers exposed, but freight volume and rates are holding up reasonably well – certainly if viewed in a longer-term context. Still, most of the near-term risks to our outlook are on the downside.”
 
The TCI tracks the changes representing five major conditions in the U.S. truck market. These conditions are: freight volumes, freight rates, fleet capacity, fuel price, and financing. The individual metrics are combined into a single index indicating the industry’s overall health. A positive score represents good, optimistic conditions. Conversely, a negative score represents bad, pessimistic conditions. Readings near zero are consistent with a neutral operating environment, and double-digit readings (up or down) suggest significant operating changes are likely.

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