Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/835233
16 commercial carrier journal | june 2017 MARKETPULSE Optimism continues to grow 67.1 percent of respondents in the April 2017 CCJ MarketPulse believe business con- ditions will be better over the next six months, while no respondents expect business conditions to worsen in that time. 73.1 percent of respondents from large fleets expect conditions to improve compared to 52.4 percent of respondents from smaller fleets. On a month-over-month basis, 42.4 percent of respondents said April was better than March compared to 26.0 percent who said it was worse and 31.6 percent who said business remain unchanged. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 5.89 in April 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 hits yearlong high The Carrier Sentiment Index reached its highest point in more than a year in April at 5.89, up substantially from 5.0 recorded in the April 2016 survey. 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. Respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units were more optimistic (6.06) than those from fleets with up to 100 power units (5.48). SOURCE: CCJ MARKETPULSE REPORT 1 = WORST 10 = BEST Large fleets more apt to expand Respondents from large fleets are more than twice as likely to increase the size of their fleets in the next six months (42.3 percent vs. 19.0 percent), indicating larger carriers are more optimistic of a turnaround in freight volume than smaller carriers. Only 1.4 percent of all respondents plan to decrease fleet size, while 63.0 percent plan to keep fleet size the same by either replacing aging equipment or not making any changes. 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 35.6% 19.0% 42.3% Replace aging equipment but keep fleet size the same 41.1% 38.1% 42.3% Decrease the size of our fleet 1.4% 0.0% 1.9% Make no change in our fleet 21.9% 42.9% 13.5% CCJ MarketPulse is brought to you by Shell Rotella. 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 70% 60% 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 Jan. June July Aug. Sept. Nov. Dec. Feb. March April May Driver availability Political climate in Washington Freight volume 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Oct. Regulation Cost of Labor Freight pricing Carrier top concerns 2017 2016 "There are still too many questions emanating from Washington along with various scenarios of the percentage loss in capacity from implementing ELDs." – April 2017 CCJ MarketPulse respondent T he following information is obtained from the April 2017 CCJ MarketPulse Report, a survey of more than 200 senior execu- tives at trucking companies who have agreed to participate monthly. The April 2017 CCJ Market- Pulse Report received 73 completed responses from carrier executives. If you would like to participate in the CCJ MarketPulse survey, please email Jeff Crissey at jcrissey@randallreilly.com. Cost of labor a rising concern Driver availability remains the biggest worry for 49.3 percent of all survey respondents, down from 53.4 percent in the March 2017 survey. Freight pricing (28.2 percent) and freight volume (15.5 percent) remain the No. 2 and No. 3 concerns overall, but cost of labor debuts as the No. 4 concern overall and the top concern for 4.2 percent of respondents, overtaking worries of regulation on the list.