• Trucking insurance premiums fell for the first time since 2012, from 8.4 cents/mile in 2018 to 6.8 cents per mile in 2019. (Source: American Transportation Research Institute)
  • ACT Research’s Driver Availability Index has tightened to its lowest point in the past three years. Rising driver pay has yet to impact the historically tight driver market. (Source: ACT Research)
  • Equipment is the most important thing to Truck Drivers. (Source: Transport Topics) Top 3:
    • Equipment (30.9%)
    • Compensation (27.2%)
    • Operations (13.2%)
  • Truckload rates rising after up and down 2020 for the $350 Billion Full Truckload Market. (Source: Logistics Management) Responsible for the rise:
    • Fewer trucks on the road (down 3.5% from 12 months ago)
    • Rising fuel and toll costs
    • Largest driver is rising driver pay
  • Speaking of fewer trucks on the road…Class 8 Orders surge 212% to 43,800 in February, compared to February 2020 (Source: ACT Research). ACT Research President Kenny Vieth says, “Consumer spending on goods, a red-hot housing market, a reaccelerating manufacturing sector, and pent-up inventories combine to provide very good visibility to near- to mid-term freight trends. Contract freight rates are at record levels, as are spot rates, after seasonal adjustment.”
  • FedEx to Invest $2 Billion to reach Carbon-Neutral by 2040, phasing in new zero-emission electric vehicles for its parcel pickup and delivery fleet over time. (Source: Wall Street Journal)
  • Walmart pledges to support American manufacturers by spending an additional $350 billion on items made, grown or assembled in the U.S. over the next 10 years, creating 750,000 U.S. Jobs. Industries they will focus on are plastics, small electrical appliances, food processing, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. (Source: Bloomberg/Transport Topics)
  • Manufacturers post highest level of optimism in two years (Source: National Association of Manufacturers)
    • Q2 2020: 34%
    • Q4 2020: 74%
    • Q1 2021: 88%