With COVID-19 conditions, supply chain issues and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we’ve had a few years now of unexpected situations making it very hard for the trucking industry to thrive. According to FleetOwner “inventories are lean, labor is scarce, but demand is still pretty solid.” Inflation is the highest it has been in the last 40 years! ACT Researcher Jim Meil sees three main risks for 2022: Russia-Ukraine war, inflation and high interest rates — and what he calls the 3Cs – COVID, China and cyber-warfare. The pandemic has been a global issue for years. China, one of the world’s largest import/export countries has closed some ports off to various countries, making it hard to get necessary goods to many places. Cyber-warfare isn’t new but criminals have definitely used new levels of strategy when it comes to stealing loads, impersonating trucking companies and more.
Here are some more news topics that can create a lasting global impact
- Unknown outcomes from global risk
- The stock market
- WTI oil prices
- Commodity prices
- Shaky business and customer confidence
- COVID BA.2 variant
- Higher interest rates
Here are some good news events that can lead towards a positive future
- There is ample pent-up demand
- Omicron cases are in a rapid decline
- Inventories are lean
- Small business confidence is pretty high
- Credit is still available
- Consumers and businesses are still buying big-ticket items
