BLOOMINGTON, IN – Contract rates continued to climb in October, improving trucking conditions according to analysts at FTR Intelligence.

The forecasters said the continued recovery from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, along with the impending Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) mandate in the United States, is creating the current tight market that will continue into the first few months of 2018.

FTR is predicting a softening of the market in the second half of 2018, with a slowing of freight growth, but says the market will still remain solid for carriers.

FTR Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Starks says if the economy can continue to grow at a rate of about 3% in the last quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018 carriers will have big opportunities with both the rates they charge and the loads they choose to carry.

“We will see freight demand maxing out any excess capacity,” he said. “If the ELD implementation and enforcement stay on track, the spring will bring capacity utilization over 100% and the freight transportation market will be scrambling to align loads and trucks. If severe winter weather comes into play, transportation managers will be facing their toughest year since 2004. Carriers should be prepared for big changes, and big opportunities.”