About: JLS Express

Trucks on the open road, southwest US
Eric S. — Getty Images

The world changed nearly overnight due to the ­novel coronavirus pandemic and governments’ responses to it, but analysts postulate it will take a long time to return to a semblance of normalcy.

Some changes that have occurred within the trucking industry might pass quickly as com­munities ­reopen and business revives, but others are expected to remain in place for a long time, or even permanently.

The pandemic’s effects on commercial transportation and logistics are clear, running the gamut from health and safety to operational and economic.

Industry participants and analysts say the fluid situation makes it difficult to predict what the transportation environment will be like in six months — much less years from now — but certain long-term trends already are starting to emerge.

CCJ‘s Indicators rounds up the latest reports on trucking business indicators on rates, freight, equipment, the economy and more.

Employment in the for-hire trucking industry grew by 2,500 jobs in June, according to the Department of Labor’s monthly Employment Situation Report. According to the DOL, trucking has added jobs every month since October, save for a dip in April.

Up a cool 25,000 jobs from the same month last year, employment in the for-hire trucking industry totaled 1.4774 million

Shippers concerned about tightening US truck capacity may need to broaden their search for space to put freight.

Large US truckload carriers are clawing back their own capacity by cutting trucks from their fleets, but a rise in the number of motor carriers at the other end of the for-hire trucking scale is adding to overall available capacity.

The question for shippers is can they access that capacity and, for larger shippers, is that capacity actually usable? In addition, will the arrival of the electronic logging mandate in December choke that growth?

As we all know, trucking is in the midst of a digital revolution of sorts; with the industry experiencing all sorts of disruptive effects as a result (go here and here for more on that).

But here’s the thing: are the human beings caught up in all of this “digitization” happy about it? And are they looking forward to more of it? That’s a key point for as I’ve noted in this space before, people will play a critical role in making this “digital transformation” a success.

If the transportation funding proposal unveiled this week by Gov. Jerry Brown and state legislative leaders simply contained the gas tax hikes and vehicle fees outlined in their press releases and statements, then of course lawmakers should support the proposal. The state’s infrastructure needs far outpace the revenue collected in fuel taxes, which California has relied on for

The driver turnover rate at large truckload fleets fell to its lowest point since 2011 in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the American Trucking Associations’ quarterly turnover report. The turnover rate at large fleets, those with more than $30 million in annual revenue, fell 16 points to 71 percent in 2016’s final three months.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello cites the year’s choppy freight environment for the dip in turnover rates. “As inventory levels throughout the supply chain are drawn down to more normal levels, and freight volumes recover, we should see turnover rise along with concerns about the driver shortage,” he says.

The short-term economic outlook is positive, but political risk factors threaten to destabilize economic growth, said Eric Starks, chairman and CEO of FTR, during the economic outlook presentation at the Truckload Carriers Association’s 79^th Annual Convention in Nashville, Tenn.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Index has been in a period of expansion for the last year and is likely to continue to grow.

“Manufacturing is the bread and butter of transportation,” said Starks. “If we look at ISM Index, right now this information tells us manufacturing is growing and in the near-term is likely to continue to grow.” Starks also cited the Federal Reserve’s Industrial Production Index for Manufacturing showing similar positive momentum after two years of stagnation.

In the broader economy, payroll employment and the overall job market are improving, adding 238,000 jobs in January and 235,000 in February after three straight months below 165,000 to end 2016.

“In a 2-percent growth economy, job growth in the 200,000-plus range suggests the economy can continue to be self-sustaining,” said Starks, adding that wages are also increasing. “The numbers are telling us we are near full employment. What we’d like to start seeing in the next 12 months is wage inflation.”

The North American market for used trucks recovered last month from a dip in January, according to Price Digests, a trucking information services company.

Price Digests’ Price Stability Index, a measure of used truck values and the strength of the resale market in the U.S. and Canada, rose to 99 in February from 95.8 in January. A measure of 99 to 100 represents a stable market.

Price Digests, which collects data from used truck dealers and vehicle auctions, said the inventory of used

A healthy U.S. economy has shipping rates poised to head higher, but an upcoming federal mandate to equip long-haul trucks with electronic logging devices could disrupt the industry and launch trucking prices into an even more rapid ascent.

Carriers are seeing the leading edge of a freight wave, according to analysts at DAT, an online freight exchange. For the first three months of 2017, load volumes are running 100 percent above the level of the same period a year earlier. And this is before April, when the peak season for freight usually kicks off.