TransCore Link Logistics Canadian Freight Index picked up in September after two consecutive months of declining freight volumes. September saw increases across the board with month-over-month load volumes increasing 5%, and year-over-year volumes jumping 28%.
September volumes were the highest ever recorded for any September in any year, surpassing the previous records set in 2005 and 2011 by 6%. Also, volumes for the third quarter beat any previous third quarter results since TransCore Link Logistics started recording data. Third quarter volumes in 2014 topped those set in 2013 by 23%.
Cross-border load volumes for August averaged 68% of the total. Loads into Canada improved 15% year-over-year. Loads leaving Canada to the United States soared 57% year-over-year. Intra-Canada load volumes represented 26% of the total volumes for September and rose 22% year-over-year.
Equipment postings saw a slight increase for the month of September. There was a modest increase of 4% from last month’s levels, and a 4% decrease year-over-year. The equipment-to-load ratio decreased to 1.92 from 1.95 in August. When compared to September’s posting levels of 2.56 in 2013, the equipment-to-load ratio improved 33% year-over-year.
TransCore’s Canadian Freight Index accurately measures trends from roughly 5,000 of Canada’s trucking companies and freight brokers, and includes all domestic, cross-border and interstate data submitted by Loadlink’s Canadian-based customers.