Cass Freight Index Dips 1.5% in March from 2015 Level
Cass Information Systems’ freight index, based primarily on trucking, dipped 1.5% in March on a year-over-year basis, but gained 1.4% from February of this year.
The March index reading is still 6.2% below December’s result after sharp declines earlier this year, said the monthly report that also measures rail, barge and airfreight is based on freight bills paid through the affiliate of a St. Louis bank.
For the first quarter, the index was 3% below the 2015 period.
“Expect sluggish but sustained growth in freight,” said the report written by Rosalyn Wilson, who heads the FreightMatters consulting firm, citing an apparent recovery in manufacturing, a better housing market and strong job gains as signs that the U.S. economy is doing well.
“On the downside, consumer spending has been sluggish,” her report said, citing weak business investment, a strong dollar and other factors.
“2016 is turning out to be difficult to predict,” Wilson wrote. “Anecdotally, however, many players in the supply chain remain cautiously optimistic for the rest of the year.”
