Here are the key findings from the January 2017 CCJ MarketPulse survey:
- For the second consecutive month, carrier sentiment for business conditions fell from 5.68 in December to 5.56 in January. Respondents with up to 100 power units are more pessimistic, rating January at 5.17, while respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units rated January at 5.70, down from the 5.85 rating in December. (Page 4)
- Respondents reporting an improvement in month-over-month business conditions rose in January, with 43.7% saying it was better than December (50.0% of respondents from fleets with up to 100 power units and 41.5% of respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units). 16.9% of all respondents said January was worse than December. 66.2% of all respondents expect business conditions to improve over the next six months and only 1.4% expect it to worsen. (Page 5)
- 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. (Page 6)
- 37.7% of respondents with more than 100 power units plan to increase the size of their fleets in the next six months, compared to 27.7% of respondents with up to 100 power units. (Page 7)
- Driver availability held steady as the top concern for 50.7% of all respondents, followed by freight pricing (26.8%), freight volume (18.3%). Political climate in Washington fell off the list of top concerns for the first time in several years. (Pages 7 & 8)
Click here to download the January 2017 CCJ MarketPulse report.
