Small carriers expanding fleets while large carriers reduce theirs
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Association (FMCSA) data, carriers who operate smaller fleet sizes of one to six trucks continue to add power to their operation, with tractor counts growing 5% since last September. Over the same time, fleets who operate more than 1,000 units have decreased tractor count size by almost 3.5%. A byproduct of the sell-off has been continued increase in used truck prices for 3-year-old class 8 trucks, even as the freight market has softened from a year-over-year perspective. According to the article from the freightwaves.com and its author Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst.
The trend is somewhat unexpected as this year has been marred with increasing instances of trucking company failures due to lower volumes and an oversupplied market. Only recently in August, was there a sustained level of increased volumes, but the increasing tractor counts for smaller fleets have been steadily rising all year. Some of this is explainable in the way the smaller carrier has the least amount of visibility to the broader market due to dealing with only a few shippers at a time, but that is not the entire story. According to Strickland
FreightWaves Chief Insight Officer Dean Croke says, “Digitization and e-commerce has made it easier for smaller carriers to penetrate the market by giving them visibility via technology like mobile load board apps and increasing volumes of regional freight movements compared to longer haul over-the-road freight that is more difficult to manage and maintain utilization levels.” Strickland also wrote in his article.
Read the full story HERE
Chart of the Week: Tractor Count – 1-6 unit fleets, 1000+ unit fleets, Used Truck Prices – 3 year old (SONAR: TCTCO.USA, TCTCE.USA, UT3.USA)
Source and credits: freightwaves.com / Zach Strickland, FW Market Expert & Market Analyst / iTrucker / Mario Pawlowski