COLUMBUS, Ind. — Uncertainty and headwinds continue to weigh heavily on the 2026 freight outlook, according to ACT Research.
“Recent clarity regarding EPA’27 is welcomed, but as we have reiterated, truckers buy trucks when they make money. While regulatory clarity is helpful, at current low levels of carrier profitability and returns on investment, barring an unforeseen shift in economic fortunes, a tractor prebuy is highly unlikely but could spur some marginal activity later in 2026, as supply-demand conditions for carriers improve,” said Ken Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst. “Additionally, the trucking industry is contending with recently enacted §232 tariffs that placed a 25% levy on the value of foreign content in imported medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses. With the for-hire market entering a third consecutive year of generationally low profitability, and freight rates generally moving sideways, tariff-driven equipment cost increases will help to constrain already weak new US vehicle demand.”
North American Commercial Vehicle OUTLOOK
New tractor demand remains subdued, as uneven growth in key freight generating sectors, growth-sapping economic policy, and lingering overcapacity have slowed the path out of the long and ongoing for-hire recession, as published in the latest release of the North American Commercial Vehicle OUTLOOK.
“Vocational, like the tractor market, continues to be hampered in the short- to medium-term by policy fluctuations related to tariffs, federal funds, and emissions regulations,” Vieth said. “However, secular trends regarding utilities, roads, and data centers remain positive for construction-related vocational equipment in the long run.”
The list of 2026 demand headwinds is long:
- Freight rates and for-hire carrier profits remain mired at recessionary levels,.
- A freight air-pocket happening now that follows an extended tariff-avoiding freight pull-forward.
- Corrosive tariff-driven goods inflation that will weigh on freight volumes.
- A pullback by private fleets after significant fleet expansion in 2023-2024.
- Macro-level uncertainty around US economic policy.
Tariffs boosting new vehicle prices on top of recession-level market conditions are just one more obstacle in an already obstacle-strewn 2026 demand outlook, according to ACT.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
