U.S. Xpress Releases COVID-19 Impact Forecast

Whitepaper examines future state of truckload market, effect on shippers

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. Xpress, a subsidiary of U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: USX), the nation’s fifth largest asset-based truckload carrier by revenue, has released a COVID-19 Impact Forecast, analyzing the current and future state of freight in America.

“Even in the calmest of times, trucking can be complex and unpredictable,” said U.S. Xpress President and CEO Eric Fuller. “We developed this whitepaper to provide our outlook on the truckload market and serve as a resource for shippers as they navigate through the pandemic.”

Using forecasts and data from Wall Street firms, transportation analysts and government authorities, the company believes the trucking industry will experience unprecedented weak demand in the second quarter which will give way to an uncertain future. Multiple scenarios are likely with the company believing that a recovery period will at some point include heightened demand coupled with supply levels decimated by weak demand in the second quarter.

“Due to weakened supply and expected carrier bankruptcies, we could see a historic removal of capacity from the market,” explained Fuller. “In a full recovery, that translates into historically high spot rates, but more importantly for shippers, it means their freight - depending on how steep the rate of recovery is - may have to be deprioritized and sit on docks because there isn’t enough capacity to handle all the demand.”

More insights on a post-pandemic economy and trucking industry are available in the COVID-19 Impact Forecast on the U.S. Xpress blog.

About U.S. Xpress:

Founded in 1985, U.S. Xpress, Inc., is a subsidiary of U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc., the nation’s fifth largest asset-based truckload carrier by revenue, providing services primarily throughout the United States. We offer customers a broad portfolio of services using our own truckload fleet and third-party carriers through our non-asset-based truck brokerage network. Our modern fleet of tractors is backed up by a team of committed professionals whose focus lies squarely on meeting the needs of our customers and our drivers.