BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index jumped to 11.6 in April, which is the strongest reading for the index in more than four years.
“While surging fuel costs in the past couple of months obviously created cash flow crunches for many operations, tight capacity and surging freight rates are more than offsetting that challenge, broadly speaking,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking.
Full Costs Still a Negative
Fuel costs again were a negative for the TCI although a far smaller one than in March, which registered a TCI reading of -1.1. All key market factors were more favorable for carriers in April than they were in March. Freight rates and capacity utilization were by far the largest contributors.
“For the overall market, the missing element needed to continue the acceleration in market conditions is freight volume, which is growing but not especially strongly,” Vise said. “The demand picture varies quite substantially by sector, however. For example, flatbed operations are benefiting both from capacity constraints and strong freight volume, which appears to be tied to a combination of data center construction and a recent modest recovery in manufacturing activity. We expect overall trucking conditions to peak this summer, but our TCI forecast remains solidly favorable for carriers over the two-year forecast horizon.”
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.
