New data has been released showing how COVID-19 has impacted the trucking industry.

Figures from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) looked at truck activity across six states from February 9 through to the week ending April 18, by converting its real-time truck GPS dataset into a truck activity index.

From early February into March, the data showed a spike in initial truck activity due to higher consumer demand for items such as non-perishable food and paper products, as well as emergency medical supplies.

The research also revealed the impacts of the stay-at-home orders that shut down major segments of the economy, with a resulting decline in April trucking operations.

  • Of the six states analyzed, California had the earliest stay-at-home order issued on March 19. California also experienced the earliest upward spike in truck activity, occurring during the week of March 1. Truck activity in California is now down 8.3 percent from early February.
  • In Florida, Illinois and New York, truck activity spiked the week of March 8 but is now down on average by over 10 percent from February 9.
  • In Pennsylvania and Washington, truck activity spiked during the week of March 15, but is now down by an average of nearly 9 percent from February 9.

The ATRI says initial signs of a return to normal have started to appear. In New York, one of the earliest states to experience high numbers of coronavirus cases, truck activity started a positive uptick during the week of April 12.

“In these unprecedented times, we need to rely on science and facts, not anecdotes and speculation,” said American Trucking Associations Chief Economist, Bob Costello.

“This ATRI research is able to tell us in near-real-time what the pandemic is really doing to the trucking industry.”