Currently, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic are quite evident, having affected the freight market adversely, according to those who carefully observe the trucking industry. Other economic factors in place before the epidemic also have a share in dragging the industry back. Robert Dieli, an economist with MacKay & Co., claimed that the industry is currently facing two different events that are intertwined. Earlier in January, there were high chances of a recession and the year 2020, always seemed to be going to be a challenge due to the increased tariffs, the decline in the export and imports sector, and therefore by the middle of the year, the situation would be even more alarming. 

According to a report generated by MacKay’s Trackable Economic Activity index, the situation got even more onerous in March and April. The TEA helps MacKay assess all sorts of economic activities in the trucking industry ranging from goods for consumption and construction to imports and exports. ACT Vice President Tim Denoyer said that North American intermodal Class I railcar loads experienced quite a dip to about 320,000 units in April. A blog post revealed that the pandemic had not heavily hit the U.S in the trucking industry in terms of the driver shortage. It stated that drivers had still been working for different reasons, and if the sector were to be struck, they would have to resolve intermodal transportation.

Denoyer reiterates that despite the drop, they had already begun bouncing back to recovery. He added that there had been a reduction in truck building activities as most of the truck making plants have had to close down. Orders for class * tractors have also severely plummeted in the year. Denoyer, however, was positive, stating that there had been a few supplies from the market while at the same time demand had started improving gradually too as the economy begins trying to be kicked back up.  

USA Truck CEO James Reed said that there had been new freight coming on. He was quite hopeful despite the current situation with the virus, acknowledging that whenever freight returns, there would be positives expected. For Dieli, they are entirely dependent on schools reopening to allow the parents to go back to work; if not, they would have no workers. The virus has also meant that there is a slower rate of construction. ACT's forecast shows that it would take time for the economy to recover to its state as of the fourth quarter of 2019.