FTR’s most recent Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) came in at a reading of 11.5 for April, which reflects strong freight demand and continued tightness in capacity. According to FTR, carriers can expect the favorable conditions to improve further into Q3 and stay elevated well into 2019. The tight labor market, including a shortage of drivers, is holding carriers back from taking full advantage of the higher rate environment even as it increases their labor costs.

“The latest jobs report suggests that carriers’ aggressive driver recruiting efforts are paying off but additional growth in freight volumes, continued impact from electronic logging device implementation, and extreme tightness in the overall labor market should keep conditions highly favorable for carriers,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking research. “The TCI will remain at near record levels until at least the fourth quarter, when the market may begin to stabilize due to additional truck capacity.”