The CCJ MarketPulse is a short survey of 200 for-hire fleet executives. Its purpose is to gauge fleet sentiment regarding monthly business conditions and concerns as well as hiring and purchasing plans. Here are the key findings from the August 2016 CCJ MarketPulse survey:
- Carrier sentiment for business conditions in August rose from July, up to 5.5 from 5.2. Respondents from both groups were more positive about August compared to July, with respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units rating August at 5.6 (5.2 in July), and respondents from fleets with up to 100 power units rating August at 5.3 (5.1 in July).
- Only 14.7% of all respondents said month-over-month business conditions were worse in August, compared to 38.9% reported in last month’s survey. 34.6% of all respondents said August was better than July: 25% of respondents from fleets with up to 100 power units and 39.3% of respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units. 56% of all respondents indicated business in August 2016 was worse than August 2015, and 29.3% expect business conditions to improve over the next six months compared to 14.7% who expect it to worsen.
- 50% of respondents from fleets with up to 100 power units and 41.7% of respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units plan to add full-time employees in the next six months, while 28% plan to add independent contractors.
- 35.3% of respondents with more than 100 power units plan to increase the size of their fleets in the next six months, compared to 25% of respondents with up to 100 power units.
- Driver availability (41.4%, up from 32.4% in last month’s survey), freight volume (29.3%), freight pricing (21.3%) and regulations (4.0%) remain carriers’ top concerns.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE AUGUST 2016 CCJ MARKETPULSE REPORT
