FTR’s Shippers Conditions for March basically remained in neutral territory, improving marginally to +0.1 from -0.3 in February. Falling diesel prices and slightly less challenging utilization offset stronger volumes and less favorable rates to create basically neutral market conditions in March.

Avery Vise, FTR Transportation Intelligence’s Vice President of Trucking, commented, “Uncertainty over tariffs is a risk for the economy, but an expected sluggishness in the freight market in the near term should bring some benefits to shippers in terms of fluidity and pricing. The longer-term consequences are less clear, however. For example, one consequence of a sharp drop in freight volume might be loss of trucking capacity, which could lead to a tighter market in 2026. Another issue to watch is whether stricter enforcement of truck drivers’ English language skills results in a meaningful hit to the supply of drivers.”

This index represents four major conditions in the U.S. full-load freight market. These metrics are combined into a single index that tracks the market conditions that influence a shipper's freight transportation environment.