VIEW CART (FTR’s January Shippers Conditions Index Reflects a Tough Capacity and Rate Environment with No Relief in Sight
03.30.18 | FTR
Tweet FTR is forecasting a tough year for shippers on capacity and rates, and their January Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) at -11.1 reflects the challenges they are facing entering into the new year. Rate growth year-over-year is expected to accelerate in Q2 before easing slightly in the second half of 2018. Full ELD compliance and a continuing driver shortage offer no real optimism for shippers. They will need to address freight transportation productivity, and their role in improving it, to counter the inevitable rising transportation costs associated with the current environment.
Click here to view the latest release and an interactive graph of the SCI>
Jonathan Starks, Chief Operating Officer at FTR, commented, “The relationship between carriers and shippers tends to swing on a pendulum - with freight demand high and capacity tight, carriers are benefiting. Numerous companies are announcing that domestic freight costs are at record levels. Since carriers currently hold such a strong position, shippers need to be hyper-focused on their relationships with carriers.”
Avery Vise, Vice President of Trucking Research, added, “We are beginning to see the implementation, by both shippers and carriers, of the productivity enhancements that we have been expecting to happen. The elevated rate environment is not expected to be a short-lived event and continued progress will be necessary. There seems to be no single solution, and we are seeing many different routes to addressing the tight capacity environment, from changing driver requirements to increased driving school enrollment to increasing detention payments.”
For more information about how to subscribe to the Shippers Update, send an e-mail to [email protected] or call Helen Lile at (888) 988-1699 ext. 1 and follow us on Twitter @FTRintel.
The Shippers Update, launched by FTR during 2010 as a part of the firm’s Freight Focus, looks at conditions that will affect the cost and efficiency of shipping goods via all transportation modes. North American shippers will find in one reference the essential information they need on freight volumes, equipment capacity and transport costs and rates.
The Shippers Update has both history and forecasts for four modal options: truckload, less-than-truckload, intermodal and rail carload. The analysis includes the breakdown of total truck and rail volumes into major commodity segments. It also provides historical snapshots of inland water and air freight markets. The freight data is augmented by an abundant collection of supporting data covering macro-economics and the fuel market.
Click here to view a sample report >
About FTR
For more than two decades, FTR has been the thought leader in freight transportation forecasting in North America. The company’s national award-winning forecasters collect and analyze all data likely to impact freight movement, issuing consistently reliable reports for trucking, rail, and intermodal transportation, as well as providing demand analysis for commercial vehicle and railcar. FTR’s forecasting and specially designed reports have resulted in advanced planning and cost-savings for companies throughout the transportation sector.
Todd Tranausky, Senior Research Analyst at FTR, commented, “Shippers should be flocking to rail carload and intermodal solutions, given the tight trucking market. But so far, the data has not shown that to be true. Intermodal volumes are growing but are limited by constraints of equipment and service levels. Carload volumes, however, are still below 2017 levels through the first 11 weeks of the year. This unwillingness to convert traffic only exacerbates the truck capacity situation.”
For more information about how to subscribe to the Shippers Update, send an e-mail to [email protected] or call Helen Lile at (888) 988-1699 ext. 1 and follow us on Twitter @FTRintel.
The Shippers Update, launched by FTR during 2010 as a part of the firm’s Freight Focus, looks at conditions that will affect the cost and efficiency of shipping goods via all transportation modes. North American shippers will find in one reference the essential information they need on freight volumes, equipment capacity and transport costs and rates.The Shippers Update has both history and forecasts for four modal options: truckload, less-than-truckload, intermodal and rail carload. The analysis includes the breakdown of total truck and rail volumes into major commodity segments. It also provides historical snapshots of inland water and air freight markets. The freight data is augmented by an abundant collection of supporting data covering macro-economics and the fuel market.
Click here to view a sample report >
About FTR
For more than two decades, FTR has been the thought leader in freight transportation forecasting in North America. The company’s national award-winning forecasters collect and analyze all data likely to impact freight movement, issuing consistently reliable reports for trucking, rail, and intermodal transportation, as well as providing demand analysis for commercial vehicle and railcar. FTR’s forecasting and specially designed reports have resulted in advanced planning and cost-savings for companies throughout the transportation sector.
Graphs
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Shippers Conditions Index
03.12.21
Preliminary Trailer Orders
03.05.21
Trucking Conditions Index
03.02.21
Preliminary N.A. Class 8 Net Orders
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