Sharp increases in fuel and financing costs coupled with an unfavorable trend in freight rates resulted in a major deterioration of financial conditions for trucking companies during October.

FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) fell to a -11.16 reading from the -2.35 reported in September. The October TCI was the weakest since the all-time low reading of -28.66 in April 2020.

Avery Vise, FTR’s vice-president of trucking, said, “We do not see a month on the horizon as difficult as October was for trucking companies, but nor do we expect much for carriers to get excited about. The rate environment looks to keep market conditions at least mildly negative into 2024.

“Plunging diesel prices obviously are bolstering financial conditions in the near term, and the hit from financing costs likely will begin moderating by mid-2023. Those costs have disproportionately hurt smaller carriers recently, and improvements in those situations likewise will not help larger carriers as much as smaller ones.”