Top 9 Trucking Industry Trends to Watch For in 2019

The trucking industry is entering into a new year and this time it has full potential to grow even more than 2018. Especially the e-commerce industry has a great impact on the growth of the trucking industry. A report says trucking industry trends will continue to expand to the number of $3.2 trillion by the year 2020. Undoubtedly, the upcoming trends in this industry will help transportation enter into a new era with a potential to become stronger than earlier. Having said that, here are the top nine trucking industry trends to watch for in 2019.

1 Dissatisfactory Supply of Trucks

Due to low truck supply and high freight demand, you may find capacity crunch in your trucking business. Especially the ongoing shortage of drivers causes this tightened capacity. It has been noticed that after the retirement of old drivers there are hardly a few young drivers who can take their place. The work is quite difficult, involved with long working hours, long-distance drives, being away from family for an extended period of time and having less than ideal payment. And lack of drivers means lack of trucks on the road to haul the increase in freight. Another factor that is impacting the truck supply is government regulation with the intention to ensure road safety. According to the regulation, truck drivers must install electronic logging device in their trucks, through which the hours of service can get automatically tracked. Due to the cost and hassle of installation process or the fact of being tracked by someone else all the time, there are many drivers who lose interest in their job.

2 Skyrocketing Rates

If the capacity in the trucking industry remains constrained, the freight transportation rate will certainly rise. There are mainly two kinds of rates involved with this industry - one is the spot market rate and another is the contract rate. The spot rates are quoted on the spot and usually done for the trucks that are ready to move. On the other hand, the contract rates are usually locked in via a contract between a carrier and a shipper; such rates are typically based on a year-long estimate of freight volume. As long as the truck owners will experience capacity crunch, these rates will continue to increase. This is one of the most crucial transportation industry trends that in near future can bring transition and encourage the shippers to depend on an intermodal process to decrease rate issues of the highway.

3 Robust Impact of Technology

Every year, new and innovative technologies disrupt the trucking industry. Various companies are launching apps or offering trucking businesses with on-demand freight apps. These apps make the transportation process hassle-free for both the shippers and drivers and help in streamlining logistics and enhance efficiency for shippers, drivers, and carriers.

Shippers are always in favor of any kind of solution that makes their job easy. On the other hand, carriers prefer such platforms that make the payment process safe, fast and easy. In future also, they will certainly embrace the introduction of robust technology in their trucking business and taste the success in the market share.

Another potential technological growth in the trucking business, as well as the transportation industry, is the usage of the autonomous vehicle. The vehicle owners do not have to pay for fuel if they start using autonomous vehicles. This trend can surely bring a new era for the trucking industry.

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