BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index remained close to neutral in April, declining to -0.6 from +0.1 in March.
“With the tariff-avoidance phase now over and geopolitical developments taking a higher profile, we expect more variability in freight market conditions for shippers than we have seen for 2025 so far,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking. “Certainly, fuel costs have been highly volatile recently, but freight dynamics also seem less predictable. Tariff policies are still up in the air, and the stimulative effects of the presumed enactment of a tax bill are unclear. Also, an apparent sharp rise in truckers’ insurance premiums could begin to affect capacity in addition to the newly heightened scrutiny over drivers’ English language skills that we have noted previously.”
Weaker freight volumes were a plus for shippers, but all other underlying SCI factors were less favorable than they were in March. The overall index has been close to neutral throughout 2025 even though index components have shifted notably.
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.
