CCJ MarketPulse – April 2017

Here are the key findings from the April 2017 CCJ MarketPulse survey:

  • Carrier sentiment for business conditions was 5.89, rebounding from a 2017 low of 5.35 in February (5.81 in March). Respondents with up to 100 power units rated April at 5.48, while respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units rated April at 6.06.
  • After strong numbers in March, respondents reporting an improvement in month-over-month business conditions leveled out somewhat in April, with 37.0% saying it was better than March (63% of respondents in last month’s survey said business in March was better than February). Survey respondents are optimistic about business conditions in the next six months, with 67.1% forecasting improvement (73.1% of those with more than 100 power units and 52.4% of those with up to 100 power units). No survey respondents believe business conditions will worsen in the same time frame.
  • 61.1% of respondents from fleets with up to 100 power units and 49.1% of respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units plan to add full-time employees in the next six months, while 43.7% of all respondents plan to maintain current employment levels.
  • 42.3% of respondents with more than 100 power units plan to increase the size of their fleets in the next six months, compared to 19.0% of respondents with up to 100 power units.
  • Driver availability is still the top concern for 49.3% of all respondents, followed by freight pricing (28.2%) and freight volume (15.53%). Cost of labor cracked the list of top four concerns at 4.2%.

Click here to download the April 2017 CCJ MarketPulse report.