This month, we introduce a new feature in Commercial Carrier Journal: the CCJ Equipment Demand Index. Based on equipment searches performed by TransCore customers, the index shows the top 15 states in terms of demand for trucks in the spot market in the three largest industry segments: dry vans, flatbeds and refrigerated units. Given the size of TransCore’s customer base, we believe the index is a sound proxy for equipment demand in the overall spot market.
The index is intended to help identify the most promising opportunities for future backhaul and spot-market freight. This month’s index, for example, ranks equipment searches for
February 2002. We also provide previous years’ rankings to help provide a more complete picture. Given seasonal changes in demand throughout the country, we believe this approach gives a fleet manager a good idea of where to position available equipment to reduce empty miles or command a better backhaul rate in the coming month.
The current index shows Illinois as the clear leader for the month of February in the demand for both dry van and refrigerated equipment. Ohio is the clear leader in flatbeds, and a perennial second place in vans.
We hope that the CCJ Equipment Demand Index offers useful information to over-the-road carriers in their load planning. CCJ welcomes your feedback at [email protected].
