Truckload rates up for sixth straight month

Truckload pricing increased 3.7 percent year-over-year in August after similar increases in June and July, according the latest Cass Truckload Linehaul Index.    Truckload rates increased 3.7 percent in August 2015 compared to August 2014 following year-over-year increases of 3.6 percent in June and July, according to the latest Cass Truckload Linehaul Index.
   Transportation intelligence analyst Cass Information Systems Inc. attributed the continued the steady growth in rates, which have now increased in each of the last six months, to higher contract rates, which have been steadily integrated into the index over the course of the year.
   Year-over-year truckload rates in May, April and March grew 3.5 percent, 3.8 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively.
   Cass said it expects demand to continue to increase steadily throughout the rest of the year. Investment firm Avondale Partners said it expects “the decline in industrial freight flows, especially related to oil and gas exploration, to be more than offset by a stronger consumer backdrop.”
   Avondale Partners also lowered its prediction for linehaul rate increases for 2015 from between 4 percent and 9 percent to between 3.5 percent and 5.5 percent.
   The company gave several reasons for the downgrade, including the relaxation of the 34 hour restart rule, which now says drivers are no longer required to include two 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. rest periods; “significant pay increases,” which have allowed many carriers to decrease their unseated truck count thereby increasing capacity; slightly younger trucks in nation’s fleet, which has also increased capacity slightly since newer trucks require less maintenance and repair; and a “dramatic” decrease in the number of trucks in operation, which “has increased the pool of available drivers while decreasing the demand for industrial freight.”