The February Cass Freight Index shows a mixed freight environment, with shipment volumes stabilizing after recent disruptions and truckload rates continuing to firm.
“Shipments fell 7.1% y/y but rose 10.4% m/m as weather related impacts eased,” Cass said. “Seasonally adjusted shipments increased 4.3% m/m, recovering much of the decline from the prior two months. Total freight expenditures increased 5.1% m/m and 2.1% y/y. Truckload linehaul rates hit a new cycle high, rising 0.2% m/m and 2.2% y/y.”
Cass Freight Index — Shipments
The shipments component of the Cass Freight Index fell 7.1% y/y but rose 10.4% m/m in February.
- In seasonally adjusted (SA) terms, shipments rose 4.3% m/m, recovering much of the weather disruptions of the past two months.
The normal seasonal trend would put the shipments component of the Cass Freight Index down 5% y/y in March.
Cass Freight Index — Expenditures
“The expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index, which measures the total amount spent on freight, rose 5.1% m/m in February,” Cass said. “Expenditures were up 2.1% from the year-ago level in February, after a 0.6% y/y gain in January.”
While shipment declines continue, the year over year increase in expenditures was driven by higher rates.
- In SA terms, the index rose 0.3% m/m in February, after a 0.4% m/m increase in January.
The expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index, after a record 38% surge in 2021 and another 23% increase in 2022, fell 19% in 2023 and 11% in 2024. In 2025, the index declined by 0.5%.
Cass Truckload Linehaul Index
“The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index rose 0.2% m/m in February, after a 1.7% increase in January,” Cass said.
- Rates slowed to 2.2% y/y in February, from 3.2% in January, but accelerated to a 4.1% increase over two years ago, a new cycle high on the two-year stacked change.
- Warmer weather could lead to some slowdown, but spot capacity remains tight in early March, positioning trucking rates to accelerate.
- With volumes still soft around the industry, supply constraints are supporting higher rates. These constraints are not just weather, but equipment and increasingly drivers.
- This index reflects the whole for-hire market, both spot and contract rates.
The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index fell 10% in 2023, another 3.4% in 2024, and turned up to a 1.8% increase in 2025.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
