The second quarter of 2024 forecast reveals horizontal to slightly down confidence from shippers across industry segments. Fueled by a balanced market environment in Q1 2024, shippers are cautious for the upcoming quarter in correlation to growth or shrinkage to overall volume and price of products.

The latest data set exhibits a cautious outlook on revenue growth, with a slight uptick in negative sentiment of 2%. A decrease in neutrality hints at emerging caution among stakeholders in terms of revenue and business growth. “Prudent confidence for revenue growth can be associated to lower certainty in orders and a notable shrinking forecast with inventories,” said Mark Derks, Chief Marketing Officer for BlueGrace Logistics.

Inventory levels for Q2 2024 are down in sentiment showing a prominent increase in negative confidence and a decrease in positive outlook. Elevated negative views for inventories have climbed to 16%, the highest level in the seven-quarters of the BlueGrace Logistics Confidence Index. A continued level of neutrality reflects the uncertainty of inventory growth or shrinkage for Q2.

Confidence in orders is lower with a 56% neutral outlook, and a falling positive response of 9% down from Q1 2024. “A cautious and uncertain outlook in orders persists with businesses adopting a wait-and-see approach to current market trends,” stated Derks. “Despite more elevated shipper concerns, a stable median impact implies no significant shift in order expectations for Q2 2024,” he said.

Q1 2024 versus Q2 2024 quarter-over-quarter changes show improved shipper consensus across revenue, inventory, and orders, indicating stronger alignment in expectations as 2024 progresses. Businesses are advised to monitor these trends closely and remain agile in planning, and overall expectations.