OOIDA Foundation announces monthly freight market update

When the OOIDA Foundation polled its members about their use of freight market economic analysis and information from DAT, FreightWaves and similar services, half said they do not use it while 19% weren’t even aware such information was available.

That doesn’t necessarily mean members aren’t wanting this information, though.

In fact, 93% of members surveyed said they are very much interested in this type of data.

“A lot of people wouldn’t even know where to start, but a vast majority said they’d be interested in this, and that’s why we’re starting this new series,” Andrew King, research analyst for the OOIDA Foundation, told Land Line Now.

Understanding the current and future state of the freight market, it is critically important for an owner-operator to be successful, says the Foundation website.

That is a challenge itself, as the Foundation explained, because most of the economic information available to drivers is costly or too hard to find.

To help its members stay up to date with the state of the market, the Foundation has developed a free market update of its own.

“This is catered to owner-operators, and breaks it down by segment,” King said. “If you didn’t have time, or didn’t want to look at the whole thing, and you were someone who pulled dry van or maybe you pull flatbed, you could look at just that market.”

Below are the five key markets to be updated monthly in an individual document for your convenience:

• Overall trucking market
• Van market
• Flatbed market
• Reefer market
• Overall freight market

You also will have the option of viewing all five markets within a single market update document.

However, OOIDA members aren’t the only ones who can use this freight market information

“It’s open to everyone,” King said. “That’s one thing our previous President Jim Johnston was big on, education. He wanted to make sure everyone had opportunities to access that information. It’s also an outreaching tool to show OOIDA does offer lots of things that benefit members or potential members. Hopefully, that encourages them to want to join the Association.”

Essentially, the Foundation is doing much of the leg work you might not have the time or insight to do.

“The big benefit of this is it’s all grouped into one,” King said. “We’re pulling from lots of different sources. Rather than someone having to search hundreds of different pages, we’re putting it in one place and summarizing it in a way that’s easy to understand.”

How the freight market data applies will vary depending on what you haul or don’t haul.

“You really have to be flexible in trucking to be successful,” King said. “Things can turn on a dime, and it doesn’t necessarily always make sense. This information will help you see into the future a little bit, so hopefully you’re not blindsided by some big change in the industry.”

Access the OOIDA Monthly Trucking Market Update here. LL