The Looming Capacity Crunch and Forecast

As the economic recovery continues to progress through the coming year, we must truly understand what is driving the recovery, the impact of a multitude of new governmental regulations and the new landscape of the trucking industry.

The data is clearly showing the current recovery is not being driven by consumer spending alone but rather by manufacturing spurred by exports. This is a critical distinction and the impact will be felt within the trucking industry.

Beginning this year, several proposed and passed governmental regulations are set to have significant impact on how carriers operate, hire drivers and manage their daily tours. The new and proposed regulations, according to industry experts, will have an impact on driver capacity.

The trucking industry is headed to a "new normal" and the rules will be changing. The driver market will not be in balance with demand for several years. So collectively, we are going to have to learn to navigate this new landscape while maintaining some normality of price and capacity.