Forecasting freight demand using economic indices

Abstract

This paper describes the results of an effort to predict future freight volume in the truckload (TL) trucking industry. The approach involves the use of stepwise multiple linear regression models that relate freight volume to a variety of economic indicators. The models are built using a large set of actual freight data provided by J.B. Hunt Transport (JBHT), one of the world’s largest TL carriers. The data was first analyzed using the overall set of national data, and then for specific industrial and regional segments. The overall results of these analyses should prove useful to a wide variety of transportation and logistics operations.

Citation

Fite, J.T., Don Taylor, G., Usher, J.S., English, J.R. and Roberts, J.N. (2002), "Forecasting freight demand using economic indices", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 32 No. 4, pp. 299-308. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600030210430660