Truckload Capacity Eases, Index Shows

The Longbow Research Truckload Barometer dropped less than 1 percent this week, indicating the contraction of truckload capacity is slowing.

Truckload capacity appears to have leveled and even loosened slightly after shrinking fast in the first months of 2011, according to the research firm's index.

Since January, the index has risen 41.1 percent. The index measures available freight against available equipment, climbing as capacity contracts.

Year-over-year, the barometer is up nearly 80 percent, Longbow said March 29. The index dropped to 155.1 this week from 156.4, 155.8 and 164.5 in prior weeks.

Altogether, the index dropped about 5.7 percent during March.

"We continue to see relative tightness in the Southeast region, where produce shipments are contributing to higher utilization rates," Longbow said.

Even with the slight drop, the index is at levels not seen since the second-quarter inventory restocking surge that sparked a freight recovery in 2010.

"Capacity should remain tight at least over the next several quarters," Longbow said, pushing truckload rates higher as contracts come up for renegotiation.

The research firm's flatbed barometer rose 1.1 percent this week, remaining close to a two-year high. The index is up 68.5 percent from last August.

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