Atrax indicator holds near +50 for a third week as loads outnumber trucks

According to the Logirus portal (logirus.ru), the FTL market indicator published by Atrax, a Russian road freight service, stood at +52 in the week of 26 October to 1 November. FTL (full truckload) describes a trip in which a single shipper fills the whole truck. The indicator has held around +50 for a third week. In late October it dipped to +49, then edged up.

The sign of the number matters most. A plus means there are more loads on the market than available trucks. In that situation carriers have more orders to choose from, and shippers find it harder to secure a truck. A single number does not show how much this changes working conditions.

What the indicator shows

Atrax uses a single number to show the balance of supply and demand in the full-truckload market. The article explains the indicator as follows:

A positive value means there are more loads on the market than available transport.

From logirus.ru

The portal adds that loads outnumber trucks “for now”. The words “for now” matter here. The portal does not claim that the imbalance will persist and gives no forecast for the coming weeks. The article also does not say how Atrax calculates the indicator or what data it uses.

The portal put the comparison with previous years in its headline: in its view, November 2026 has broken last year’s market trajectory. That view rests on one week, and six of its days fall in October.

In November 2024 and 2025 the indicator turned negative – this year the start of November looks different.

From logirus.ru

A minus means the opposite: more free trucks than loads. The portal does not say how long the indicator stayed negative in those two Novembers. For now only one thing is clear: this year the first week of November started in positive territory.

What is squeezing carriers

Logirus names several factors squeezing carriers this year. The portal does not estimate how much each of them has reduced the number of trucks on the market. The first is costs. According to the portal, the charge under Platon, Russia’s distance-based toll system for heavy trucks, has risen 55% on 2025 and has stood at 5.19 roubles per kilometre since 1 March. The article does not specify which 2025 level the comparison uses. The recycling fee, a levy on vehicle imports and production, has been indexed by 10-20%. Repairs have become almost 20% more expensive over the year.

The second factor is the fuel crisis in June and July. According to the portal, it reduced the supply of transport. The article does not say which regions or which fuel the crisis affected.

The third concerns paperwork: since 1 September, electronic transport documents, Russia’s system of electronic shipping documents, have been mandatory. The portal lists this alongside the other factors but does not assess how the switch affected the number of trucks on the market.

The source does not say whether trip rates have changed as a result.

What this means for shippers

For those who ship by air, the trucking market matters on the ground. A truck carries cargo from the shipper’s warehouse to the airport and from the airport to the consignee, and in air-plus-road schemes it covers part of the route. When loads outnumber trucks, finding a full truck at the last minute becomes harder.

This leads to some simple steps. It is better to book a truck for a shipment in advance rather than on the day of departure. Ask your regular carrier whether it will keep its usual truck schedule. It is also worth checking with the carrier whether the electronic transport documents requirement, in force since 1 September, applies to your trips: the article does not say which shipments it covers.

If the indicator falls in November, as it did in 2024 and 2025, it will mean the surplus of loads over trucks is shrinking. The indicator does not show how quickly that will make finding a truck easier. In the week of 26 October to 1 November it stood at +52.