Conditions in the truckload freight market weakened slightly in June but stayed positive, showing that core freight dynamics improved for trucking companies during the month, according to a report from transportation analysis firm FTR.
That conclusion comes as FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index for June stayed in positive territory in June, although it weakened to 0.95 from May’s 2.24 reading.
The report predicted a general improvement in market conditions for carriers, but Bloomington, Indiana-based FTR warned that its index could see both positive and negative readings in the coming months before turning consistently positive by the end of this year.
“Today’s market might feel as weak as it has been, but we continue to see a growing foundation for a recovery in financial conditions for trucking companies,” Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking, said in a release. “Strengthening capacity utilization sets the stage for firmer freight rates starting late this year and accelerating somewhat in 2025. Although nothing approaching the likes of 2021 is on the horizon, carriers should be seeing considerably more favorable conditions by next spring.”
FTR’s index tracks the changes representing five major conditions in the U.S. truck market: freight volumes, freight rates, fleet capacity, fuel prices, and financing costs. Combined into a single index number, a positive score represents good, optimistic conditions, while a negative score shows the opposite.
