ACT Research brought commercial vehicle and transportation industry leaders together Aug. 19 – 20 in Columbus, Indiana, for its 75th Market Vitals Seminar and a celebration of the company’s 40th anniversary. The two-day program examined the forces shaping the next phase of the freight and equipment cycles. Topics that were explored included economic growth, freight market supply-demand balance, commercial vehicle demand, the upcoming emissions regulation, used-equipment values, autonomous trucking and the changing needs of fleets and dealers.
The seminar’s central conclusion was that the market has become more constructive after an extended carrier-profitability downturn, even as the improvement remains driven more by constraints on available capacity than by a broad surge in freight demand. ACT Research analysts connected rising freight rates and improving carrier financial conditions to replacement demand, equipment production, used-truck values and the timing and level of fleet investment.
Guest speakers added operating and strategic perspectives from across the industry. Rusty Rush, chairman, CEO and president of Rush Enterprises, discussed the evolution of the commercial truck dealership and the importance of translating scale, technology and adjacent services into customer value. Alison Trueblood, vice president and general manager of Cummins Emission Solutions, outlined the work required to prepare new emissions systems for market while protecting reliability, quality, uptime and customer confidence.
Derek Leathers, chairman and CEO of Werner Enterprises, shared a fleet operator’s view of the supply-driven turn in carriers’ fortunes, rate negotiations, dedicated operations, equipment trade cycles, regulatory enforcement and the need for real-world product testing. An autonomous-trucking panel moderated by ACT Research’s Ann Rundle and featuring Robert Brown, vice president of partnerships at Bot Auto, and Melody Drummond Hansen, chief strategist at Acute Strategy LLC, examined commercial use cases, deployment constraints, regulation, liability, safety and the pace of autonomous adoption.
ACT Research’s economic panel explored the longer-term implications of productivity, artificial intelligence, business investment, housing affordability, labor-force participation, government debt, energy and trade. The company’s analysts then translated those economic forces into outlooks for freight volumes and rates, and, from there, the demand implications for Class 8 trucks and tractors, trailers, used trucks and medium-duty vehicles.
“Seminar 75 gave us the opportunity to celebrate the customers, speakers, colleagues and industry friends who helped ACT Research reach 40 years in business, even as we kept the discussion focused on the myriad factors impacting vehicle demand, and by extension the decisions the industry must make to maximize success in the coming cycle,” Ken Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT Research, said. “The market is improving, but the path forward will be shaped by how freight demand, capacity, regulation, equipment costs and customer confidence interact. Our job is to help the industry connect those signals and plan with greater clarity.”
As part of the anniversary celebration, ACT Research recognized 16 customers that have worked with the company since its founding in 1986. The recognition underscored the long-standing relationships that have supported ACT Research’s growth from its early commercial vehicle forecasting work into a broader decision-support platform spanning freight, commercial vehicle and equipment market intelligence.
