Industry Indicators: March 14 – 20
Quote of Week
Source: Transport Topics
Referring to a recent BMO Capital Markets report that showed American households had saved a massive $1.7 trillion in 2020 and early 2021, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello noted,
“We are going to have some insane growth rates for GDP….There is so much pent – up exhaustion from the pandemic, and we are ready to have some fun. That’s money that is going to start burning a hole in a lot of people’s pockets. People are going to spend a lot of that money. ”
More consequences from Port of LA congestion
Source: SupplyChainDive
Toyota and Honda announced that congestion at various ports – among other supply-chain issues – will limit their production at U.S. factories. Honda will suspend production at most U.S. plants next week while Toyota plans several nonproduction days and shifts. Both automakers rely heavily on Los Angeles for imports. In fact, Toyota’s imports were down 72.5% in February YoY and Honda’s down 38% YoY.
Port LA import volume
Source: SupplyChainDive
Port of Los Angeles experienced its most demanding February in history. The port loaded imports of 412,884 TEUs, a 53% YoY increase and a nearly 20% climb from February 2019. The Port’s executive director noted that dwell times have improved. Container dwell on terminals improved nearly 1 day to 4.1 days in February compared to 5 days in January. Street dwell time waiting for warehouse space also improved from 7.6 days in January to 6.3 days in February. These figures, however, are still above pre-pandemic levels.
Trailer orders in February remain strong
ACT Research released preliminary data for February trailer orders. Net order volume was 24.2K trailers. This represents an 82% increase from the same month last year. Frank Maly observed, “Given last year’s COVID-related softer economy, year-over-year improvement for net orders is a foregone conclusion over the next few months.”
Class 8 net orders stay strong
Source: FTR
February 2021 represented the second-highest February total for class 8 orders. February also extended the streak to 5 consecutive months with orders above 44,000 units. Compared to February 2020, February’s figures were a 209% YoY increase. As Don Ake VP of Commercial Vehicles noted, “There is tremendous pent-up demand for trucks.”
2020 net income better than expected for owner-operators
Source: Overdrive
The back half of 2020 paid dividends for owner operators. The average net income for leased and independent operators jumped nearly 5k in 2020 ($67,742) compared to the 2019 figure ($63,000). Flatbed operators enjoyed the highest increase at 10.5%. As Todd Amen, president and CEO of ATBS observed, “It was a shockingly good year.”
