COVID-19 Impact on Semi-Trailerin Automotive Industry
ANALYSIS ON IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE MARKET
Semi-trailer is a trailer which doesn’t have any shaft and the combination of one or more trailor which is used to carry carriage is called semi- trailer truck. These semi- trailers are widely used in the industries like construction, medical, oil & gas, and food & beverages among others. The large amount of the semi- trailer weight is supported by tractor unit known as dolly and these semi-trailers when are disassociated are armed with landing gear. Growth in the cold chain industry is the major factor fueling the growth of this semi-trailer market.
However, coronavirus and the nation's response to the emergency are quickly transforming the day-to-day realities of fleet-based companies in the United States. Although many states are once again considering home-stay laws, transport, field service, utility employees, energy workers and several other fleet-based businesses have been listed as critical services and continue to function, but in a vastly changed manner. Due to the pandemic, the transportation industry gets highly effected which resulted in decreased travel by ground, air and water transportation modes. These changes have resulted both from fear of getting sick and from restrictions imposed by government. The transport sector continues to face challenges as a result of supply chain disruptions and national emergency delivery needs, whilst drivers seek to maintain their health on the road. According to Nick Beck, owner of Beck Trucking, trucking companies are already doing their best to meet increasing demand across the world.
AFTERMATH OF COVID-19 AND GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO BOOST THE MARKET
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) extended its COVID-19 emergency declaration until the end of the year to offer HOS relief to commercial vehicle drivers transporting the necessary goods in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes food, raw materials, medical supplies, paper products, and supplies/equipment required for sanitation and community protection. According to the FMCSA, none of the HOS regulations apply 'if the driver is engaged in providing direct assistance under the emergency relief exemption.' This means that drivers are not required to take 30-minute breaks and that there is no provision for a daily 34-hour restart. To help ensure safety,' after the driver has completed the delivery, the driver must obtain a minimum of 10 hours off duty.
According to the FMCSA, none of the HOS regulations apply 'if the driver is engaged in providing direct assistance under the emergency relief exemption.' This means that drivers are not required to take 30-minute breaks and that there is no provision for a daily 34-hour restart. To help ensure safety,' after the driver has completed the delivery, the driver must obtain a minimum of 10 hours off duty.
According to recent reports by FTR Transportation Intelligence (FTR) and ACT Analysis, North American Class 8 orders took another dive in April to an unprecedented level of 4,000 units (ACT). Total Class 8 orders for the 12 months ended April 2020 totaled just 160,000 units, compared to approximately 344,000 units for the same duration a year earlier.
STRATEGIC DECISIONS FOR MANUFACTURERS AFTER COVID-19 TO GAIN COMPETITIVE MARKET SHARE
Fleet companies have dual responsibilities for running a company and managing the fleet effectively. With tenacity and intelligent equipment, fleet companies will tide through any kind of disaster and potentially use downtime to plan for uptime. The Commercial Vehicle Training Association (CVTA) is unable to train, license and deploy new truck drivers due to the widespread closure of state driver licensing agencies, threatening the industry's ability to ensure that the supply chains of the country continue to travel. The public fleets are conducting vital tasks throughout the pandemic, and it is not a small job to move from regular to emergency operations. From technicians to supervisors, fleet workers are at their offices, working to keep police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, garbage trucks, and other critical vehicles on the road.
IMPACT ON DEMAND
The digital freight broker based out of Denver connects drivers with customers needing to fulfill extra capacity or recover freight, and going has been good. Transportation costs account for between 5% and 15% of the cost of products sold, so it is definitely in the best interests of the producer to minimize these costs by whatever means is possible. It is more necessary than ever to enable flexibility in port logistics to handle uncertainties, both now and in the post-COVID-19 world. The goal of this paper is to build a conceptual framework to holistically capture the different dimensions of container port logistics capability.
IMPACT ON SUPPLY CHAIN
Long-term collaboration with producers has made it more difficult for retailers to rapidly switch suppliers. Rigidity in sourcing means that when large consumer packaged goods (CPG) firms cannot scale production as rapidly as is possible, retailers cannot quickly move to alternative sources.
CONCLUSION
The input-output method has been used in an imaginative way to provide early estimates of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on GDP at a time when there are no or minimal, hard economic data on the case. It also discusses the significant heterogeneity under which individual economic sectors have been subjected to economic stagnation. Trucking acts as a barometer of the U.S. economy, accounting for more than 70% of the tonnage transported by all modes of domestic freight transport, including goods produced and sold. However, COVID-19 has helped several parts of the trucking industry and is expected to continue for several months to come. Provider of multimodal transport systems C.H. Robinson announced a rise in volume of 30 to 40 per cent for retail food products and 15 to 20 per cent for healthcare related products and products in March. Dry van load-to-truck ratios (measuring relative demand in the industry) increased by 66 per cent in March. In addition, regulations relating to the amount of hours a driver should operate were relaxed in April by the Department of Transport with a view to streamlining the distribution of essential medical supplies.