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While many sectors of the U.S. economy are reopening in the coming weeks, there are still concerns on how the economy will rebound. The trucking industry is seeking relief in a big way as they hope to push off the Federal Excise Tax (FEX) on new heavy-duty trucks and trailers through 2021.

Many obstacles have plagued the transportation industry during the last 18 months, including driver retainment and freight pay decreases. Those along with many other factors have contribattributed to hundreds of companies shutting down. Industry organizations including the American Truck Dealers believe the suspension of the 12% FEX will help bolster new truck sales as the industry recovers from  the impact of COVID-19.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies agreed yesterday to cut production of crude oil by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in May and June, 7.6 million bpd July – December, and 5.6 million bpd January 2021 – April 2022.  The 9.7 million bpd is roughly 10% of the global supply.  Reuters reports, “The cut by OPEC+ may be more than four times deeper than the previous record set in 2008 and overall oil supply may shrink by twice that with other measures, but the reduction remains dwarfed by a demand drop predicted by some forecasters to be as much as 30 million bpd in April.”  It was not long ago in early January that Brent crude was trading above $70/barrel but with the relentless Coronavirus pandemic, that number dropped to a 20-year low of $21.65/barrel on March 30^th. 

COVID-19 is now in the lexicon of our vocabulary, we have been using it daily and its impact is felt globally.  From school closings, social distancing, and out of stock supermarkets, people and industries from all walks of life are being impacted.   The trucking industry is not immune to COVID-19 and has experienced cancellations and postponements of annual shows and events.  As reported by Josh Fisher of FleetOwner Magazine, below is a list of trade shows and conventions that have been affected thus far:

Electric and autonomous trucks have made huge leaps in technology in the past several years.  Having said that, wide scale implementation within the trucking industry is still years away.  Automated distribution centers however will be tested very soon. Tech companies have received financing to launch startup businesses within the sector. “Outrider, a technology based company out of Golden, Colorado, has received $53 million to launch its startup and will begin beta testing of automated electric trucks at five yards in the U.S.,” Josh Fisher of FleetOwner reports.  Outrider posted a short video to its Twitter page to give the public a glimpse of how the process works, see below: