Labor

The freight industry under the impact of the pandemic: after the second-quarter shutdown, where is the industry headed?

The second quarter, which began on April 1, 2020, is widely expected to go down in economic history—but not for positive reasons. Goldman Sachs predicts that GDP will contract by 24% in this quarter. Freight industry executives and economists are assessing whether this is merely a 'man-made event' confined to the second quarter or whether it will evolve into a deeper financial recession. This article synthesizes the views of experts from Daseke, FTR, ACT Research, and Georgia State University, analyzing the difference between demand destruction and deferred demand, the effectiveness of federal stimulus policies, and the long-term impact of shifting consumer habits toward online shopping on the freight structure.