---
title: Will carrier orders of trucks & trailers outpace drivers in 2021?
description: As of now, that appears to be what is happening. If capacity utilization remains as strong as we are forecasting into 2022, this will not be a problem.
image: https://ask.ftrintel.com/hubfs/AskTheExperts_FeaturedImages2-02.jpg
---

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# Will carrier orders of trucks & trailers outpace drivers in 2021?

Posted by [The FTR Experts](https://ask.ftrintel.com/author/experts) on Jan 29, 2021 12:21:38 PM

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**The FTR Experts were posed with the question, "Will the carrier preorder/overbuy of trucks and trailers outpace the demand for drivers in 2021 and hurt capacity??"**

This Q&A response from the FTR experts came from the January 2021 State of Freight webinar, [Preparing for 2021](http://www.FTRintel.com/2021). 

 

**Key Takeaways:**

- This seems to be occuring now, and we forecast strong utilization into 2022.
-  If there are not enough drivers, carriers will accelerate replacement, driving some freight to the spot market.

**FTR Expert Response: **As of now, that appears to be what is happening. However, if capacity utilization remains as strong as we are forecasting well into 2022, this will not necessarily be a problem. If fleets cannot fill all the seats intended for expansion, we believe they will just accelerate replacement. We would anticipate small carriers to purchase the excess if the spot market remains strong.

 

[Read additional Preparing for 2021 Q&A on the FTR Blog.](https://www.ftrintel.com/blog/2021/)

---

 

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 Tags: [Capacity Utilization](https://ask.ftrintel.com/tag/capacity-utilization), [Truck and Trailer](https://ask.ftrintel.com/tag/truck-and-trailer), [Drivers](https://ask.ftrintel.com/tag/drivers), [spot market](https://ask.ftrintel.com/tag/spot-market)

 

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