Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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22 commercial carrier journal | november 2016 MARKETPULSE Business conditions level out Month-to-month business conditions remained relatively constant, with 22.5 percent of all respondents saying September was better than August and 23.8 percent saying it was worse (53.7 percent said it was the same). On a year-over-year basis, 55 percent of all respondents said September was worse than the same month last year. Over the next six months, 28.8 respondents expect business conditions to improve com- pared to 11.2 percent who expect them to worsen (14.7 percent last month). 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 5.6 in September 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 improves The Carrier Sentiment Index for September was 5.6, up slightly from 5.5 reported in the August 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. The index level stayed the same for respondents with more than 100 power units (5.6 in August), while it rose for respondents with up to 100 power units to 5.6 (5.3 in August). SOURCE: CCJ MARKETPULSE REPORT All about drivers As has been the case in all but one month in the last three years, driver availability (38.0 percent) is the top concern for survey respondents, while freight pricing (27.8 percent) and freight volume (21.5 percent) swapped spots at No. 2 and No. 3. Only 4.5 percent of respondents from fleets with up to 100 power units listed freight volume as their top concern, compared to 31.9 percent who listed freight pricing as their No. 1 worry. 1 = WORST 10 = BEST Fleets not looking to add equipment Echoing the lackluster outlook, fewer respondents (28.8 percent) indicated plans to increase fleet size in the next six months (32.0 percent last month). Respondents from fleets with more than 100 power units are almost three times as likely to add equipment compared to respondents from smaller fleets . Respondents with more than 100 power units are more likely to add capacity in the next six months (34.5 percent). Only 2.4 percent of all respon- dents intend to decrease fleet size, compared to 6.7 percent in last month's survey. 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 28.8% 13.6% 34.5% Replace aging equipment but keep fleet size the same 48.8% 54.6% 46.6% Decrease the size of our fleet 2.4% 4.5% 1.7% Make no change in our fleet 20.0% 27.3% 17.2% 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 Political climate in Washington Freight volume 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Jan. June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Feb. March Regulation Freight pricing April May Carrier top concerns 2015 2016 "Some shippers underestimate the effect ELDs will have. Smart shippers are engaging carriers as strategic partners so they don't get caught with their pants down a year from now." – CCJ MarketPulse respondent T he following information is obtained from the September 2016 CCJ Market- Pulse Report, a survey of more than 200 senior executives at trucking companies who have agreed to participate monthly. The Sep- tember 2016 CCJ MarketPulse Report received 80 completed responses from carrier executives. If you would like to participate in the CCJ MarketPulse survey, please email Jeff Crissey at jcrissey@randallreilly.com.