SNDR - Transportation Metrics Weak in April but Improve Throughout Month | Benzinga
The transportation prices subindex (44.1 reading) fell 8.9 percentage points from March, with declining fuel prices presenting a modest drag on the data set. Transportation capacity (61.4) was up 1.8 points, remaining in "a robust rate of growth" while utilization (56.4) was down just slightly.
The Logistics Managers' Index (LMI) is a diffusion index. A reading above 50 indicates expansion while one below 50 signals contraction.
Prior reports showed "signs that the transportation market was moving back towards equilibrium" but the latest update indicates "we are still firmly in a state of freight recession" the report said.
Notable weakness was experienced in early April, when there was a 40-point spread between the transportation capacity subindex and the pricing data set. However, by the last two weeks of the month, the two readings were less than 3 points apart as prices increased more than 27 points (into growth territory at 54.8) while capacity declined 10 points to 57.4.
"This may be reflective of seasonal restocking of summer items, or increased hopes that interest rates could come down in late summer after reading the tea leaves of the most recent Federal Reserve meeting" the report said.
Truckload carriers provided another sour update during the first-quarter ...