ACT Research Freight Forecast: Freight Market Facing Shortages, Bottlenecks and Imbalances
By: Act Research Co.
Tags: Freight, Covid 19, Supply Chain, Trucking, Logistics

ACT Research released the latest installment of the ACT Freight Forecast, U.S. Rate and Volume OUTLOOK report.

Tim Denoyer, ACT Research’s Vice President and Senior Analyst, said, “Freight is typically not a backlog business, but in the holiday season of 2020, with imports at record levels, we have a flotilla of containerships off Southern California waiting to unload. This bottleneck suggests strong freight volume growth will continue even after the holiday season, as retailers restock inventories.”

He continued, “The freight market imbalance of strong demand and tight driver capacity should begin to rebalance gradually after the holidays, as there is early evidence of initial easing in the driver shortage.”

He concluded, “But this month, we add a steel shortage to the list of the economic shocks emanating from COVID-19, which threatens to impact Q1’21 manufacturing activity.”

The monthly 56-page ACT Freight Forecast report provides three-year forecasts for volumes and contract rates for the truckload, less-than-truckload and intermodal sectors of the transportation industry. For the truckload spot market, the report forecasts rates for the next 12–15 months. The Freight Forecast provides unmatched detail on the freight rate outlook, helping companies across the supply chain plan with greater visibility and less uncertainty.

ACT Research is recognized as the leading publisher of commercial vehicle truck, trailer, and bus industry data, market analysis and forecasts for the North America and China markets. ACT’s analytical services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as banking and investment companies. ACT Research is a contributor to the Blue Chip Economic Indicators and a member of the Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Panel. ACT Research executives have received peer recognition, including election to the Board of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics, appointment as Consulting Economist to the National Private Truck Council, and the Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Economic Indicators’ Most Accurate Economic Forecast over a four-year period. ACT Research senior staff members have earned accolades including Chicago Federal Reserve Automotive Outlook Symposium Best Overall Forecast, Wall Street Journal Top Economic Outlook, and USA Today Top 10 Economic Forecasters. More information can be found at www.actresearch.net.

ACT’s 64th Seminar is scheduled for February 23–25, 2021. Focused on the continuous evolution and advancement of power and energy changes in the transportation and commercial vehicle markets, OUTLOOK Seminar 64 will feature key industry leaders such as Ryan Reed of Wabash National, John Bennett from Meritor, Lance Riegel of Marvin Johnson, and Dominick Beckman from Hino Motors. Look for more details on this event over the coming months and save the date for February’s event. Click here for seminar information. www.actresearch.net/seminar64

For more information about ACT’s Freight Forecast, U.S. Rate and Volume OUTLOOK, please click here.

Click here for information about ACT’s freight-related databases.