Weather conditions and economics joined forces in April 2024. France recorded relatively cool temperatures for the season and at the same time, the business climate in France cooled. By falling by 1.3 points in April compared to March, it dropped back below its long-term average. Most sectors contributed to the decline. This was the case for services, industry and construction, in particular the structural works sector, whose order books remain far behind the pre-covid period.
Once again, the French economic context affected freight transport prices, which fell by 1.3% in April according to the Upply Freight Index (UFI Road France). All these successive declines point to the weakness in the activity of the sector. The latest sectoral note published by the FNTR (National Federation of Road Transporters), the leading employers' union in the sector, indicates that business leaders have seen a drop in activity in the 1st quarter of 2024. The FNTR's barometer on the situation of companies has reached its lowest level ever: 58% of executives say they are dissatisfied with the current situation and 22% remain in expectation.
Source: Upply Freight Index – Road France
The FNTR specifies that activity has been declining steadily since mid-2022 and that the sector's economic indicators "are at the same historically low level as during the health crisis". Under these conditions, it is not surprising that prices in April 2024 fell below their April 2022 value