The shipments component of the Cass Freight Index® rose 1.9% m/m in May, but fell 0.8% m/m in seasonally adjusted (SA) terms and fell 5.6% y/y. While it was a softer-than-normal seasonal increase from April, it was nonetheless an increase.
With normal seasonality, this index would rise slightly m/m in June and still decline about 3% y/y.
See the Methodology for the Cass Freight Index
The expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index, which measures the total amount spent on freight, fell 6.8% m/m and 15.7% y/y in May.
With shipments up 1.9% m/m in May, we infer rates were down 8.5% m/m (see our inferred rates data series below).
This index includes changes in fuel, modal mix, intramodal mix, and accessorial charges, so is a bit more volatile than the cleaner Cass Truckload Linehaul Index®.
The expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index rose 23% in 2022, after a record 38% increase in 2021, but is set to decline about 16% in 2023, assuming normal seasonal patterns from here. With both freight volume and rates under pressure at this point in the cycle, that assumption could be optimistic, so we may be looking at a ~20% decline in freight spending this year.
The rates embedded in the two components of the Cass Freight Index declined 10.7% y/y in May, after falling 11.9% in April.
Cass Inferred Freight Rates are a simple calculation of the Cass Freight Index data—expenditures divided by shipments—producing a data set that explains the overall movement in cost per shipment. The data set is diversified among all modes, with truckload (TL) representing more than half of the dollars, followed by less-than-truckload (LTL), rail, parcel, and so on.
The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index, which measures changes in linehaul rates, fell 2.6% m/m in May to 142.8, after a 0.8% m/m decline in April.
See the Methodology for the Cass Truckload Linehaul Index
When conditions will improve is a topic largely reserved for ACT Freight Forecast subscribers. Volumes softness does not appear to be over, but after a long soft patch, we see the U.S. freight transportation industry on the cusp of a new cycle as we begin to transition from the bottoming phase into the early phase of the freight cycle in the months to come.
Supply is key to the freight rate cycle, and too much capacity is continuing to chase too little freight. Even as spot rates rose in May and so far in June, it hasn’t been much of a bounce. But, net of grants and reinstatements, DOT operating authorities are being revoked at a record rate of about 2,000 per month since October 2022. So, capacity is contracting at a record pace, which is key to the bottoming process.
For more on the future direction of freight markets, the ACT Research Freight Forecast provides analysis and forecasts for a broad range of U.S. freight measures, including the Cass Freight Index, Cass Truckload Linehaul Index, and DAT spot and contract rates by trailer type. The service provides monthly, quarterly, and annual predictions for the TL, LTL, and intermodal markets over a two- to three-year time horizon, including capacity, volumes, and rates. The Freight Forecast is released monthly in conjunction with this report.
How have their forecasts performed? For 2022, ACT’s forecasts for the shipments component of the Cass Freight Index were 97.5% accurate on average for the 24-month forecast period. Our January 2021 forecast, two full years out, was 99.8% accurate.
(As a reminder, ACT Research’s Tim Denoyer writes this report.)
ACT Research’s full-year 2022 DAT spot rate forecasts were 99.7% accurate from Q2’21 (19-21 months out) for dry van and 98.5% for reefer. DAT dry van spot rates, net fuel, finished 2022 at $2.06 per mile, in line with our forecasts to the penny from 18 and 19 months out (June and July 2021).
Release date: We strive to release our indexes on the 13th of each month. When this falls on a Friday or weekend, our goal is to publish on the next business day.
