You didn’t see too many headlines like this during the Obama administration. From Wolf Richter at wolfstreet.com:
“Veterans in this industry are saying this is the best freight market they have ever seen.” But shippers struggle with rising costs.
Orders for Class 8 trucks – the heavy trucks that haul trailers across the US – surged 114% in May, compared to a year ago. With 35,200 orders, it was the highest May on record, according to transportation data provider FTR. Order volume over the past six month averaged nearly 40,000 units a month, “volumes never seen before in the industry.”
There are winners and losers in this transportation boom that has followed the “Transportation Recession” between March 2016 and April 2017, when shipment volumes by truck, rail, air, and barge had dropped to the lowest levels in years. During that time, trucking companies slashed orders for Class 8 trucks. Truck manufacturers – and the companies that supply them, such as engine makers – responded with layoffs.
But this is history. In April, freight volume by all modes of transportation surged 10% compared to a year earlier, according to the Cass Freight Index, which pushed the index to its highest level for any April since 2007. And among the winners are truck manufactures that are getting inundated with new orders.
“Class 8 orders exceeded expectations again as fleets order in huge numbers attempting to keep up with burgeoning freight demand,” FTR explained.
This chart of Class 8 truck orders also shows that orders are seasonal, and a decline from March to April and May is typical:
The chart below shows the percentage change of Class 8 orders compared to the same month a year earlier. Note the transportation recession when orders plunged year-over-year, as the industry was reeling, and then the surge in orders with year-over-year spike of 158% in October 2017:
To continue reading: Trucking Booms, Heavy Truck Orders Soar, Shippers Grapple with “Capacity Crisis”
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