Trucking Conditions Index

Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking, commented, “We expect the market to be favorable for carriers throughout our two-year forecast horizon, but the recovery appears to be stabilizing. For example, spot rates in July softened as seasonally expected even though fuel prices rose sharply – quite a different dynamic than what occurred in March. Even if spot rates have peaked, contract rates likely will continue to rise well into 2027. 

“To this point, the truck freight market’s strength is principally due to supply-side constraints – especially for dry van and refrigerated operations. An encouraging signal is the ongoing recovery in manufacturing demand, and consumer spending has been solid. Data center construction clearly has boosted flatbed especially. Concerns include slowing U.S. job growth, a persistently weak housing sector, and stubborn price inflation for both consumers and businesses. Although freight demand still doesn’t look that strong, we see little sign that trucking capacity will rise substantially in the near term.”