European forwarders expect soft market

European forwarders expect soft market    Danske Bank is predicting that freight demand in Europe will slow in the coming months, according to the bank's freight forwarding index there.
   'The forward-looking element of Danske Bank’s proprietary European Freight Forwarding Index has fallen significantly, indicating that the ongoing recovery in the freight market could slow down in the coming months,' according to a note released by the bank.
   The bank said the '160 freight forwarders in its freight forwarding index were clearly giving a more negative picture about the future this month compared with last month. The index for expectations fell from 69 to 54. The index is still above 50, indicating expansion, but the drop in the index raised a ‘red flag.’ Even taking into account seasonality, the index seemed to show that freight forwarders were turning more negative.'