2020 Fact Book: COVID-19 [Photos]
Longer term, there are a lot of discussions about how the industry may look a little different and what lessons fleets may learn. Both HDT's COVID-19 Pulse surveys, conducted in June, and anecdotal observations from fleet interviews, indicate we may see faster adoption of technology, such as paperless and workflow solutions; more flexible work-from-home policies; more purposeful travel; better communication; more efficient driver onboarding; new ways of driver training; increased use of telemedicine; and better disaster response / business continuity planning.
Source: HDT Pulse Surveys
The pandemic could drive more fleets to consider emergency planning. A joint survey by the American Transportation Research Institute and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association found that 45% of respondents did not have such plans before the pandemic. For fleets with fewer than five power units, almost 80% of respondents did not have a disaster response plan. This is in stark contrast to fleets with more than 1,000 trucks, where 70% of respondents had a disaster response plan in place.
Source: HDT Pulse Surveys
When asked to compare their business volume to normal levels, early during the pandemic outbreak, losses in business were lower, and many fleets actually saw increases to restock from panic buying. In April, the height of the shutdowns, far more fleets saw a drop in business. In fact, respondents reporting a 25% drop in business or more rose from 42% in March, to 78% in April, but fell to 38% in May as businesses started to reopen.
Source: HDT Pulse Surveys
Throughout the pandemic, truck drivers have been considered essential workers and kept delivering the goods Americans needed, from ventilators and masks to toilet paper and meat. But they’ve faced challenges at shippers and receivers, from temperature checks to being banned from restrooms.
Source: HDT Pulse Surveys
Nearly one-quarter of fleets have been experiencing increased vehicle ownership costs during the pandemic.
Source: HDT Pulse Surveys
As would be expected given the growth in positive COVID-19 test results across the country, the percentage of respondents that had someone test positive at their company rose over the three months of HDT’s COVID-19 Pulse Surveys.
Source: HDT Pulse Surveys