Market conditions for shippers, according to FTR’s monthly ShippersConditions Index, skidded to an all-time low in April, FTR said lastweek, due to the industry’s capacity crunch and sky-high rates.
However,says FTR, conditions for shippers have likely bottomed out. Shipperscould see some relief in 2019, as fleets begin taking hold of truckorders placed in recent months. “Shippers facing significant increasesin rates for truck and rail intermodal movements have not yet seenrelief. However, record truck orders should begin hitting the market inthe second half of the year, and we are closely watching the driversituation, which will determine if shippers see improvements as thetrucks become available,” says Todd Tranausky, a senior transportationanalyst for FTR.
Shippers will continue dealing with record-highrates, though, at least into 2019, says FTR. Rates are forecasted toclimb 12 percent year over year in 2018 compared to 2017, and another 5percent in 2019.
FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index usually mirrorsthe group’s Trucking Conditions Index, meaning poorer conditions forshippers often translate to strong conditions for carriers.
Original article provided by:https://www.ccjdigital.com/conditions-for-shippers-tumble-to-all-time-low/
