ACT Research is raising caution flags for the U.S. economy, and by extension, for the North American commercial vehicle industry.
“Over the course of Q4 2018, the list of indicators flashing yellow became longer and brighter for the US economy,” said Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “While there is insufficient evidence to make a recession call, there is enough presently to suggest growing potential for sectoral recessions, à la 2015.”
Regarding trucking rates, Vieth said: “After several months of deterioration, the spread between contract and spot rates has been sufficiently wide for a sufficiently long period that ACT’s rate pressure analysis is now calling for negative contract rates, if just, by Q2 2019.”