Trucking conditions remain difficult despite September improvement

Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023:

FTR's Trucking Conditions Index for September showed improvement over August, but it was still lower than the rest of the year prior to August.FTRFTR’s Trucking Conditions Index in September improved to -8.97 from -12.54 in August due mostly to more stable fuel prices and modestly stronger freight demand.

The firm noted, however, that market conditions remain quite tough for carriers, and the outlook is for consistently negative readings for the TCI into late 2024.

“The TCI was less negative in September principally because fuel costs did not rise as much as they did in August, but trucking companies saw no real improvement in freight market conditions,” he said. “Although carriers today are seeing some temporary relief due to the recent drop in diesel prices, freight rates look to improve only gradually over the next year.”

Vise added that the industry “continues to struggle with more capacity than is ideal given sluggish freight volume.”

Prospects of a near-term rebound are keeping many operations around or maintaining driver levels, “but that approach amounts to an increasingly high stakes game of chicken,” Vise concluded.

Mack Trucks has added two service partners to its Turnkey Solutions program.Mack TrucksMack Trucks announced Tuesday it has expanded its comprehensive Turnkey Solutions program for Mack battery-electric vehicle (BEV) customers with the addition of two new full-service partners, InCharge Energy and Blink Charging.