ACT Research released the latest installment of its ACT Freight Forecast, U.S. Rate and Volume OUTLOOK report.

“With visibility on a strong freight cycle still unusually good, this month’s report analyzes how an infrastructure package would impact the freight markets in the coming years. We also incorporate the pent-up demand that is building amid parts shortages into our forecasts,” Tim Denoyer, vice president and senior analyst for ACT Research, said. “We also discuss long-term implications from the 200,000-ton metaphor for the overreach of globalization that recently blocked the Suez Canal.

“Supply chain disruptions have slowed the pace of recovery in U.S. Class 8 tractor retail sales; backlogs are very long and orders remain strong, but the industry’s ability to ramp vehicle manufacturing will be challenged into [the second half of 2021]. Ongoing shipping delays and disruptions will continue to be a major challenge in this supply-constrained freight recovery.”