Morgan Stanley index shows flatbed capacity tightening at a rapid pace   

Morgan Stanley's flatbed freight index is rising in a similar pattern to 2010 and 2004, and in fact shows tighter Q1 capacity than in any recent year. The index is not far off the pace of Q2 2010, indicating that capacity is nearly as tight as last spring. 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