September 2015

Nov 13, 2015

Business conditions in September dropped decidedly from August – likely a reflection of increased inventories and softer freight volumes – down to 5.55 from 6.12. Respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units rated September a 5.61 (6.29 in August), compared to respondents from fleets with up to 100 power units which rated September a 5.42 (5.65 in August).
Correspondingly, only 21.2% of respondents said business was better in September than in August, while 49.4% said it was the same and 29.4% indicated it was worse. Respondents with more than 100 power units reported the least favorable month-over-month comparison with 32.2% saying September was worse than August. (Page 5)
Respondents are more optimistic about the near future. 31.8% of all respondents expect business conditions to be better in the next six months, adjusting for seasonality. However, that number is a sharp drop-off from last month’s survey (40.0%).
Overall, 29.4% of respondents plan to increase the size of their fleets in the next six months, including 33.9% of respondents with more than 100 power units and 19.2% of respondents with up to 100 power units. Only 3.5% of respondents indicated plans to decrease fleet size.
Freight volume (25.0 percent) continues its sharp upward trend in recent months as the second-biggest concern for respondents. Driver availability remains at the top of the list at 57.1 percent, but fell significantly from last month (66.7 percent).