BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — US trucking conditions remained lackluster in June, according to FTR’s latest Trucking Conditions Index.

“While not overly positive, the June TCI reading of 2.9 indicates that trucking operators are still doing okay – not great, but okay,” said Jonathan Starks, chief operating officer at FTR.  “Trucking rates, especially for the dry van segment, have moved notably lower over the last nine to 12 months, but recent data indicates that both contract and spot rates may have hit bottom and could be moving back up. This would be a strong catalyst as we begin to enter the final preparations of the ELD mandate set for late 2017.”

FTR is projecting its Trucking Conditions Index will improve as regulations come online that will limit truck productivity and put upward pressure on rates.

“We are hearing that many shippers, and fleets, are looking to implement technology well in advance of the due date in order to have time to mitigate any issues that arise from its deployment,” Starks said of the coming ELD mandate. “We are also seeing that the extra capacity that was in the system following the 2014 reversion of the HOS rules has been mostly eliminated, and that any change in HOS or in improving economics could quickly tighten up the market like we saw in 2014.”