BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The market remains generally unfavorable for trucking, according to FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index for June. The index fell to -6.29 from the previous -3.75, reflecting modestly weaker market conditions for carriers.
Freight rates were slightly less negative in June, but all other key factors deteriorated. June’s TCI reading was the most negative since November, according to a statement released by FTR.
“Based on our assessment, for-hire trucking companies have already faced the longest period of consistently unfavorable market conditions since the Great Recession,” said Avery Vise, vice president of trucking at FTR.
“We expect negative TCI readings to continue for nearly a year longer, and little, if any, improvement until early 2024,” he continued. “As we have noted before, the challenges are not uniform as the current market is hitting small carriers much harder than larger ones, especially considering the recent upturn in diesel prices.”
Details of the June TCI can be found in the August 2023 issue of FTR’s Trucking Update. The August edition includes an initial assessment of what Yellow’s demise could mean for LTL rates and additional commentary analyzing the potential for a truck pre-buy before 2027. The Trucking Update includes data and analysis on load volumes, the capacity environment, rates, and the economy.
The TCI tracks the changes representing five major conditions in the U.S. truck market — freight volumes, freight rates, fleet capacity, fuel prices and financing costs.
Linda Garner-Bunch has been in publishing for more than 30 years. You name it, Linda has written about it. She has served as an editor for a group of national do-it-yourself publications and has coordinated the real estate section of Arkansas’ only statewide newspaper, in addition to working on a variety of niche publications ranging from bridal magazines to high-school sports previews and everything in between. She is also an experienced photographer and copy editor who enjoys telling the stories of the “Knights of the Highway,” as she calls our nation’s truck drivers.
