Is this the quiet before the storm for flatbed capacity?   

Morgan Stanley's flatbed freight index fell dramatically in the second half of 2011 and capacity demand balance is now about normal relative to historical patterns. Flatbed capacity is not as tight as this time last year. In each of the last two years we have seen a sharp tightening of flatbed capacity in late Q1 and into Q2. I see no reason to believe that 2012 will be an exception to this pattern. The flatbed market was particularly hard hit by the fall off in housing starts, but gained 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