After a 2018 that saw record-setting levels of freight-hauling demand and driver pay as tonnage levels reached a 20-year high, the trucking industry is expected to remain strong in 2019 but undergo a bit of a cool-down, economists say.
“[Last year,] of course, was as good a year as the truck market has ever had — it was a record year in a number of ways,” Transport Futures Principal and Economist Noel Perry said during an interview on Transport Topics Radio, which is heard on SiriusXM Radio. “The spot market started the year at extraordinarily tight levels, and the contract market has been tight all year. So, it was a great year.”
He noted, however, that things trailed off as the year closed. “The fourth quarter was down enough in several categories to indicate we’re not going to sustain that peak performance in 2019.”
For the economy and the trucking industry, 2018 was spectacular. The U.S. Gross Domestic Product expanded at a 3.5% rate in the third quarter, and the December jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the economy added a robust 312,000 positions.
American Trucking Associations reported that, through November, the total freight hauled by for-hire truck drivers was 7.2% more than the first 11 months of 2017.