CCJ‘s Indicators rounds up the latest reports on trucking business indicators on rates, freight, equipment, the economy and more.
After faltering in September and October, market conditions for trucking companies improved in November, according to FTR’s monthly Trucking Conditions Index. FTR attributes the rebound to stability in rates and to cheaper diesel.
November’s index reading was “basically unchanged” from November 2017, said FTR.
Avery Vise, an analyst at FTR and the company’s vice president of trucking, says the index should remain stable the first few months of 2019, but that the second half of the year will be “noticeably weaker.”
“At this point we expect trucking conditions still to be slightly positive by the end of the year, although the downside risks clearly seem greater than the upside,” he said.
