Posted on

Heavy-duty truck orders rebounding from COVID slump

After the early pandemic days of uncertainty, when OEMs shut down production, heavy-truck build levels plummeted. But production has recovered quicker than in past recessions, and demand has set up the industry for a booming future.

Half a year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic first started shutting down local, national and worldwide economies, it created uncertainty for truck makers and buyers. Now the truck market appears to be making a V-shaped recovery from the nadir of spring as fleets focus on fall orders to prepare for a potentially busy 2021 that could spur high demand over the next three years.

“We have a flash recession caused by a natural disaster. Normally natural disasters are regional. This natural disaster was not only countrywide but worldwide,” Don Ake, the FTR Intelligence vice president for commercial vehicles, said during a recent FTR Engage virtual session on commercial vehicle supply.

Continue reading “Heavy-duty truck orders rebounding from COVID slump”

Posted on

How to Get Trucking Past the Coronavirus Pandemic

Editor’s note: Written by Oswaldo Flores, safety and compliance product manager for Teletrac Navman. This is one in a series of periodic guest columns by industry thought leaders.

With much of America’s trucking operations grounded for the past several months during the COVID-19 outbreak, fleet managers are eager to get back to work. But what does that look like in a world where trucks have been sitting idle for 90-days or more?

Continue reading “How to Get Trucking Past the Coronavirus Pandemic”