Login
or
Register
Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
General Discussion
»
Trucking Capacity remains tight, drivers Scarce
Trucking Capacity remains tight, drivers Scarce
205 views
1 replies
Order Ascending
Order Descending
Anonymous
Member since
April 2003
305,205 posts
Trucking Capacity remains tight, drivers Scarce
Posted by
Anonymous
on Monday, June 19, 2006 12:51 PM
Trucking capacity to remain tight into 2007, transportation research firm says
Railroads aren’t the only transportation mode dealing with strong traffic demand and limited capacity. The trucking industry’s capacity is expected to remain tight into 2007 because of continued strength in the economy’s manufacturing and freight-producing sectors, according to transportation research firm FTR Associates.
During the past nine quarters, U.S. “Class 8” trucking capacity — which historically has averaged 88 percent usage per quarter — exceeded 90 percent usage. Total ton-miles will increase 2.1 percent this year, with trucks’ modal share rising from 44.8 percent in 2006 to 45.3 percent in 2007, FTR predicts.
“Freight carriers have been able to aggressively raise rates — while this is good for the trucking industry, it is countered in large measure by escalating costs to operate,” FTR officials said in a prepared statement. “In addition to rising fuel, interest and equipment costs, driver wages will continue to rise as a substantial shortage [which currently numbers 87,000 drivers] persists.”
From Progressive Railroading
Reply
Edit
samfp1943
Member since
June 2003
From: South Central,Ks
7,170 posts
Posted by
samfp1943
on Monday, June 19, 2006 1:00 PM
There are several drivers, and ex-truckers that frequent this forum, who could spend hours responding to this chicken-or-egg argument, as to the 'whys and wherefors' on this one. The trucking industry has loaded the gun, and along with the Fed's help, pointed at themselves and pulled the trigger.
Sam
Reply
Join our Community!
Our community is
FREE
to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Login »
Register »
Search the Community
Newsletter Sign-Up
By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our
privacy policy
More great sites from Kalmbach Media
Terms Of Use
|
Privacy Policy
|
Copyright Policy