There are plenty of topics to look at when judging demand. Whether it be demand for fuel, freight, or drivers there are different signals to take into consideration. Traditionally for fuel it can be judged daily by taking a look at price spikes or drops. Then freight demand can be assessed seasonally or monthly by online load boards posted by brokerages.
The question to be asked though is if there could be an “Outside of the Box” indicator that both fuel and freight businesses could use to judge demand? Something as simple as trailer orders could be a great signifier of demand in both markets. FTR Transportation Intelligence reports that 2018 was a record high year for trailer orders totaling 409,800 throughout the U.S.
With that many trailers being ordered on top of an economy that is generating high freight demand we could be seeing an increasing need for fuel and drivers. After all if you don’t have enough of the drivers to pull these trailers, or enough fuel to run the equipment then some may be forced to see their shiny new trailers sitting in a lot instead of on the road generating revenue for their business.
