BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Trucking conditions in the U.S. slid to a single-digit positive 5.79 reading in January, down from 11.44 in December, according to the FTR Trucking Conditions Index.

The decline was attributed to higher costs of capital combined with lower freight demand and equipment utilization. FTR projects trucking conditions to moderate further towards neutral territory through at least the third quarter.

“Trucking conditions in January were not the outlier that December conditions were, but the industry still enjoyed much lower diesel costs than had been the case for most of 2018,” said Avery Vise, vice-president of trucking for FTR. “With diesel prices now rising and capacity utilization and freight rates easing, we would expect January to represent the high point for trucking conditions in 2019.”