FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index points to growth for the second straight month

The most recent edition of the Shipping Conditions Index (SCI), which was recently issued by freight transportation consultancy FTR saw turned in a positive reading for the second straight month.

FTR describes the SCI as an indicator that sums up all market influences that affect the transport environment for shippers, with a reading above zero being favorable and a reading below being unfavorable and a “less-than-ideal environment for shippers.”

For August, the most recent month for which data is available, the SCI came in at 5.0, up from July’s 4.5 reading. Both of these readings fared much better than June’s -4.0 and May’s -6.2.

FTR explained that core freight conditions—including demand, capacity, utilization, and freight rates—were mildly favorable in August, with the biggest impact coming from decreasing diesel prices. Looking ahead, FTR said that its future outlook is for market conditions to hover around neutral territory, coupled with some slightly positive and some slightly negative readings through 2023, when readings are expected to become more solidly negative.

“Shippers face multiple rounds of uncertainty in the coming months as diesel prices turn back higher and the harvest competes for capacity with other freight, while overall active trucking utilization eases back toward its historical average,” said Todd Tranausky, vice president of rail and intermodal at FTR, in a statement.