OTA Dispatch Issue 2 2020

21 www.ortrucking.org Issue 2 | 2020 TRUCKING ACTIVITY & OPERATIONS ` Freight movement is both volatile and depressed. Trucking activity during the COVID pandemic is generally suffering with several exceptions. While many sectors are experiencing considerable to dramatic reductions in loads and trips, trucks moving essential consumer goods and medical supplies were generally at capacity in March, due to the consumer panic-buying. ` Trip velocities are up considerably at hotspots, chokepoints, and during rush-hour operations, and only up slightly on the rest of the roadway network. Most of the change is due to dramatically lower traffic congestion levels. ` The industry’s expectations over the next few months are that freight levels will decline or stay the same; optimism is not high in the short-term. That said, the large majority of the pessimistic respondents indicate that it will only get “somewhat worse” (vs “much worse”). ATRI’s Truck Activity Index may be documenting slight freight improvements in mid-April as compared to late March. DETENTION TIMES ` While the majority of truck drivers indicated that detention, loading and unloading times were about the same during the pandemic, another third indicated that they were worse. Fleets were affected disparately based on size, with the smallest fleets and largest fleets encountering the longest delays at both shipping and receiving facilities. This is problematic as previous research by both OOIDA Foundation and ATRI indicates that detention times were extremely excessive and growing worse prior to COVID-19. TRUCK PARKING ` Truck parking continues to be a serious issue for truck drivers, but most (42%) say it has not gotten worse during the pandemic. ` State rest area closures were cited multiple times as a big part of the issue by those indicating that truck parking is worse. GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC ` The trucking industry has a generally favorable impression of pandemic-related actions taken by both state and federal government agencies, although they viewed the federal response more favorably than state actions. ` Respondents identified a large number of critical strategies that state and/or federal government agencies should have • The majority of owner-operators and trucking firms (45%) do not have any formal disaster plan, and of those who do, less than one-third (31.8%) address pandemics. • Lik ly based on available resources, fleet size dictates the development of disaster plans. Nearly 80 percent of owner-operators and small fleets do not have any type of disaster plan in place, whereas 70 percent of large fleets do. Given the large percentage of small fleet registrations in the U.S., industry associations and government gencies should facilitate and/or expand the role of disaster planning among this sector of trucking. Figure 6. Change in Freight Levels by Fleet Size 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% Less than 5 5-15 16-50 51-250 251-500 501-1000 1,000+ Total Percent of Respondents Much Lower Somewhat Lower About the Same Somewhat Higher Much Higher COVID-19 Impacts on the Trucking Industry By The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) & The OOIDA Foundation Change in Freight Levels by Fleet Size