As demand continues to increase while capacity exits the marketplace, this year’s procurement events and contract negotiations have not, in general, been ending favorably for shippers.
  
For the remainder of this year, expect stronger industrial production, increased consumer spending, and the continued recovery in housing to continue to squeeze capacity.

The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index is an indicator of market fluctuations in per-mile truckload pricing. The index isolates the linehaul component of full truckload costs from other components (e.g. fuel and accessorials), reflecting trends in baseline truckload prices.

Although intermodal costs seem to have peaked for this year and have been falling over the last couple of months, they remain considerably high compared to the last several years. On average for 2014, intermodal costs have been up 2.1 percent year-over-year, with the difference greater in the last three months, partially due to rising diesel costs. For the most part though, it’s supply and demand. The AAR has reported that U.S. intermodal volumes are up significantly over last year: 9 percent in April, 8 percent in May, and 7 percent in June.

The Cass Intermodal Price Index reflects market fluctuations in per-mile U.S. domestic intermodal costs. The index includes all costs associated with the move (linehaul, fuel and accessorials). It is based on costs as of January 2005 and uses a base value of 100.

Source: Cass Information Systems