If You Want to Know Why Freight Capacity is Tight and Likely to Get Much Much Tighter, Check Out the Market Demand Index

After attending the National Industrial Transportation League’s annual conference two weeks ago, I was surprised by the number of freight executives that still aren’t aware of the severity of the capacity shortage. And what is even more concerning is the fact that some folks want to believe that the freight capacity crunch is an aberration and will disappear in a couple of months.

If you want to know why freight capacity is likely to be very, very tight for the remainder of 2018, look at the Truckstop Market Demand Index (MDI). January is historically a weak month for freight. In 2017 the MDI for January ran around 17, and in 2018 there hasn't been a week under 40—and once again, this is during what is typically a slow time for freight! 

To give you some perspective, at the height of the capacity crunch in 2014, the highest the MDI got to was 27. So when you see this index above 40 in January, you can understand why savvy, smart shippers are already looking at how they will get their freight moved in April and May. There are things that TranzAct can do to help you navigate in this Frankenstorm.

For those who are interested, FTR has given us permission to share a chart that shows the changes in the MDI over the past 56 weeks and you can get it here, along with other resources that put the marketplace conditions in perspective.

Watch this week's video and check out our Frankenstorm blog to hear more about what's happening in the transportation industry.

If you could use help understanding and navigating the challenges of the transportation industry, we encourage you to give us a call at 630-833-0890 or send us an email. We're on your team, we're here to help and we're passionate about seeing you be successful.