William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Jun 13, 2012 5:23PM EDT
Truckload rates shifted into lower gear in May, rising only 5 percent from a year ago and staying basically flat from April, according to Cass Information Systems.
The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index for May dropped to 108.1 from 108.2 in April but decelerated more sharply year-over-year, a sign rates are rising more slowly.
The 5 percent year-over-year increase in May compares with a 6.9 percent increase in April, 7.2 percent increase in March and 8.2 percent jump in February.
That ongoing deceleration reflects an economic slowdown apparent in several recent indicators, including a 0.2 percent drop in retail sales in April and May.
The lower year-over-year increase also reflects a tough comparison with the pricing scene a year ago, when the Cass truckload rate index was up 7.3 percent.
Comparisons with 2011 will get tougher over the next few months. Last year truckload rates rose in the summer to an annualized peak of 10.1 percent in August.
The Cass truckload rate index has dropped 1.2 percent since January. That decline is outpaced by a 2.2 percent increase in intermodal base rates in the same period.
Base intermodal rates were up 1.4 percent year-over-year in May, though they dropped 1.8 percent from April, according to the Cass Intermodal Rate Index.
Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @wbcassidy_joc.