Flatbed capacity remains tight, but continues to ease   

Morgan Stanley's flatbed freight index has fallen from earlier this year but remains high relative to historical patterns. Capacity had eased early in the second quarter but tightened significantly coming out of Q2. The index has softened throughout Q3 but remains higher than all other reference years and is considerably higher (tighter capacity) than the average over the complete time frame. 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 Greene at William.Greene@morganstanley.com