FTR's Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) jumped into positive territory again for October, springing to 4.3 from September's 0.35.
The company says the most significant improvement in factors it follows was a reversal of a spike in diesel prices, but the whole picture was also at least marginally more favorable in October.
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"Overall market conditions for shippers in October as measured by the SCI were the most favorable since June, but swings in fuel costs largely have been the variable month-to-month," says Avery Vise, FTR's vice president of trucking. "Key freight dynamics — rates, utilization and volume — have been mostly stable over the past several months and look to be so for at least a few months of 2024. After the boosts from falling diesel prices in November and December 2023, we expect market conditions for shippers to soften gradually, but we do not foresee significantly negative conditions during the forecast horizon."
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The SCI tracks changes representing four major conditions in the U.S. full-load freight market, including demand, rates, fleet capacity and fuel price. Individual metrics are combined into a single index that tracks the market conditions that influence shippers' freight transport environment. A positive score, as reported in September and October, represents good, optimistic conditions. A negative score represents bad, pessimistic conditions.
