Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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20 commercial carrier journal | october 2015 Marketpulse T he following information is obtained from the August 2015 CCJ MarketPulse Report, a survey of more than 200 senior executives at trucking companies who have agreed to participate monthly. The August 2015 MarketPulse Report received 81 completed responses from carrier executives. If you would like to participate in the Mar- ketPulse survey, please email Jeff Crissey at jcrissey@randallreilly.com. Forty percent of all respondents say their business should do better over the next six months, while only 10.7 percent believe it will be worse – down from 13.6 percent as reported in the previous month. Respondents from smaller carriers were slightly more positive than respondents from larger carriers, with 45 percent saying business should improve compared to 38.2 percent, respectively. Respondents positive over near term 0% 60% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Much worse Better Much better More than 100 power units Up to 100 power units Overall Worse Same 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 6.12 in August 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 The Carrier sentiment Index for August was 6.12 – nearly identical to the 6.1 reported in July. 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 6.29 (6.3 in July), while the level for those with 100 or fewer power units was 5.65 (5.7 in July). souRCe: CCJ MARkeTPulse RePoRT while driver availability again leads the way on the list of carriers' top concerns (66.7 percent), freight volume has increased steadily as a top concern since the beginning of the year, with 17.3 percent of all respondents listing it as their top concern, compared to only 5.1 percent in January. More respondents from car- riers with more than 100 power units (18.3 percent) list it as a top concern than respondents from carriers with 100 or fewer power units (15.0 percent). Driver availability Regulation Freight volume 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% January February March April May June July August Other Freight pricing Freight volume a growing concern 1 = woRsT 10 = besT MarketPulse respondents continue a months-long trend of adding employees and independent contractors over the next six months. Respondents from carriers with 100 or fewer power units indicate they are more likely to add full-time employees, while respondents from carriers with more than 100 power units are more likely to add independent contractors. Staffing stays strong Carrier sentiment flat in August Up to 100 More than 100 overall power Units power Units Add full-time employees 50.7% 55.0% 49.1% Add part-time employees 14.7% 5.0% 18.2% Add independent contractors 38.7% 35.0% 40.0% Cut full-time employees 1.3% 0.0% 1.8% Cut part-time employees 1.3% 5.0% 0.0% Cut independent contractors 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Maintain current employment levels 34.7% 25.0% 38.2% Freight volumes and pricing are good, although the shortage of good qualified drivers to move the freight remains a clog in the process. CCJ MarketPulse is brought to you by Shell Rotella.