[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
Fleets Face Uncertain Outlook as Freight Continues to Fall
time datetime="00Z">January 12, 2007 8:00 AM, EST
Evidence is accumulating that freight volumes are falling significantly and that the traditional fourth-quarter peak was all but nonexistent, although analysts and fleet executives remain unsure of what will happen in the first half of the new year.
Con-way Inc. notified investors Jan. 3 of a fourth-quarter tonnage decline at its less-than-truckload division. The announcement was made a week after American Trucking Associations released a survey showing that seasonally adjusted tonnage fell by 3.6% from October to November, the largest drop since December 2000, and 8.8% lower than November 2005 levels. Cumulatively through November, the index was down 2.8%, compared with a year ago.In each of the first 11 months of 2006, the truck tonnage index was lower than the corresponding month in 2005.For the full story, see the Jan. 8 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.