Canadian Freight Index slumps in July

TransCore’s Canadian Freight Index for July 2011 was down 22% month-over-month but had a 3% increase year-over-year. July traditionally marks the start of summer vacation and highway construction season and has for the past five years experienced a decrease from June levels. However, July 2011 had the biggest decline in volumes since July 2007.

Equipment postings in July dropped from the increases of the past two months. Capacity was also down 10% from July 2010 and at the lowest recorded level for the month of July in more than five years. With lower volumes in load availability, the equipment-to-loads ratio saw an increase in July, reaching levels not seen since January 2011.