The Source for Trucking News, Opinions and Trucking Jobs | Better Times Ahead Soon - Hopefully

Analyst predicts better times ahead for trucking, economy

Demand for trucking services is up while trucking capacity is down, two very positive economic signs — and A.G. Edwards & Sons trucking analyst Donald A. Broughton sees good things ahead for trucking into 2005 and perhaps beyond.

The article went on to say -

The fact that traffic managers have been complaining about the inability to find enough trucks without raising pay rates is one strong sign of a rebounding economy, he said.

And, the analyst said that when companies begin to report unseated trucks and realize the need to raise driver pay, which has been happening, unemployment is on the decline.

Demand is up, capacity is down, unemployment is down so companies can’t fill the seats with just anyone. Rates have got to go up soon. As long as trucking companies can’t fill trucks as fast as they like. If you want your stuff shipped, the rate will have to be higher than the people that don’t care if their stuff sits on a dock.

This is good news, almost. We have to find some way to prevent the larger companies from hiring bums off the street to drive trucks. There have been several articles about CDL’s for sell and fraud at a CDL school. If these operations get shut down, the supply of drivers will be less and I’m secretly hoping that the supply that is there will be bright enough to not work like slaves for less than slave wages. But it’s tough to tell when you first start how much you’re actually going to make. I do understand that people when they first start driving, don’t really have an idea of what’s going on and will get taken advantage by a company.

We have to prevent companies from going to the government and crying “driver shortage!” And “importing” drivers to make up the difference. H1b and L1 Visas have to be stopped until there is a real driver shortage. Just because the price of bread goes up a few cents because the shipping rates have to rise, does not constitute a driver shortage. Everyone else can raise their prices and it’s a “cost of living” increase. Why can’t we?