A freight transportation truck drives on a highway in the rain.

Pent-Up Demand May Cause Supply Chain to 'Break Loose,' Analyst Says

Dec. 8, 2021

Easing shortages of freight suggest 2022 could be a year of pent up demand exploding, or more of the same.

Almost two years into an economy with high demand but tangled-up supply chains, manufacturers want to know: When will things get simpler? A new analysis from FTR may shed some light on the situation.

According to Don Ake, FTR’s VP of commercial vehicles, in an interview with FleetOwner magazine, notes that trucking has been clogged for about nine months, and still faces similar challenges as those faced by manufacturing: A shortage of labor and supplies.

“While the trucking industry faces a much-publicized driver shortage, there also is a growing new truck shortage,” writes Josh Fisher, FleetOwner’s technology editor.

But truck manufacturers are beginning to rebound thanks to slowly improving supplies in 2022, which could trigger significant and sustained growth in production, Ake says.

“You had pent-up demand last year—a little bit that rolled into this year,” Ake said. “So you’ve got the demand.” In the meantime, consumer spending is continuing to lead the wider economic recovery, while industrial output—according to Ake—has “barely recovered.” If that doesn’t change, he says, 2022 could indeed turn out to be “kind of a replay of 2021.”

But the situation as it is now can’t last forever. As Ake puts it: “Things have to break loose at some point.”

For further analysis, read the full article on IndustryWeek’s sister site, FleetOwner, here.