Bloomington, Ind. — FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index for April dipped into negative territory, declining to a reading of -0.81 from 0.28 in March.
“Tariffs and supply chain moves to minimize them have distorted freight market dynamics even though the overall TCI implied essentially neutral trucking conditions in February through April,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking. “As we finalize data for May and beyond, those factors and swings in diesel prices are likely to expose the true instability in the freight market. Meanwhile, developments such as rapidly rising truck insurance premiums and, plausibly, tighter scrutiny over truck drivers’ English language skills could serve to tighten capacity in the coming months. Uncertainty over the market’s direction remains quite high.”
According to FTR, although overall market conditions changed only marginally, the underlying factors shifted greatly. Freight rates were still technically a negative contribution within FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index, but they improved sharply versus March. Freight volume swung from the largest positive of all factors in March to the largest negative in April.
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.
