Sunday, February 22, 2009

Transportation Industry Update

Just a quick update to keep everyone in the know on what is going on the transportation industry.

Markets continue to deteriorate and with this meltdown truckload rates are plunging to depths not seen in 9 or 10 years. Fuel prices have dropped and stabilized to a point where most carriers and brokers are quoting flat, all in prices as everyone scrambles for scraps of business to keep companies afloat.

Trucking companies are shedding drivers, office staff and equipment in an effort to balance demand with their capacity, and balance expenses with their bottom lines. Their revenues are plunging, but so are their expenses to a certain degree. Certain lanes are worse than others when it comes to depressed rates and we will more than likely see additional trucking companies close their doors this year. The ones that can hang on through our recession will thrive and carry a big stick when things turn and truck capacity falls below truck demand. Companies that have a diverse customer base are situated best to survive these hard times.

Shippers are taking advantage of the markets by sending out as many RFPs or Bid Packages as possible. Times are tough for most companies and I don't blame them one bit for shopping out their freight. Their transportation costs went through the roof last year with high diesel prices and it might balance things out a little if they can experience cost savings this year.

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Fright Factoring - Fuel prices have dropped and stabilized to a point where most carriers and brokers are quoting flat, all in prices as everyone scrambles for scraps of business to keep companies afloat.

Shaun said...

Just read your blog and found it most interesting as a fellow broker. Looking forward to an update and your take on the industry now..

Thanx

Lauren Dortch said...

it is truck invoice factoring is the outright buying of the invoices of business establishments.

bucket trucks said...

Yes there have been shading of jobs.....the auto industry has been down on general but the scene is looking better the before now I guess.

cardealerships said...

Nice post. Great blog. I would like to introduce our site for usedcarsforsale check it out.

Become Freight Broker said...

Transportation Industry is part of Business Exchange and it continue to grow as people are gaining knowledge about it.

Cecilia said...

Thanks for posting! I have been looking for some information regarding freight and international automobile shipping since I am moving out of the country this winter. Thanks for sharing!

transport companies perth said...

I'm searching the web with regards to transport companies and I'm glad I've stumble upon your blog. It is important to hire a reliable transport companies that will carry our equipment/goods safe and sound. Thanks for sharing!

Singapore to Kuala Lumpur said...

I have the many of the same thoughts contained in this article. It's good to know I'm not the only person who has these views. You have written an excellent quality informational article. Thank you.

Unknown said...

This is really interesting thanks for sharing! I've been thinking this article, its been a really interesting read. I've personally never dealt much with the produce freight brokers before. I'm excited to see how it's all going to work out.

Unknown said...

This is obviously a great informative piece... Freight agents are really important for transportation...

Freight Brokers

Unknown said...

Does anyone know where I can learn more about produce freight brokers? My friend told me I should look into it and try it out. Any ideas?

Unknown said...

Freight is a really important form of transportation. I think it helps keep the economy going. If there weren't any freight brokers then the economy would have a pretty difficult time. http://a1freightsystems.com/agents.html

Unknown said...

My friend has been a trucker for years. He just mentioned to me that he is retiring from driving and is going into freight brokerage. I had no idea what he was talking about. Who can explain what a freight broker does for a company?

http://a1freightsystems.com/agents.html

Unknown said...

It sounds like things are rough right now. I love the stability of the freight transport industry, though. There will never be a day when it's not an essential part of our economy. That's some job security right there!

Jenn | http://www.jayde.com.au

Unknown said...

Even though the industry is changing, I don't think freight transportation will ever be outdated. It's one of the most important parts of our economy. Without the freight industry, every other sector of our economy would be affected. http://www.starfreightlines.com.au

Unknown said...

Hello,I'm a young entrepreneur who was desperately looking for a business loan to fund my project. Then I came to know Pedro, a loan man from the USA who granted me a loan of 4 Million USD with simple loan terms.You can contact him on pedroloanss@gmail.com to obtain your loan.