CCJ’s Indicators rounds up the latest reports on trucking business indicators on rates, freight, equipment, the economy and more.
FTR chalks the low reading up to cheap rates and excess capacity. Coming regulations — such as an electronic logging device mandate and potential hours of service changes — could restrict capacity and put upward pressure on rates and the Trucking Conditions Index, FTR says.
FTR’s Jonathan Starks says the current environment for carriers is mostly neutral — neither favorable or bad. “[Carriers’] revenues are down across the board and that makes business operations more difficult, but freight levels are stabilizing and capacity-sapping regulations are coming down the pike, either this year or next,” he says.
The DOE pegs 2016’s price average at $2.36. It projects diesel to average $2.71 a gallon next year.