As we enter the second quarter of 2021, I have seen rates on transportation increase to the highest level that I have seen in my career. There are a lot of stories in the news about lumber prices reaching all-time highs. It doesn’t appear to be slowing down construction though. Eventually, there must be some give when a 2×4 that was $3 is now $18. I believe new construction will cool off by the fall (pun intended). Although, a construction contractor mentioned to me last week that they were experiencing a 125% increase on all their jobs for current and future bids. At a birthday party over the weekend, a friend told me our local auto dealership bought his two-year-old pickup for $6,000 over what he paid for it. “They need inventory,” he said. These are bizarre times that we are living in, to say the least.
We found the month of March to be especially difficult to forecast future pricing and sometimes future bids/pricing were only good for 1-2 weeks. We have watched rates in all categories and trailer types continue to climb for over-the-road transportation. We hope rates stabilize in April and can be what we can expect to see across the board for the summer selling season. I have spoken to some customers that are borderline irate at these new prices compared to last year, but they also admit that last year was the best financial year they have ever had due to the demand and this year is looking to be even better. I believe truck rates will stay elevated until at least the fall of this year.
I continue to ask clients to please contact us regarding bidding new jobs so that we can continue to keep you up-to-date on pricing. I recommend this be done at least every two weeks considering the current market. I am often asked about what to estimate for July or August pricing and I simply cannot begin to know regarding spot rates that far in the future. I say this considering the run that we have seen in the last 12 months and especially the last 3 months.