CCJ‘s Indicators rounds up the latest reports on trucking business indicators on rates, freight, equipment, the economy and more.
“FTR is confident that trucking conditions are nearing an inflection point toward the position,” FTR noted in its announcement for December’s TCI.
FTR Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Starks says the coming compliance date for the federal electronic logging device mandate is expected to remain in place. As more carriers adopt ELDs ahead of the mandate, capacity could tighten, Starks says. However, uncertainty in Washington over potential renegotiations of trade deals with Mexico and Canada could create “stress throughout the supply chain,” he says.
“There is potential for some very significant changes coming from tariffs and taxes,” Starks says. “After working on creating a North American supply chain over the last 25 years, anything that significantly restricts trade flows between two of our biggest trading partners will create stress throughout the supply chain.”
Freight in December grew 1 percent from November, the DOT reports. Freight in the fourth quarter grew 2.9 percent from the previous quarter and 2.9 percent on the year.