Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/716013
20 commercial carrier journal | august 2016 MARKETPULSE T he following information is obtained from the June 2016 CCJ MarketPulse Report, a survey of 200 senior execu- tives at trucking companies who have agreed to participate monthly. The June 2016 CCJ MarketPulse Report received 79 completed responses from carrier executives. If you would like to participate in the CCJ MarketPulse survey, please email Jeff Crissey at jcrissey@randallreilly.com. Short-term outlook stable Month-to-month business conditions held relatively steady from May to June, but only 25 percent of all respondents said June was better than May (31.7 percent last month), compared to 19.8 percent who said it was worse (15.1 percent last month). More than half of all respondents with more than 100 power units said June 2016 was worse than June 2015, compared to just 16.4 percent who said it was better. Over the next six months, 30.3 percent of respondents expect business conditions to improve, while 9.2 percent expect them to worsen. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 5.6 in June 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 up slightly The Carrier Sentiment Index for June was 5.6 – continuing the two-month trend from the 5.0 recorded in April and 5.56 in May. 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 5.54 (5.54 in May), while the level for those with up to 100 power units was down slightly to 5.4 (5.6 in May). SOURCE: CCJ MARKETPULSE REPORT Driver shortage remains the biggest worry Driver availability is the top concern for 39.5 percent of respondents, followed by freight volume (23.7 percent) and freight pricing (22.4 percent). Respondents with up to 100 pow- er units are far more concerned with freight pricing than those with more than 100 power units, 33.3 percent and 18.2 percent, respectively. Conversely, freight volume is a top concern for only 9.5 percent of respondents with fleets up to 100 power units, compared to 29.1 percent of respondents with more than 100 power units. 1 = WORST 10 = BEST Fleets not looking to add equipment Only 25 percent of all respondents said they plan to grow their fleets in the next six months, including only 4.8 percent of respondents with up to 100 power units. Respondents with more than 100 power units are more likely to add capacity in the next six months (32.7 percent), while 14.3 percent of respondents with up to 100 power units intend to cut fleet size compared to 5.5 percent of respondents with more than 100 power units. IN THE NEXT 6 MONTHS, WE PLAN TO: UP TO 100 MORE THAN 100 OVERALL POWER UNITS POWER UNITS Increase the size of our fleet 25.0% 4.8% 32.7% Replace aging equipment but keep fleet size the same 44.7% 52.4% 41.8% Decrease the size of our fleet 7.9% 14.3% 5.5% Make no change in our fleet 22.4% 28.5% 20.0% 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 Driver availability Regulation Freight volume 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Jan. June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Feb. March Other Freight pricing April May June Carrier top concerns 2015 2016 "Economy continues to be mediocre. Demand is staying about the same, with no real momentum either way." – CCJ MarketPulse respondent