Cass Truckload Linehaul Index

A Measure of Market Fluctuations in Per-Mile Truckload Costs

As the nation’s largest payer of freight bills, Cass manages more than $20 billion annually in freight spend, enabling Cass to compile meaningful logistics data that serves as an indicator of transportation industry trends. The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index™ is a measure of market fluctuations in per-mile truckload pricing. 

April 2012

Truckload linehaul rates in April were flat relative to March, but up 6.9% year over year. Compared to a 7.2% year over year increase in March, rates have likely moderated due to a share shift toward intermodal (which again saw strong sequential cost increases). An analysis from Avondale Partners stated, “We continue to believe 6-9% rate increases are possible for 2012 as capacity continues to slowly tighten and demand for truckload services continues to increase.”

View data points from 2005-present.

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Index Definition

The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index is an accurate, timely 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), providing an accurate reflection of trends in baseline truckload prices.

Data within this unique index is derived from actual freight invoices paid on behalf of Cass’ clients, which totaled over $20 billion in 2011. The index uses January 2005 as its base month.

Cass partners with the securities analyst firm Avondale Partners LLC to publish this Index. View the independent Avondale report that explains how the index was created and the validation measures the data was subject to.

Other Transportation Indexes from Cass

Cass also furnishes the Cass Freight Index, which is a measure of freight industry volume by dollars and number of shipments.