INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- About 84 percent of participants in a Longbow Research survey said that demand for truckload services declined year-over-year during January.
The survey respondents on average indicated that demand for truckload services fell approximately 7 percent year-over-year in January. Moreover, 96 percent reported more aggressive pricing year-over-year.
Also, participants saw an asset utilization rate of 82 percent, compared to 84 percent in December and 86 percent in November.
Seventy-two percent of respondents had a negative outlook for truckload demand, higher then the 70 percent in December, but slightly lower than the 73 percent in November.
Twenty percent of participants said they expect truckload capacity to tighten in the upcoming months, compared to 13 percent in December.
“Our January truckload carrier survey clearly suggests that the truckload industry continues to be extremely challenging. We continue to see available capacity increase relative to demand, which is putting additional downward pressure on truckload base rates,” said Longbow Research analyst Lee Klaskow. “Based on our January survey results, we believe declining demand, pressured base rates and abundant capacity will continue to negatively impact top-line revenue growth and earnings power for asset-intensive truckload carriers.”
