Shippers Conditions Index

FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index Improves in September to 2024’s Strongest Level

FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index improved in September to 4.6 from the 2.9 reading in August due to lower fuel costs, looser capacity and lower freight rates. The SCI was at its strongest level of the year in September, but FTR still expects readings to be weaker and closer to neutral through the two-year forecast period.

Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking, commented, “The fact that September’s index is the strongest since last December is not a sign that shippers’ market conditions are steadily improving. September and May were modest outliers this year in a market that is at least becoming more balanced. We expect that trend to continue and for SCI readings to be mostly negative to neutral in 2025 and 2026. However, markets in transition tend to be volatile, so further outliers are likely and possibly in both directions. The supply chain implications of tariffs are a wild card for 2025 especially.”

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This index represents four major conditions in the U.S. full-load freight market. These metrics are combined into a single index that tracks the market conditions that influence a shipper's freight transportation environment.

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FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index Improves in September to 2024’s Strongest Level