Commercial Vehicle & Transportation

Forecast Reports

ACT Research is known for our award-winning forecasts, providing long-term outlooks for the commercial vehicle, transportation, and freight markets. We forecast freight rates and volumes, Class 8 and medium-duty production, commercial trailer builds, and the North American economies.

Winner of 2019 Lawrence R. Klein Award

For Forecast Accuracy Presented by Blue Chip Economic Indicators

N.A. Commercial Vehicle OUTLOOK

This is a monthly report analyzing the North American Commercial Vehicle markets. In the report is a robust review of the North American Economy (Canada, United States, Mexico), medium- and heavy-duty market activity, the U.S. trailer industry, as well as transportation and equipment briefs. The types of businesses that should be interested in the ACT North America Commercial Vehicle OUTLOOK are those businesses in the commercial vehicle industry supply chain, as well as those investing in manufacturers in the OEM supply chain.

The OUTLOOK provides an in-depth overview of current commercial vehicle market activity and factors influencing demand. The report culminates in quarterly (2 year) and annual (5 year) forecasts. Drilling deeper, the OUTLOOK starts with by-country North American economic overviews before pivoting to sections on current market activity for MD vehicles, HD trucks and tractors, and the U.S. trailer market. From there, the report examines additional factors influencing demand including freight market activity, trends in used equipment valuations, and where the industry stands in relation to the regulatory pipeline. The forecasts in the report are broken into the specific segment’s vehicle types. For the medium-duty Classes 5-7 market, trucks, buses, and Class A recreational vehicles are forecast. For heavy-duty Class 8, the forecast is split into a matrix of vocational trucks and tractors, with and without sleepers. The U.S. trailer market forecast breaks the market into major trailer types, with whole market aggregates for Canada and Mexico.

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Freight Forecast: U.S. Rate & Volume OUTLOOK

ACT’s Freight Forecast is a monthly report that bridges ACT’s leadership in commercial vehicle and economic analysis and ACT’s transportation industry expertise, providing an innovative and comprehensive view of supply and demand in trucking markets. The purpose of this monthly report is to provide visibility to industry professionals across the supply chain on the future of freight transportation economics to assist industry professionals with their planning and budgeting, and as a guide to negotiating freight rates.

With this report, you will receive freight rate and volume forecasts for the truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal sectors, with an in-depth market analysis of capacity and demand for each segment as well as analysis of related markets including last mile and port activity. We have also included a carrier profitability analysis, and, most importantly, a guide to negotiating freight rates. The types of businesses that should be interested in ACT’s Freight Forecast are those businesses that are Logistics (3PL, 4PL), Transportation, Shippers, and Financial Services. Other businesses are using the Freight Forecast report to inform them in preparation for business planning and budgeting. Additionally, businesses are utilizing this report for supply and demand analysis to understand freight rate outlook.

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China Commercial Vehicle OUTLOOK

ACT’s China Commercial Vehicle OUTLOOK is a quarterly report that reviews the macroeconomics of the Chinese economy, and conducts a deep dive into the transportation environment of and industrial policies impact on the Chinese commercial vehicle industry. The types of business that should be interested in the ACT China Commercial Vehicle OUTLOOK are those businesses that are interested in transportation fuel/energy, the manufacturing of alternative fuel for commercial vehicles, and those supplying equipment or financing to companies using, considering, or developing alternative fuel equipment/commodities/infrastructure.

With this report, you will receive: macroeconomic analysis – current data and forecasts, transport environment & industrial policies, analysis of current MD and HD truck market, vehicle forecasts (by quarter for the current year and 5-year annual forecast), competitive landscape, published with the China State Information Center (SIC).

Additionally, a monthly flash is available the last week of each month (except months when the full report is published) and includes wholesale data by: OEM and type, market share percentage, fuel and type, tonnage or length, monthly bulk commodity information, a usage explanation sheet, 40+ PowerPoint graphs.

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N.A. On-Highway CV Engine OUTLOOK

ACT’S North America On-Highway CV Engine OUTLOOK is a quarterly report produced in collaboration with Rhein Associates. Where ACT’s N.A. Commercial Vehicle OUTLOOK monthly report drills down to forecasts by vehicle type, the Engine OUTLOOK takes the top-line MD and HD forecasts from the N.A. Commercial Vehicle OUTLOOK report and breaks the market down by engine displacement. In addition to a 5-year forecast by engine displacement and captive versus independent market share, the report spends considerable time tracking the pipeline of new engine developments by OEM for medium- and heavy-duty markets and by fuel-type.

The types of businesses that should be interested in the North America On-Highway CV Engine OUTLOOK are those manufacturers in the commercial vehicle engine production supply chain and any company following the investment value of engine OEMs and their suppliers. Other businesses are using this report to inform them of strategic planning for businesses with under-the-hood products impacted by shifts in engine spec’ing as well as financial modeling.

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U.S. Trailer Components & Raw Materials Forecast

ACT’s U.S. Trailer Components & Raw Materials Forecast is a quarterly report that includes a one-page, quick-read executive highlight of the current trends in the trailer market, as well as forecast highlights. Additionally, we provide quarterly forecasts for the current and following year, as well as annual forecasts for the current and next 5 years. The report also analyses the trailer industry by components and raw materials, structural components, and undercarriage components. The types of businesses that should be interested in the ACT U.S. Trailer Components and Raw Materials Forecast are those businesses or manufacturers in the trailer production supply chain and any company following the investment value of trailers and trailer OEM suppliers. Other businesses are using this report to inform them of the current trailer market and forecasts, inform purchasing, scheduling, and inventory decisions as well as components and raw material-specific data.