Morgan Stanley's refrigerated truckload freight index indicates record tightness for January   

Morgan Stanley's refrigerated truckload freight index starts 2011 at a very high level indicating very tight capacity for this time of year. The index had been rising over the last few months, but has dropped off in the last few weeks. The index is not far below the level of Q2 2010 when capacity was extremely tight. Refrigerated capacity is very tight relative all of the reference years for January. The pricing environment in this segment clearly favors the carriers at this point. The index measures incremental demand for refrigerated 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.