Index Shows Truckload Capacity Tightening

Truckload demand increased and capacity tightened in the first week of November following three straight weeks of decline, according to Longbow Research.

The investment research firm's Trucking Barometer market index rose 7.8 percent during the week ending Nov. 5, to 97.7. Year-over-year, the index is up 65.3 percent.

Capacity remained "relatively tight" throughout the Mountain region and across the West Coast, where port imports accelerated, the research firm said.

By The Numbers: Containerized Ocean Trade - Southern California Ports.

The index has dropped substantially, however, from its peak in the May-June period, when a surge in shipping demand that began in February crested.

The latest report fits an emerging picture of a slower economic recovery but also raises hope that holiday shipping demand could pick up in November.

Flatbed demand rose only 0.4 percent from the previous week. It has risen nearly 25 percent over the last 11 weeks, however, and 147.6 percent from a year ago.

Flatbed capacity is tightest on the West Coast and in New England, Longbow said.

"Our outlook is for the U.S. economy to continue a slow and steady recovery throughout 2010," the research firm said.

-- Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com.