Horizons Fall/Winter 2020

INDUSTRY UPDATE TRANSPORTATION & DEALERSHIPS

Unprecedented Times Call for Unprecedented Measures in Transportation by Aaron Pollard, CPA, CGMA

2 020 has been a wild roller-coaster for everyone, and the trucking industry has not been excluded from this. For trucking markets, it’s important to first look back to nearly a year ago at the end of Q3 and beginning of Q4 of 2019, when rates started to decline. All signs looked towards 2020 being a down year and a “rebuilding” year for the trucking industry. This continued through February and the first part of March, until we started to see a small resurgence within certain aspects of the trucking community. Volume was picking up due to the demand of “stay at home orders”; however, due to the uncertainty

of the economy, there was an increased validity within rates. This caused additional pressures in order to deliver loads and keep customers happy and working. After a bit of a pause in May, rates were starting to stabilize and hopes were on the incline. Then, in July, the American Trucking Association released news that the total tonnage through June 2020 had only declined 2.4% compared to the first six months of 2019. With the load counts continuing to increase, 2020 is shaping up to be on pace for 2019 totals. So will there be another downturn? What happened to the “rebuild” and what should we expect for 2021?

34 Unprecedented Times Call for Unprecedented Measures in Transportation