Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023:
FTR forecasts its Trucking Conditions Index will likely remain negative until late 2024.FTR
October’s -11.16 TCI reading had been the weakest since the April 2020 contraction. The only positive contribution to the November index was freight volume, FTR said, but all other index factors were less negative than in October aside from freight rates, which were the most negative since May 2020.
“The outlook for trucking conditions has changed little, and we still do not forecast any positive readings for the Trucking Conditions Index until late 2024,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking. “The recent deceleration in consumer inflation certainly is a positive development, but we do not anticipate that it will lead to any meaningful increase in consumption.”
Vise added that the industrial sector is still slow and that increased output in the automotive sector “remains an upside possibility but only if vehicle sales improve and the supply chain remains stable.”
Additionally, slowing job growth and new authorities in trucking, “coupled with a surge in carrier failures likely mean the industry is starting to lose driver capacity,” Vise noted. “If so, market conditions for carriers might outperform our current outlook starting late this year as capacity could prove tighter than reflected in our forecast, potentially leading to stronger rates.”
The eCascadia is the first of nearly 100 Schneider will receive from Daimler Truck North America.Schneider
