Company
FTR
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Consumers driving U.S. economy, as business investment stalls: FTR
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Business investment has dried up due to uncertainty over trade tensions, but consumer spending remains strong and has kept the U.S. economy moving forward. Consumer spending is the most critical component of the economy, since it drives…
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Class 8 orders bounced in October, but remained subdued
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – North American Class 8 orders came in at 22,100 units in October, according to preliminary data from FTR, marking the strongest month since November 2018. However, they remained well off a year ago, down 51% year-over-year, and…
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Shipper conditions remained positive in August
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Shipper conditions improved in August, reflecting a still-positive rate outlook, according to the latest FTR Shippers Condition Index. The August reading of 6.4 was up from July, but lower than June’s 8.8 reading, which FTR says likely…
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Trailer orders bounce back
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Trailer orders rebounded in September, to 19,000 units according to preliminary figures from FTR. That marked the strongest month since February, as some fleets began placing orders for 2020. Orders were up 81% compared to August, but…
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Trucking environment ‘mediocre’ for carriers: FTR
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The environment for carriers was “mediocre” in August, according to FTR’s latest Trucking Conditions Index (TCI). Active truck utilization edged down to 87.4%, and is expected to remain below the 10-year average of 91% through 2020, FTR…
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September marks all-time high for Class 8 retail sales
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – September set an all-time record for Class 8 retail truck sales, according to FTR. U.S. Class 8 retail sales totaled 28,200 units, up 4% from the previous record in December 2006. Sales were up 20% from August,…
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Shipper conditions remained positive in July
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Conditions for U.S. shippers cooled in July to a still-positive 4.3 reading, according to FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index. The index pulled back from a reading of 8.8 in June, reflecting a mixed freight environment with the industrial…
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Trucking conditions moved positive in July
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Trucking conditions in the U.S. improved slightly in July, with a reading just above neutral at 0.28. Lower diesel prices offset the effects of lower capacity utilization, pushing the index into positive territory for the first time…
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Truck and trailer dealer welcomes return to normal
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Stoops Freightliner and its network of truck and trailer dealers isn’t sensing that the drop in new equipment orders is anything to lose sleep over. Instead, Brian McCoy, president of Stoops, said the current environment marks a…
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Fleets say reliability, safety top priorities when spec’ing equipment
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Reliability and safety systems are two priorities for fleets when spec’ing new trucks, according to a panel of fleet executives speaking at the FTR Transportation Conference here Sept. 11. Robert Haag, vice-president of operations for Perfect Transportation,…
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Truck and trailer orders normalizing, not crashing: FTR
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Class 8 truck orders have fallen sharply in recent months, but FTR forecasters aren’t sounding any alarms, and say the drop marks a return to more normal levels. Eric Starks, CEO of FTR, also chalked the decline…
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The new normal: Slow, steady growth
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – There’s little sign a recession is imminent, but economic growth will continue to be slow and steady. That was the projection from Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist with Kleinhenz & Associates, who gave an economic update at the…
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Connectivity revolutionizing cargo tracking, trucking
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – There are more than 10 billion devices connected throughout the world, and this rapidly growing Internet-of-Things will change how product is tracked through the supply chain. Bill Green, senior technical staff member, packaging technology with IBM Systems…
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8 technologies that transformed trucking
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – FTR’s annual transportation conference is a forward-looking event; a chance to explore emerging issues, predict trends, and gain insights into things like artificial intelligence. But Avery Vise, FTR’s vice-president of trucking, set the stage by looking at…
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Class 8 truck market ‘at a turning point’: FTR
Class 8 truck orders in Auust were 80% lower than a year ago, but up 4% from July, according to preliminary data from FTR. Orders totaled 10,400 units, and have been averaging 11,000 per month since May. FTR says OEMs…
