Freight transportation analysis firm FTR is reporting that the truck freight environment was mediocre in August and was likely to stay that way through 2020.
August data from ACT Research's For-Hire Trucking Index show a pull back from July’s surprising and anomalous surge and a forecast for continued negative conditions until 2020.
FTR’s revised Trucking Conditions Index showed significant improvement for the month of June thanks to strengthening freight demand and lower fuel prices, but other factors are likely to keep things subdued through the rest of the year.
In yet another sign the economy may be cooling off, ACT Research said its most recent findings indicate a "significant" correction is looming for the North American Class 8 truck market.
FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index fell to a reading of 3.17 in October, more than one point lower than the previous month’s number.
Freight softened in August and September, according to the American Trucking Associations' monthly Truck Tonnage Index, but tonnage was still up for the third quarter.
FTR’s August Trucking Conditions Index found that although there was some drop off in activity from the previous month, the business environment for fleets remains generally favorable.
At the FTR Transportation Conference, speaker after speaker attempted to capture just how hard-galloping the economy is and the positive if head-spinning impact that is having on the market for moving freight.
The trucking industry is seeing the best economic climate since deregulation, according to Bob Costello, chief economist and senior vice president of the American Trucking Associations.
The ATA Freight Transportation Forecast is projecting steadily increasing freight tonnage overall and for the trucking industry for the next ten years.