“Commercial vehicle demand is heading into 2021 with a bang, resulting from consumer and business spending substitution from services to goods, inventory rebuilding and the sidelining of drivers, just to mention a few,” says Kenny Vieth, president of ACT Research, which tracks trucking industry trends.
Despite COVID-19, "truckers made money in 2020 and are going to make a lot of money in 2021.”
“Since August and through November, spot freight rates have been at record levels and continued to rise in early December. For only the second time in history, spot and contract rates are inverted, with contract rates following spot rates by around five months, this suggests accelerating fleet profitability into 2021.
"Barring an exogenous event, the data suggest strong carrier profits are likely to extend through 2021 and well into 2022. The situation bodes well for new commercial vehicle demand.”