The Moderating Effect of COVID-19 on the Relationship between Spot Market Prices and Capital Investment in the Motor-Carrier Sector

IF 1.1 4区工程技术 Q4 MANAGEMENT

Transportation Journal Pub Date : 2022-06-10 DOI:10.5325/transportationj.61.2.0151

Jason W. Miller, Jessica L. Darby, A. Scott

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引用次数: 2

Abstract

Abstract:Capital investment by motor carriers in new trucks and trailers is essential for the effective and efficient operation of supply chains. Strong evidence exists that motor carriers’ capital investment is positively correlated with truckload spot prices. This article explores whether the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic moderated the relationship between spot prices and capital investment by motor carriers. We theorize that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic muted the relationship between spot prices and investment in trucks to a greater degree than it muted the relationship between spot prices and investment in trailers. We attribute this to the COVID-19 pandemic creating tremendous uncertainty about the availability of truck drivers, which made investing in trucks less attractive than investing in trailers that do not require additional labor. To test our theory, we assemble a time series dataset that combines proprietary and public data from several sources. Econometric estimates corroborate our predictions and are robust to instrumental variable estimation to assuage concerns about endogeneity of spot prices. We explain the implications of our findings for theory and practice.

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COVID-19对汽车运输业现货市场价格与资本投资关系的调节作用

摘要：汽车运输公司对新型卡车和拖车的资本投资对于供应链的有效运营至关重要。有强有力的证据表明，汽车运输公司的资本投资与卡车现货价格呈正相关。本文探讨了新冠肺炎疫情的爆发是否缓和了现货价格与汽车运输公司资本投资之间的关系。我们的理论是，新冠肺炎疫情的爆发在更大程度上削弱了现货价格与卡车投资之间的关系，而不是削弱了现货价与拖车投资之间的联系。我们将此归因于新冠肺炎疫情对卡车司机的可用性造成了巨大的不确定性，这使得投资卡车的吸引力不如投资不需要额外劳动力的拖车。为了测试我们的理论，我们组装了一个时间序列数据集，该数据集结合了来自多个来源的专有数据和公共数据。计量经济学估计证实了我们的预测，并对工具变量估计具有稳健性，以缓解对现货价格内生性的担忧。我们解释了我们的发现对理论和实践的启示。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Transportation Journal Multiple-

CiteScore

2.40

自引率

4.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Transportation Journal is devoted to the publication of articles that present new knowledge relating to all sectors of the supply chain/logistics/transportation field. These sectors include supply chain/logistics management strategies and techniques; carrier (transport firm) and contract logistics firm (3PL and 4PL) management strategies and techniques; transport economics; regulation, promotion, and other dimensions of public policy toward transport and logistics; and education.