As a part of our on-going COVID-19 coverage, we’ll be providing breaking news, resources, and insight into the pandemic’s impact on the industry.
To see if you qualify for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, click here.
ATA President and CEO Chris Spear says the bill will provide critical assistance to small and midsize motor carriers. The cash infusion will specifically help carriers maintain payrolls, keep the economy’s supply lines active and ensure the movement of essential goods that all Americans rely upon.
“At its core, trucking is an industry of small business. More than 90% of motor carriers in this country have fewer than six trucks, and it is critically important for the health of our nation’s supply chain that small and midsize carriers have accesses to liquidity so they can keep their drivers paid, trucks running, stores restocked and hospitals supplied,” Spear said last week.
Has The Volume Surge Peaked?
The Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI) dropped to 12,776.81 on Wednesday, the first one-day decline since late January.
Jonathan Rojas, Transfix’s Director of Carrier Management and Development, has noted an emerging trend as carriers attempt to keep grocery stores, pharmacies, hospitals and clinics stocked with essential and in some cases life-saving supplies.
We continue to observe heavy volume across the country as shippers attempt to move essential goods. The shippers we work with on a daily basis are doing everything possible to keep facilities open by changing their operating procedures to abide by social distancing standards (reducing the number of employees, cleaning regularly, etc) while keeping up with escalating volume. Interestingly, we are seeing shippers request more drop service at either pickup or delivery because they are backed up and have limited live appointments available. Drop requests increased for our NE customers by 27% week over week and we anticipate that indicator to remain high next week.
In addition to the impact of COVID-19, our team is monitoring the upcoming produce seasons in Southern California, Texas and South Florida. Peak harvesting of strawberries in Southern California, peaches in Texas, and watermelons in South Florida will impact available capacity in these regions in the short term.
The Transfix team remains committed to providing critical services to our customers during this crucial time. For more on COVID-19’s impact on the freight market, please refer to our website, blog, social channels and via email.