Cass Transportation has released its monthly Cass Freight Index, showing improvement in many spot indicators.
Highlights include:
Cass Freight Index - Shipments
- The shipments component of the Cass Freight Index rose 3.0% m/m in May, narrowing the y/y decline to 1.2%, the smallest in 18 months.
- In seasonally adjusted (SA) terms, shipments fell 0.3% m/m after three straight gains totaling 6.0%, keeping the chances of a 2H recovery elevated.
- Many spot indicators suggest improving freight demand, and certain sectors are executing well on growth, such as the domestic intermodal market.
- At the May SA rate, this index would rise 1.8% y/y in 2H’26 and turn positive y/y in July.
The normal seasonal trend would put the shipments component of the Cass Freight Index down about 1% y/y in June.
Cass Freight Index - Expenditures
- The expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index, which measures the total amount spent on freight, rose 7.5% y/y in May, accelerating from a 3.5% gain in April.
- The acceleration was mainly due to slower shipment declines, while rates rose slightly.
- In SA terms, the index rose 4.9% m/m in May, after a 1.2% m/m increase in March.
The expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index, after a record 38% surge in 2021 and another 23% increase in 2022, fell 19% in 2023 and 11% in 2024. In 2025, the index declined by 0.5%.
Cass Truckload Linehaul Index
- The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index rose to 150.8 in May, up 0.4% m/m and 6.9% y/y.
- These linehaul rates exclude both fuel and accessorial charges, both of which are rising. In the refrigerated market in particular, accessorial charges are going up, perhaps for reefer unit fuel.
- Volumes are beginning to recover, but it is mainly supply constraints supporting higher rates, in our view, both for equipment capacity and drivers.
- TL rates are likely to continue their upward march in the coming months.
- This index reflects the whole for-hire market, both spot and contract rates.
The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index fell 10% in 2023, another 3.4% in 2024, and turned up to a 1.8% increase in 2025.