William B. Cassidy | Jun 15, 2011 10:50AM EDT
A key weekly measure of trucking capacity rose last week to a near three-year high, indicating the availability of truckload equipment continues to tighten.
The Longbow Research Weekly Truckload Barometer climbed 0.6 percent to 165.9 in the first full week of June, its fourth consecutive weekly increase.
The weekly index measures available freight against available truckload equipment, climbing higher as capacity contracts, the Wall Street investment firm said.
The index rose 22.6 percent over the past three weeks, after dropping in April and early May, falling below year-ago levels in mid-May for the first time since 2009.
The index leaped 14.1 percent in the last week of May, Longbow Research said. On a year-over-year basis, the barometer is up 16 percent.
The index’s rise supports anecdotal reports from trucking companies that freight volumes rose in early June after flattening or declining in May.
Many carriers said the first quarter saw stronger demand than usual, tightening capacity as freight filled trailers. March was a strong month for many companies.
-- Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @wbcassidy_joc.
