Here are the key findings from the October 2016 CCJ MarketPulse survey:
- Carrier sentiment for business conditions in October held steady from September at 5.61 (5.60 in September). Respondents from fleets with up to 100 power units were slightly more positive about October (5.75) than respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units (5.55).
- Only 13.8% of all respondents said month-over-month business conditions were worse in October, compared to 23.8% reported in last month’s survey. 32.4% of all respondents said October was better than September, including 41.7% of respondents from fleets with up to 100 power units and 28.6% of respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units. 43.8% of all respondents indicated business in October 2016 was worse than October 2015, and 41.3% expect business conditions to improve over the next six months compared to only 12.5% who expect it to worsen.
- 66.7% of respondents from fleets with up to 100 power units and 33.9% of respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units plan to add full-time employees in the next six months, while 27.5% of all respondents plan to add independent contractors.
- 29.2% of respondents with more than 100 power units plan to increase the size of their fleets in the next six months, compared to 30.4% of respondents with up to 100 power units.
- Driver availability (41.6%, up from 38.0% in last month’s survey), freight volume (27.3%), freight pricing (22.1%) and political climate in Washington (2.6%) round out the list of carriers’ top concerns.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE OCTOBER 2016 CCJ MARKETPULSE REPORT
