Truckload rates improve in September

September’s truckload rates grew 4.2 percent year-over-year, setting a new all-time high for the index, according to the latest Cass Truckload Linehaul Index report.    Truckload rates improved in September 2017 to a new all-time high for the index, according to the Cass Truckload Linehaul Index report.
   The Truckload Linehaul Index increased 4.2 percent year-over-year to a reading of 128.2, signaling that trucking is continuing to grow stronger and gaining momentum.
   Donald Broughton of Broughton Capital, which provides the index analysis for Cass, said that, “after showing year-over-year negatives for 13 months in a row, the Cass TL Linehaul Index has not only been positive now for six months, but the strength is accelerating. In just the last 90 days, Broughton’s independent pricing forecast has improved for 2017, from a range of -1 percent to 2 percent, to [the] current 2 percent to 4 percent, as the current strength being reported in spot rates is leading him to believe contract pricing rates should keep rates in positive territory through the end of the year.”
   The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index is an indicator of market fluctuations in per-mile truckload pricing. By isolating the linehaul components of full truckload costs from other components, such as fuel, the index providing a reflection of trends in baseline truckload prices using January 2005 as its base month.