NASHVILLE, Ind. (April 20, 2005) — There are indications U.S. domestic intermodal loadings and truck freight has plateaued and may be on the decline, according to a transportation forecasting firm.

FTR Associates reports that truck freight grew a scant 0.4 percent year-over-year in February of this year, which is substantially below the 5-6 percent increases seen in the first half of 2004. The firm suggests the weakness in truck freight will further impact intermodal loadings as the trucking companies take back some of the freight they were willing to give up to the railways when their own demand exceeded their capacity.

However, even with a slowdown in freight, truck and rail capacity continue to remain tight. Preliminary estimates show that U.S. tractor capacity in use fell slightly in the first quarter of this year but is still at historically high levels. The firm says capacity will start to ease throughout 2005 falling to 90.5 percent by the first quarter of 2006.

FTR Associates has forecasting transportation trends for over 20 years. The company’s U.S. Freight Model collects and analyzes all data likely to impact freight movement and is based on specific characteristics for over 200 commodity groups.