Trucking industry expected to grow, spend more in 2006

FCC Equipment Financing Inc, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Financial Services Corp, has released a report compiling viewpoints on the status of the trucking

Aug. 1, 2006

2 min read

FCC Equipment Financing Inc, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Financial Services Corp, has released a report compiling viewpoints on the status of the trucking industry and future forecasts, along with customer insights.

The report, titled North American On-Highway Market Issues: Current Status and Future Outlook, provides overviews of the North American truck market broken out by heavy-duty and mid-range sectors, along with an On-Highway finance market overview. Highlights of this survey include:

More than 95% said business will be as good or better in 2006 than 2005.
More than 50% said the volume of freight they planned to haul increased in 2005 over 2004.
81% indicated their capital budgets would be the same or better, with more than 25% saying new equipment budgets will increase for 2006.
75% expect truck pricing to increase in 2006 versus 2005, with 25% saying the increase would be significant.
62% said trailer pricing would increase in 2006 versus 2005, but only 12% thought the increase would be significant.
82 percent of fleets surveyed stated they are implementing fuel surcharges to offset the rising cost of diesel fuel.
Fleets said the most important cost factors impacting their businesses were fuel costs (64%) and driver costs (23%).