Freight volume is deflated by rising costs against seasonal expectations

This week’s FreightWaves Supply Chain Pricing Power Index: 65 (Carriers)                                

Last week’s FreightWaves Supply Chain Pricing Power Index: 70 (Carriers) 

Three-month FreightWaves Supply Chain Pricing Power Index Outlook: 55 (Carriers)

The FreightWaves Supply Chain Pricing Power Index uses the analytics and data in FreightWaves SONAR to analyze the market and estimate the negotiating power for rates between shippers and carriers.

The Pricing Power Index is based on the following indicators:

OTVI takes an unseasonable dip, but accepted freight volume outperforms 2021

Tender volumes declined over the week, an unseasonable trend that could signal the coming impact of inflationary pressures. The Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI) slid under 14,000 on Wednesday, a level it has not touched since the start of 2022.

OTVI declined by 3.52% over the past week and is down 9.26% year-over-year (y/y), reaching its lowest point since early January. In early January, drivers were slower to return to the road than prior years, preferring an extended winter holiday after a year of record profit. Excluding both this period and other holiday-affected weeks, OTVI is at its lowest level since February 2021, when the flow of freight was…