Load board operator TransCore Link Logistics said its freight index for Canadian and cross-border loads declined 36% in December compared with a year earlier. However, a dip in equipment volumes led to tightening of the truck-to-load ratio.
A statement from the Toronto-based company, which operates the load board Loadlink, said 2015’s freight volumes “were tumultuous, experiencing lows very close to 2009’s economic downturn. At the same time, truck volumes showed an all-time high in 2015.”
It suggested factors that impacted the Canadian trucking industry for 2015 include the weakening Canadian dollar throughout 2015, oil prices reaching the lowest levels since 2003 and the decline in commodity prices.
Equipment increased in the first half of the year, reaching a record-high peak in July with almost five trucks available for every load, it said. Those high levels continued in the second half of the year with slight declines in November and December.
Also, although a general decrease in truck volumes was evident for November and December across Canada, for the last three months of 2015, the Western region showed notable increases in load volumes along with decreases in truck volumes, according to TransCore Link Logistics.
The company said its freight index measures trends from about 5,500 Canadian trucking companies and freight brokers and includes all domestic, cross-border and interstate data submitted by Loadlink’s customers.
TransCore Link Logistics is a unit of software developer Roper Technologies Inc.
