Overview of CCJ’s Indicators: CCJ’s Indicators provides a summary of the latest trucking industry statistics concerning rates, freight, equipment, and economic factors.
Job Losses in the Trucking Sector: The total employment in the trucking industry fell by 600 jobs in February, as per the Department of Labor’s recent Employment Situation Report. This marks the first decline since October, ending a series of consecutive increases that lasted for a quarter.
The for-hire trucking employment count stood at 1.4657 million jobs for the month, as reported by the DOL. Notably, January’s employment figures were revised upwards from earlier estimates.
Overall Economic Conditions: The broader U.S. economy saw an addition of nearly 250,000 jobs, maintaining an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent. The report indicated that manufacturers in the U.S. experienced a loss of 16,000 jobs, whereas the construction sector added 19,000 jobs.
Truck Orders Remain Steady: Preliminary data from FTR shows that Class 8 net truck orders were stable at 17,650 units in February. This reflects a 2 percent decrease from January and a significant 43 percent drop compared to February of the previous year, which had seen a robust demand for truck orders.
According to FTR’s Don Ake, the current order patterns align with the existing market conditions. He noted that fleets have mostly completed their expansion of truck capacity for this cycle, with new purchases primarily driven by replacement needs. Current order averages and production expectations remain at this level.
Despite the recent decline in Class 8 demand, Ake forecasts a stable market for the upcoming months. He mentioned that February’s backlogs are expected to be 14 percent higher compared to two years ago.
