Global supply chain participants have effectively navigated a series of major challenges over recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a near-total shutdown in imports and an ensuing surge in cargo volume caused market instability. Declining volumes in 2023 were a hard reset, but they enabled congestion to be cleared and companies to reposition for the next growth cycle.
TRAC is prepared to manage this dynamic, which we expect will commence in the second half of 2024. In the period 2001–20, chassis and container demand were tightly correlated to GDP. The strong 2023 Q3 numbers in North America of 4.9% were more than double the previous quarter at 2.1% and support projections for global economic growth to run at 1% to 3% in 2024.
To prepare, TRAC has stepped up investment in our chassis fleet, adding new assets, refurbishing existing equipment and innovating product offerings. We’ve invested over $1 billion in fleet modernization since 2016 and are seeing improved collaboration and partnership among supply chain participants to share data for greater visibility and performance. It’s also encouraging that the domestic chassis manufacturing market is no longer constrained, speeding time to market for new assets.
TRAC is heavily investing in technology including AI to improve service offerings and manage operating costs. Our HELIX platform helps us improve the customer experience at our electronic interface, better utilize our assets and control our maintenance and repair expenses. Our collaboration with global incubator ZEBOX also enables innovative startups to test ideas on improving efficiencies and speeding up the supply chain.
One trend of interest is the shift in manufacturing and production away from China towards countries like India. This dynamic could reshape pathways to North American markets, opening a trade lane to East Coast ports via the Suez Canal and increasing the share of inbound volumes to the US.