Trucks

The trucking industry says new, tougher-than-expected emission standards for heavy-duty trucks recently announced by the Biden Administration have unachievable targets and will carry real consequences for the U.S. supply chain and movement of freight throughout the economy.

The liquidation of Yellow Corp., once the largest less-than-truckload (LTL) and the nation’s 13th-largest trucking company when it ceased operations last August, has continued to prove that Yellow’s assets were valuable even without operating as a functioning trucking company.  

FTR reported that preliminary January net orders, at 26,400 units, snapped a three-month stretch of sequential declines, with a 2% gain over December, while posting a 35% annual increase. ACT reported that January preliminary North American Class 8 orders, at 27,000 units, rose by 600 units compared to December and climbed up 45% annually.

FTR reported that August preliminary orders, at 15,400 units, saw a 16% increase, from July to August. ACT reported that preliminary North American Class 8 August orders—at 19,000 units—were off 9% annually, while posting its best month since January, with the firm noting that continued economic strength and seasonal adjustment keeping orders on trend.

Preliminary North American Class 8 truck orders saw steep declines, driven on by the impact of COVID-19, or coronavirus, according to recent data issued respectively by freight transportation consultancy FTR and ACT Research, a provider of data and analysis for trucks and other commercial vehicles.

Less-than-truckload (LTL) shippers are facing what top trucking executives are calling a “new era” in LTL pricing because of a combination of pent-up demand, surging e-commerce deliveries and a tightening capacity due to increased government regulations and a shortage of qualified drives.

For more than a long time, there has been heavy debate and discussion over truck size and weight-related issues. One argument that has been consistently made over time in an effort to allow heavier and longer trucks on the road, with the objective of increasing highway productivity, has been to reform Interstate vehicle weight limits for six-axle trucks. This topic again came to light last week, with Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis..) introducing the Safe, Flexible, and Efficient (SAFE) Trucking Act.

ACT Research, a provider of data and analysis for trucks and other commercial vehicles, said this week that net orders for North American Class 8 vehicles checked in at 38,100 units on a non-seasonally adjusted basis in April.

Truck sizes and weights have largely been frozen at the federal level since 1993. Now the industry and a coalition of shipping interests are again testing the waters in Washington to see if now might be the time to take another look at that emotional and politically charged issue.