As the trucking industry closed the books on an anemic business year in 2016, a new White House administration had many fleet owners optimistic of a pro-business, low-regulatory environment in 2017.
The U.S. economy turned in an anemic 1.2 percent Gross Domestic Product growth rate in the first quarter last year, but economic pistons were firing behind the scenes, including growth in manufacturing, consumer spending and housing starts.
By the second quarter and throughout the rest of 2017, GDP was growing at a healthy clip of roughly 3 percent, and the fortunes of many of the trucking industry’s largest fleets began to change for the better.
Revenues on the rise
Truck tonnage was up 3.8 percent overall in 2017, according to the American Trucking Associations’ For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index. During a five-month stretch between July and November, tonnage was up 9.6 percent before tapering off in December. Through the first five months of 2018, tonnage has increased 8.0 percent compared to the same period in 2017.
The sharp increase in available freight, coupled with one of the tightest capacity situations on record, has allowed many fleets to negotiate double-digit freight rate increases.
