Truckload rate growth slows in December

Truckload pricing grew just 1.1 percent for the month compared to December 2014, the tenth consecutive monthly increase, according the latest Cass Truckload Linehaul Index.    Truckload rates increased 1.1 percent in December 2015 compared to the previous year following a year-over-year increase of 1.6 percent in November, according to the latest Cass Truckload Linehaul Index.
   Transportation intelligence analyst Cass Information Systems Inc. has previously attributed the continued the steady growth in rates, which have now increased in each of the last ten months, to higher contract rates, which have been steadily integrated into the index over the course of the year.
   Year-over-year truckload rates grew 1.9 percent in October, 3.2 percent in September, 3.7 percent in August, 3.6 percent in July and June, 3.5 percent in May, 3.8 percent in April, and 5.1 percent in March.
   Investment firm Avondale Partners reiterated its “tempered” pricing forecast for 2016 between 1 percent and 3 percent due to softening demand and more available capacity in the truckload market.
   Avondale also noted a current negative imbalance between truckload spot rates and contract pricing. Because contract pricing traditionally has followed the direction of the spot market, which hasn’t decreased since 2009, “current spot market weakness has lasted long enough to begin to be troubling,” the firm said.