Truckload capacity tightens despite winter backlog clearing

   The Trucking Conditions Index from analyst FTR rose steeply in March, “reflecting the extremely tight capacity in the truckload sector.”
   The index rose more than a point, to 8.69, with FTR projecting that capacity will stay tight for the remainder of 2014.
   “There is a possibility for some relief of the tight truckload capacity over the next few months if freight growth slows as expected in the second quarter,” FTR said. “The stressed supply situation of today is caused, primarily, by regulatory drag on shipping capacity along with the winter disruptions.”
   The index is published in FTR’s monthly Trucking Update.
   “Truckers should be feeling much better now that they have finally been able to use the ever-tightening truck supply to get much needed rate gains,” said Jonathan Starks, FTR’s director of transportation analysis. “It looks like much of the supply-and-demand balance is coming back down to a more ‘normal’ level as shippers are finishing their spring freight season and the backlog of loads caused by the winter weather has largely subsided.
   “‘Normal’ remains a relative term since the industry continues to be operating at much higher levels of utilization than we have seen in the past,” Starks said. “Recent data shows a strong uptick in economic activity, but it will be hard to know if we are merely playing catch-up from a bad Q1 or if there is some real sustained growth occurring.”