Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/678459
20 commercial carrier journal | may 2016 MARKETPULSE T he following information is obtained from the March 2016 CCJ MarketPulse Report, a survey of 200 senior executives at trucking companies who have agreed to participate monthly. The March 2016 CCJ MarketPulse Report received 82 completed responses from carrier executives. If you would like to participate in the CCJ MarketPulse survey, please email Jeff Crissey at jcrissey@randallreilly.com. Optimism grows for 2016 Respondents indicated improving business conditions, with 31.7 percent saying March was better than February and 46.3 percent saying business conditions will be better in the next six months, including 55.3 percent of respondents with more than 100 power units. Only 26.9 percent of respondents with up to 100 power units see conditions improving over that same time. Interestingly, more respondents from the larger fleet group (14.3 percent) see business conditions worsening, compared to only 7.7 percent of smaller carriers. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 5.4 in March B E S T M O N T H E V E R W O R S T M O N T H E V E R Carrier sentiment holds steady The Carrier Sentiment Index for March was 5.4 – down slightly from the 5.5 recorded in February. The index assesses the month on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the carrier's worst month and 10 being the best. The index level for carriers with more than 100 power units was 5.3 (5.6 in February), while the level for those with up to 100 power units was 5.6 (5.2 in February). SOURCE: CCJ MARKETPULSE REPORT Freight volume worries grow for big carriers Respondents' concern over freight volume hit a recent high in March, with 29.3 percent listing it as their top concern, including 33.9 percent of respondents with more than 100 power units compared to only 19.2 percent of respondents with up to 100 power units. Still ranked as the biggest concern for carriers, driver availability has leveled off in recent months as a top concern, coming in at 45.1 percent. 1 = WORST 10 = BEST Continuing to grow 47.6 percent of all respondents in March said they plan to add full-time employees in the next six months, while nearly a third said they intend to maintain current employment levels. Although 32.1 percent of respondents with more than 100 power units are looking to add independent contractors, that number is down sharply from last month's survey (41.4 percent). IN THE NEXT 6 MONTHS, WE PLAN TO: UP TO 100 MORE THAN 100 OVERALL POWER UNITS POWER UNITS Add full-time employees 47.6% 46.2% 48.2% Add part-time employees 12.2% 7.7% 14.3% Add independent contractors 30.5% 26.9% 32.1% Cut full-time employees 8.5% 11.5% 7.1% Cut part-time employees 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Cut independent contractors 2.4% 0.0% 3.6% Maintain current employment levels 32.9% 38.5% 30.4 % Freight is somewhere between flat and soft. I believe shippers are trying to drive rates down where they can and are somewhat bullish about this. – CCJ MarketPulse respondent CCJ MarketPulse is brought to you by Shell Rotella. 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% Much worse Better Much better More than 100 power units Up to 100 power units Overall Worse Same 0% Business forecast for the next 6 months Feb. Jan. April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Driver availability Regulation Freight volume 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% March Other Freight pricing Carrier top concerns 2015 2016