As anticipated, load demand was down in February versus January. This is not expected to become a trend as a KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst reports “…inventories relative to sales remain at the lowest levels since late 2014, potentially driving restocking in coming months.” Driver availability remains a challenge. The latest news on U.S. trade policy introduces additional uncertainty regarding near to long term demand.
Spot Market Trends
ELD Adoption by Carriers
According to CarrierLists.com, as of 3/5/2018, 90% of carriers have installed ELDs in their vehicles. They say that “While the 3-week moving average remained unchanged, there is less than 20 working days until the final deadline. With 10% of fleets still needing to install ELD devices, we’ll likely see another chaotic period involving backorders and confusion in enforcement. One of the primary reasons for this week’s dip, along with the struggle to reach full ELD compliance is due to shorter haul fleets who continue to trend 10% or so below the longer haul fleets.”
