Truckload rates see modest growth in November

Truckload pricing grew 1.6 percent for the month compared to November 2014, the ninth consecutive monthly increase, according the latest Cass Truckload Linehaul Index.    Truckload rates increased 1.6 percent in November 2015 compared to the previous year following a year-over-year increase of 1.9 percent in October, 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 nine 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 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.
   Although Avondale expects contract rate increases to continue to filter into the Cass Truckload Linehaul Index, it noted “several factors contributing to an increase in overall capacity…including carrier pay increases, suspension of the 34-hour restart rule, and a decrease in carrier bankruptcies.”
   A significant increase in truckload capacity could potentially have a negative impact on rate growth.