As many Americans continue to hunker down amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for freight service in Iowa has grown exponentially. While this is excellent news for fleet managers and drivers, it means that end-users are experiencing extra-long wait times for delivery. This leads to customer service struggles for shippers and manufacturers, and Iowa fleet managers may be caught in the middle.
Iowa Fleet and Freight Demands Surge
Industry experts say the trucking industry boomed in Iowa during March 2020, and has started to taper off again slowly. The demand surge was likely fed by shoppers buying bulk quantities of essential goods ranging from foods to household paper goods and even entertainment.
Per the Des Moines Register, Brenda Neville — president of the Iowa Motor Truck Association (IMTA) — attributed the spike in demand to customers stocking up ahead of social distancing and stay-at-home orders.
Iowa Freight Demand by the Numbers
Data from Freight Waves shows demand for trucking (nationally) was significantly in March 2020 than in 2019.
- The domestic truckload volume was up nearly 26% compared to last year. This is a national percentage that includes all states.
- Tender rejections, the measure of how many loads are rejected by carriers in Iowa, because there are no trucks available or demand is higher elsewhere, hit 18.7%, a 223% increase over last year in Iowa state.
These elevated rejections illustrate a need for more CDL drivers in Iowa and nearby states.
Iowa Fleet Insurance, Cargo Insurance and Rig Insurance
At J.E.B. Insurance LLC, our mission is to provide fleet truck insurance, cargo insurance and big rig insurance in Iowa and other states. We love to help our customers keep their fingers on the pulse of the freight industry all around the nation. Have you seen changes in the demand for freight services in Iowa? We’d love to hear about it. As always, if you need a free fleet truck insurance quote, contact us. J.E.B. Insurance Services, LLC is licensed in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee & Illinois.
