Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Gonna Drive Trucks? Not So Fast, Pal!

Is this a valid signal, or just the temporary result of supply shortages?

...A Tuesday analyst note from Ken Hoexter, the managing director of Bank of America's trucking research, shows that shippers see rapidly softening demand for trucks, with a gauge tracking truckload demand falling for the fourth consecutive month to its lowest level since June 2020.

That is "near freight recession level," Hoexter wrote. On an annual basis, the gauge has plummeted about 23%....

..."Respondents noted a softening demand outlook, loosening market, deteriorating rail service, and pricing softness in the market," the analyst note said. "Shippers' short-term positive outlooks fell to 39% from 50% last survey, neutral outlooks jumped to 43% from 39%, while negative outlooks were 18% from 11%."

A different indicator that measures shippers' views on truck rates, meanwhile, collapsed to its lowest level since May 2020, when the U.S. economy was still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 36% of shippers now expect rates to fall in the coming months, a significant increase from the 17% recorded in the last issue. ...

Truck pricing, like anything else, is subject to the same Iron Rule:  if something cannot continue, it won't.  

Can Bidenomics cause a recession?  You damn straight it can!!

2 comments:

Mar said...

They might be getting less orders for trucks deliveries but there is still a large need drivers.
Right now, most if the native born Americans are getting older and they are being replaced by foreigners, especially from China, Russian, eastern ÷
Europe, India and other Asian countries.
If Russia and Chinese call their drivers home, the US will be in a world of hurt.

Dad29 said...

Many of those foreign drivers think 70 MPH is a number to beat, not obey.