Trucking Conditions Decline Due to HOS Delay

Nashville, IN — FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) declined to a reading of 3.4 in October due to a delay in the issuance of revised Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations.

The ongoing indecision over HOS is affecting near-term outlook for capacity and the ability of carriers to gain rate increases.

The TCI is expected to rise as capacity tightens, however, the peak has been pushed from April to October of 2012 because of the regulatory delay.

The TCI has been in positive territory for the past eight months.

"There was a considerable drop of six points in the TCI in October. Some of this drop was a result of changes in our methodology for calculating the TCI as we continue to refine this measurement," explained Larry Gross, senior consultant for FTR.

October’s TCI reflected the subdued nature of the autumn peak, but with the recent strong start to the holiday shopping season and retailers’ lean inventories, Gross said they expect the TCI to climb in the absence of near-term changes in the Federal regulations.

"The addition of any such changes, now expected to be announced by year-end, will exacerbate the trend," he said.
 


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