FTR Shippers Conditions Index enters negative territory

The new edition of the Shippers Conditions Index (SCI), which was recently issued by freight transportation consultancy FTR, turned negative after several months of growth.  

FTR describes the SCI as an indicator that sums up all market influences that affect the transport environment for shippers, with a reading above zero being favorable and a reading below being unfavorable and a “less-than-ideal environment for shippers.”

For February, the most recent month for which data is available, the SCI reading came in at -1.4, below January’s 3.4, which was 3% below December’s 6.4 reading and also below November’s 6.3.

This marks the first time the SCI reading has been in negative territory since last September, due largely to rising diesel prices at the time. And it added that taking away the impact of fuel costs, February’s SCI would have been positive even though others elements of shippers’ market conditions have also deteriorated slightly, with the outlook for future 2024 SCI readings closer to neutral.     

“Although February might prove to be a near-term outlier due to the 21-cent spike in diesel prices, the days of favorable market conditions for shippers are numbered,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking, in a statement. “By the first quarter of 2025, we expect a steady but incremental tightening of the truck market to yield a modestly tougher environment for shippers. However, we do not see anything like 2021 or 2018 on the horizon.”