FTR Trucking Conditions Index sees slight gain

Slight signs of improvement in the trucking market were evident in the most recent edition of the Trucking Conditions Index issued by freight transportation consultancy FTR.

According to FTR, a TCI reading above zero represents an adequate trucking environment, with readings above 10 indicating that volumes, prices and margin are in a good range for carriers.

For July, the most recent month for which data is available, the TCI was -0.28, which came in ahead of June’s -0.82 and May and April’s -2.3 and -0.64, respectively.

FTR said that lower diesel prices offset the effects of lower capacity utilization, which drove the TCI into positive territory for the first time since January. Even with the shift into positive territory, with more positive readings expected over the next year, FTR described its outlook is for largely negative to neutral ratings over that period.

“Although it has become common to hear dire warnings about the state of the trucking industry, the truck freight market as a whole is hardly collapsing,” said Avery Vise, FTR vice president of trucking, in a statement. “Rapid cooling from last year’s extraordinarily strong market certainly has left many weak carriers exposed, but freight volume and rates are holding up reasonably well – certainly if viewed in a longer-term context. Still, most of the near-term risks to our outlook are on the downside.”