BAROMETER. Prices continued their long decline in March 2024, a sign that the volumes to be transported are still not picking up. A stabilisation of contract prices excluding diesel as well as the improvement in the morale of business leaders in April could possibly be a harbinger of spring.
In March 2024, the business climate in France improved by two points compared to February. Calculated from the responses of business leaders in the main market sectors, it returned to its long-term average, for the first time since September 2023. All sectors are up except construction.
Business leaders may have been slightly reassured by the fall in inflation: in March, consumer price inflation slowed more than expected to 2.3% year-on-year (against a forecast of 2.4% published by INSEE in mid-March), after having stood at 3% in February. However, INSEE has also downgraded its growth forecast for the first quarter by announcing a figure of 0%, against 0.2% expected last February, estimating that many uncertainties hang over the French economy such as weak demand and an inability for the economy to create jobs.
A long series of price drops
In this uncertain context, in March, French road transport prices fell again by 0.4%, according to the Upply Freight Index (UFI Road France). In our previous barometer, we announced a slight increase of 0.1% in February based on provisional data but urged caution. The integration of additional data confirmed these reservations. Finally, prices in February fell by 0.1%. In March, prices recorded their sixth consecutive monthly decline, which is the longest series of declines since 2020.
Source: Upply Freight Index – Road France
Contract transport prices have stopped falling. The Upply Spot index of French road transport prices, on the other hand, fell again (...)
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