All of the talk about the “Truckers Ride for the Constitution” in Washington D.C. this past weekend turned out to be exactly that – just talk. Police in the area estimate that only around 30 trucks participated in the protest, which is a far cry from the thousands of rigs that were expected. A lot of factors could be to blame – lack of support, organization and a clear-minded goal. Maybe with the government shutdown they picked a bad time to find some influential ears to listen to their cause. But perhaps everyone else was just too busy.
Right now in the U.S. trucking industry, capacity utilization is hovering at around 95% – a very healthy number that is leading to slightly increased volumes and higher profits for large trucking lines. J.B. Hunt is reporting a revenue increase of 11.5% over the last quarter, which is a very good number considering the stagnation that our industry has faced in the past.
The problem is companies like J.B. Hunt and other fleets could be doing better. A senior analyst for Delcan. Corp says that customers are able to find the trucks they need and negotiate good prices. Trucking demand is there, so why aren’t rates rising? General economics says they should. Perhaps they will soon.
Expenditures on shipping were up 5.2% in September from a year earlier, and volumes rose 0.1%. Year-to-date volumes are up by 3.7%. Unless the government shutdown halts this trend, demand for trucking will have to spur increased supply or higher prices soon. Trucking firms are in a good situation right now, and if the industry acts as a whole and becomes more assertive, they could reap the benefits.
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