TEA® — Truckable Economic Activity

All but one of the elements of TEA® made forward progress in the first quarter of 2021. The exception was Truckable Exports where both structural and circumstantial problems restrained activity. The latest gains in Total TEA® continue the sequence of increases that began in the third quarter of 2020 as the economy began to reopen. One of the issues that we continue to examine is how much the future growth of the trucking economy is going to depend on the actual expansion of activity as compared to the resumption of activity. In other words, growth versus recovery.

E-Commerce Parts Purchasing Study

We have officially launched our 2021 E-Commerce Parts Purchasing Study! Updating our 2019 Study, our 2021 Study will provide an in-depth examination of this ever-growing parts purchasing method. Now is the time to commit to this Study; participating at the onset of the Study, your topics of interest will be included on our survey.

In our 2019 Study, parts purchased through e-commerce channels accounted for 12%. With the pandemic, as you know, e-commerce channels gained strength and popularity. Not only did sales increase (some estimate more than 25% year over year Jan 2021 compared to 2020), technological development rapidly excelled with fulfillment processes and other online requirements were pushed to the forefront for many of those selling parts. Will this continue beyond the pandemic? What are fleets looking for from their e-commerce parts providers? How will this channel change the landscape of parts purchasing in the future?

Contact John Blodgett for more Study details. You can review the Prospectus here.

Aftermarket Parts Branding Study

This Study is nearly a wrap! Our extensive examination of 39 Aftermarket brands and 51 Tier 1 brands gives insights into fleets’ top of mind brand association, parts brand quality and use. Through surveys with distribution channels and fleets, we gleaned details on brands offered, brands used, brand quality and factors that help determine customer offerings. How does your brand stack up against the competition? What do fleets and distribution channels think about your brand’s quality?

A few top level findings include:

• The top three Aftermarket brands offered by distribution channels align with the same top three brands that fleets use. A large percentage of fleets are using these brands and a large percentage of distribution channels are offering these brands.

• Fleets’ usage of the OEM Aftermarket brands is high.

• Several brands are offered by many distribution channels, while fleets’ usage percentages are very low.

• Brand quality of both Aftermarket brands and Tier 1 brands is rated within a tight range. It would appear, in most cases, that there is not a widespread differentiation in brand quality across all brands.

DataMac® Truck & Trailer

Summer is here and that means our 2021 DataMac® Truck and Trailer Operator Report will be released in the near future. In late August, the new report along with the updated online application will be available to all clients.

Each year, in addition to updating our entire Aftermarket Analysis with new operating populations, vehicle utilization, pricing and economic factors, we concentrate on a number of components. The highlighted components in our 2021 report include:

• External Diesel Components: Pumps, Fan clutches, Turbochargers

• Diesel Particulate Filters

• Batteries/APUs

• Air Brakes

• HVAC Components

• Electronics: EGR Temp and Pressure Sensors, Exhaust Sensors, Wheel Speed Sensors, ABS Sensors, Coolant Level Sensors, Oil Pressure Sensors, Intake Manifold Pressure Sensors, Water in Fuel Sensors, Tire Pressure Sensors, Engine ECU/ECM, Transmission ECU/ECM

We will begin scheduling our DataMac® Roadshows in August as well. Want to get your date on the calendar now? Reach out and let us know what date would work best in your schedule. We can meet in-person or virtually, whatever meets your needs.

Online Focus Groups

Focus Groups, like many of our meetings, have taken to the virtual platform. Is your company interested in immediate input from fleets and/or distribution channels? We have successfully conducted online focus groups during the pandemic, providing our clients with engaging conversations and new insights from participants. These sessions have proven to be most helpful to our clients.

Travis Kokenes, our Market Research Manager, can provide you with more details.