US freight levels see rapid v shaped recovery after COVID shutdown

The US economy has been striving for recovery since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic which struck hardest during the month of March. Following a massive slump in the beginning of July, the freight transportation industry has seen a significant spike to pre-COVID levels in all areas of trucking. Research compiled by SmartWitness showed that on July 3, service fleet activity levels were at 43% of pre-pandemic numbers with construction running at 30% and freight at 61%.

Since then, fleet activity has seen a phenomenal V-shaped recovery with service fleets at 97% (according to data on July 20), construction at 101% (on July 21), and freight at 103% (on July 18). On average all commercial vehicle activity in the USA was at 101% of pre-Covid levels as of July 22. This recovery is one of the most rapid of any industrial nation with only Canada showing a faster recovery whose impacts from COVID were significantly lower.

SmartWitness Vice President, Aaron Kim, stated “It’s great news that trucking and fleet activity has seen such a quick and significant recovery. We are still understanding and adapting to the effects of the pandemic situation but are encouraged to see that our customers have been able to continue operations and pull through during these unprecedented times.”

A major result of the pandemic has been that many fleets are more protective of cash, however, the need for technology continues to present itself. To support deployment of technology, SmartWitness has built a program to alleviate the financial burden of a video telematics rollout. This program provides fleets with a simple and cost-effective way to deploy a dashcam solution to protect their drivers from increased road hazards as a result of lower traffic, more aggressive driving, and higher average speeds. 

Inclusive of the program, starting at $34.99, is the hardware, software, monthly services, and professional installation. SmartWitness has integrated over 40 different telematics service providers into its cloud platform, SmartAPI, which gives customers even more flexibility when choosing the solution that best fits their business needs and provides the most meaningful insights.

The introduction of SmartWitness solutions has led to an overall 39% risk improvement for thousands of fleets with disputed claims reduced to 2%. With over 350,000 devices deployed globally, SmartWitness is looking to give drivers confidence and keep America’s fleets moving safely.