Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023:
A slight improvement in carriers' conditions in December was driven by a sharp decline in diesel prices, FTR reported.FTR
Changes in all freight-related TCI components – freight volume, capacity utilization, and freight rates – were unfavorable for carriers in December. The rates component was the most negative it had been since May 2020.
The outlook is for mostly similar TCI readings through 2023 with no positive readings expected until late 2024. “Our forecasts indicate continued deterioration in overall market conditions for trucking companies, but uncertainly is still surprisingly high considering that we are nearly three years past the pandemic-induced contraction,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking. “Even as record numbers of small for-hire carriers exit the market, payroll job growth in trucking continues to rise, suggesting that overall driver capacity is not falling much – if at all – so far.”
Vise added that while that trend looks good in the near term, “it could limit carriers’ margin gains in the next upturn.”
Freight rates, Vise noted, are weakening, but contract rates remain “significantly higher than the peak of the last cycle. Carriers’ ability to manage costs always is key to profitability but perhaps never more so than now.”
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) on Wednesday launched a survey seeking motor carrier input on the impact of marijuana legalization on the trucking industry’s workforce.
