A new index, announced on May 1, is offering visibility on the state of the trucking market as anticipation of an economic restart grows.
The COVID-19 Truck Freight Recovery Index a collaboration between Truckstop.com and FTR Transportation Intelligence.
It allows freight professionals the ability to assess trucking activity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery from it.
“Because this is not a traditional economic recession, we are watching the dynamics in distinct phases that are unique to this crisis,"said Eric Starks, CEO of FTR Transportation Intelligence.>
"The freight recovery index shows that a shutdown has been in full swing for several weeks and that freight is mostly bouncing along the bottom as everyone is sheltering at home.”
The COVID-19 Truck Freight Recovery Index shows a sharp mid-March drop that has remained stable for the past two weeks, indicating a bottoming out in the spot market.
A report issued on May 4 said that although total spot load volumes remain far below average, they rose nearly 22% during the week ended May 1 (week 17) from volumes the week before. Spot metrics in week 16 had indicated that spot demand had bottomed out. Week 17 data suggests that a recovery has begun as several states have taken their first steps toward reopening after the lockdown due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Once we start to see things picking up, the trajectory of the restart will help us better understand whether this is a “U-shaped” recovery or a “V-shaped” recovery. We expect transportation metrics to be a leading indicator of the broader economic conditions.”
Note: FTR has a resource page, with updated analysis, on all sectors of transportation.
