FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index falls but still records second-highest reading on record

Coming off of April, which more than doubled March’s output, the most recent edition of the Shippers Conditions Index (SCI), for the month of May, which was issued this week by freight transportation consultancy FTR, showed a significant drop off.

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.”

May’s SCI reading—at 24.8—was 16.5% lower than April’s 41.3 reading, which the firm said last month may be the peak for the SCI, during what it has called an unprecedented time for freight transportation.  But even with the steep sequential decline, FTR said that the May reading trails only April for the highest SCI reading on record, according to FTR.

The firm explained that all SCI inputs were lower, from April to May, while staying positive, specifically for capacity utilization and rates. And it added that from May on, it expects the SCI to stabilize at a high single-digit positive measure through year–end. But it cautioned that with the spot market tightening in May, it could portend what it called less robust shipper conditions over the near-term.  

“There is more uncertainty in the economy and freight markets now than at any time since the very early days of the COVID-19 crisis,” said FTR Vice President of Rail and Intermodal Todd Tranausky in a statement. “While shippers conditions are likely to slowly become less positive over the summer months, they will likely remain positive until the full extent and timing of the economic recovery take hold.”