Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Freight industry drives hot demand for trailers as capacity stays tight

But manufacturers struggle to set prices and production levels thanks to supply chain kinks, ACT says.

ACT Screen Shot 2022-04-13 at 3.15.40 PM.png

As the freight sector grapples with a stubborn space crunch in trucking capacity, the industry in March drove demand for new equipment that pushed net trailer orders for the month to their highest level since December 2020, a report shows.

Preliminary measures show that the bookings of 37,900 units were up 40% month-over-month and 28% better year-over-year, according to transportation sector analysis firm ACT Research.


However, that spike in demand masked heavy variability in production levels between different original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the Columbus, Indiana-based firm said.

“Our discussions this month revealed a variation in order acceptance strategies across the industry. Some OEMs noted that their extremely low order volume was the result of a ‘sell-out’ of their projected available production slots for the remainder of the year. Others, accepting higher order volumes, were in the process of filling their remaining production capacity for 2022,” Frank Maly, Director CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT Research, said in a release.

A likely explanation for the scattered pattern was that manufacturers are feeling the pinch of disruptions to their procurement supply chains, making it difficult for them to feel confident in economic forecasts.

“Also mentioned was an unwillingness to officially open 2023 orderboards, with concerns about setting pricing the major challenge,” Maly said. “A positive development was indication that some supply-chain relief was beginning to be felt. Final figures for the month will likely reveal total industry backlog now stretching into December at current production rates, heavily influenced by dry van and reefer commitments that basically fill their year.”

Recent

More Stories

gartner chart of survey on procurement risk

Gartner survey: supply disruption ranked as top procurement risk

A hefty 42% of procurement leaders say the biggest threat to their future success is supply disruptions—such as natural disasters and transportation issues—a Gartner survey shows.

The survey, conducted from June through July 2024 among 258 sourcing and procurement leaders, was designed to help chief procurement officers (CPOs) understand and prioritize the most significant risks that could impede procurement operations, and what actions can be taken to manage them effectively.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Logistics services continue to “go green”

Logistics services continue to “go green”

The market for environmentally friendly logistics services is expected to grow by nearly 8% between now and 2033, reaching a value of $2.8 billion, according to research from Custom Market Insights (CMI), released earlier this year.

The “green logistics services market” encompasses environmentally sustainable logistics practices aimed at reducing carbon emissions, minimizing waste, and improving energy efficiency throughout the supply chain, according to CMI. The market involves the use of eco-friendly transportation methods—such as electric and hybrid vehicles—as well as renewable energy-powered warehouses, and advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) for optimizing logistics operations.

Keep ReadingShow less
An audience views a presentation given by man in a sport coat against a backdrop that says "Becoming a Real-Time Busines."

Peter Weill of MIT tells the audience at the IFS Unleashed user conference about the benefits of being a "real-time business."

Ben Ames

Real-time data flows can provide competitive advantage

Companies that integrate real-time data flows into their operations consistently outperform their competitors, said Peter Weill, the chairman of MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research (CISR), in a session Wednesday at a conference held by IFS, the Swedish enterprise resource planning (ERP) and artificial intelligence (AI) firm.

These "real-time businesses," according to Weill, use trusted, real-time data to enable people and systems to make real-time decisions. By adopting that strategy, these companies gain three major capabilities:

Keep ReadingShow less
exxonmobile oil field with pumps in texas

Kinaxis and ExxonMobil will design supply chain planning tools

Supply chain orchestration software provider Kinaxis today announced a co-development deal with ExxonMobil to create supply chain technology solutions designed specifically for the energy sector.

ExxonMobil is uniquely placed to understand the biggest opportunities in improving energy supply chains, from more accurate sales and operations planning, increased agility in field operations, effective management of enormous transportation networks and adapting quickly to complex regulatory environments,” John Sicard, Kinaxis CEO, said in a release.

Keep ReadingShow less
hurricane milton rainfall forecast map florida

Supply chain networks prep for delays as Milton storms in

Hurricane Milton was just beginning to unleash its slashing wind and pouring rain on Florida’s western coast on Wednesday, but the supply chain disruptions caused by the enormous storm have already been unfolding for days.

For example, millions of residents and workers in the Tampa region have now left their homes and jobs, heeding increasingly dire evacuation warnings from state officials. They’re fleeing the estimated 10 to 20 feet of storm surge that is forecast to swamp the area, due to Hurricane Milton’s status as the strongest hurricane in the Gulf since Rita in 2005, the fifth-strongest Atlantic hurricane based on pressure, and the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane based on its peak winds, according to market data provider Industrial Info Resources.

Keep ReadingShow less