FTR’s Shipper Conditions Index remains in similar territory

Even with modest sequential improvement, the most recent edition of the Shippers Conditions Index (SCI) from freight transportation consultancy FTR, which was released this week, highlighted moderate market conditions.

FTR describes the SCI as an indicator that sums up all market influences that affect the transport environment for shippers, with a reading above zero being favorable and a reading below zero being unfavorable and a “less-than-ideal environment for shippers.”

For February, the most recent month for which data is available, the SCI was -2.8, which represented an improvement over January’s -3.6 but not as close to positive readings recorded in November and December at -0.6 and 1.9, respectively.  

FTR said that while February marked an improvement over January, it expects the market to tighten up later in the year, with the SCI expected to trend more negatively. And it added that the moderation of the FTR regulatory forecast is expected to be offset by an expected increase in freight demand as economic growth improves.

“The SCI compiles 4 key metrics into a singular view of how the market is operating,” said FTR COO Jonathan Starks in a statement. “It keys in on freight demand, transport utilization levels, transport costs, and fuel pricing. In February, there was little change in most of these metrics aside from fuel pricing. Diesel fuel prices dropped a slight amount in February after jumping 7 cents in January, and the outlook for pricing is for relative stability during most of 2017. The biggest drag on the index continues to be the impact of the tightening capacity environment that we have seen emerge over the last 9 to 12 months. The spot market gives us a quick indication of this tightening, with the Market Demand Index (MDI) from Truckstop.com up more than 80% versus February of 2016.”