Search Results

Economic Recovery: Alphabet Soup or Tennis Ball Bounce? [Commentary]

The global shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to wreak havoc in economic forecasting.

July 6, 2020

FTR: Trucking Has Likely Bottomed, Recovery Will Be Slow

Trucking conditions likely bottomed in mid-April, but a speedy recovery isn’t anticipated, according to FTR.

May 18, 2020

What Oil War Could Mean for Trucking

A sudden war in crude oil prices between Russia and Saudi Arabia could mean a drop in diesel and gasoline prices at American fuel pumps. But the longer-term implications are more worrying.

March 10, 2020

Where are we headed in 2020? [Commentary]

For the third time this year, the economy seems to be doing better than trucking markets.

January 3, 2020

Carrier Earnings Worse than the Economy Might Indicate [Commentary]

For the third time this year, the economy seems to be doing better than trucking markets. Let’s dig into third-quarter earnings reports from publicly traded fleets for more.

November 18, 2019

What Can Purchasing Managers Tell Us About Truck Tonnage?

In early October, we received a series of weaker-than-expected consumer and industrial data. Whether or not this data proves to be an outlier because of trade concerns and the strike at General Motors remains to be seen.

October 21, 2019

Is the Trucking Environment Getting Better or Just Less Bad? [Commentary]

The difference between last year’s high spot rates and this year’s average has dropped — but this year’s seasonal decline was less.

September 25, 2019

Truck Fleet Earnings Are Lagging the Overall Economy

Bad weather, tariffs, a later than usual Easter holiday – all of it contributed to trucking company results that were worse than the overall economic trend would lead you to expect.

September 3, 2019

Are the Economy’s Skies Turning Darker? [Commentary]

Growing up in the Midwest, you learn which cloud formations lead to slow and steady rain, and which often lead to more severe weather. Looking back at economic activity at the first half of 2019, we may be looking at the latter

August 8, 2019

Are We In a Truck Recession?

First-quarter 2019 GDP grew at 3.2%, and the latest guess about the second quarter is 1.7%. That latter number is a disappointment for sure, but it is not a negative, says longtime trucking economic analyst Noel Perry. But what about freight?

August 5, 2019

What’s Behind Recent High-Profile Trucking Closures?

Recent closures have prompted headlines touting trucking’s “bloodbath” and “apocalypse.” But anyone who has been in this business for very long at all knows trucking is extremely cyclical.

July 26, 2019

What First-Quarter Fleet Earnings Tell Us

The 3.2% first-quarter GDP figure released by the Commerce Department seems to portray a stronger volume environment than was experienced by the trucking industry, judging by first quarter fleet earnings.

May 28, 2019

When Economic Data Isn’t What It Appears to Be

The first few months of 2019 showed many inconsistencies in economic data, varying wildly from month to month. Is our economy really this inconsistent or is there another reason for the variation?

May 2, 2019

Commentary: How a Tough Winter Impacted Trucking

Every winter impacts the economy in some way, but this season was especially tough and could have led to a slowdown in truck freight.

April 1, 2019

Commentary: What Do Fleet Earnings Tell Us About the State of Trucking?

Now that fleets have reported their 2018 earnings we take a dive into the results to see what it says about the current economic state of the trucking industry.

March 8, 2019