Flatbed capacity-demand balance is holding steady, but capacity is tighter than normal for Q4   

Morgan Stanley's flatbed freight index is holding steady and is far off the pace of Q2 2010 indicating more readily available capacity at this time compared to Q2 but still a somewhat more tight capacity environment than at this time in the most of the previous years. The normal Q4 loosening of flatbed capacity does not seem to be happening this year. The flatbed market was particularly hard hit by the fall off in housing starts, but has gained some ground with the growth in U. S. manufacturing. The index measures incremental demand for flatbed truckload services compared to incremental supply. The higher the index the tighter is capacity relative to demand when compared to a prior period.

Graph reproduced with permission from Morgan Stanley. For more information contact: Adam Longson at Adam.Longson@morganstanley.com or Bill Green at William.Greene@morganstanley.com.