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State of the Trucking Industry Today
08/28/09
State of the Trucking Industry Today
Those of us in the Trucking Industry have had an especially tough couple of years. Between the extreme fuel prices, immediately followed by the recession, I'm not sure that there’s an industry that has felt more of an effect than ours. "If it moves, it moves by truck" has an unfortunate side effect - when things aren’t moving, the trucks sit idle.
The attitude we read from the industry until very recently was not optimistic. TruckMaster lost some valued clients to the crisis, a few of which had been with us for many years. When discussing our software products with new potential clients, more often than not we’d be told that they needed and wanted our trucking software solution as it would increase their productivity drastically, but the very future of their businesses were in doubt. "Call us in 6 months, if we're still around, we will purchase your trucking software".
It seems to me that it's turning around now. We're starting to hear the optimism again. The constant rumble of bad economic news has slowed. The freight is starting to flow, the trucks are starting to move again. There's a sense felt by most that I talk to that better times are immediately ahead.
I’m not trying to imply that the crisis is over, we've got a ways to go, but my feeling is that we're on the downhill side.
My question for you is, do you see things getting better? Has your trucking business been improving over the last few weeks? Have you felt more optimism from those that you do business with?
Greg Dodson
President
TruckMaster Logistics Systems, Inc.
TruckMaster Your Trucking Company™
1 comment
Are they going to change the 10 hour off rule? This 10 hours off at one time is just wearing me out. I sleep about 5 hours, trash around the truck stop for another 5 hours and then head down the road. When I get tired again there is nothing to do but kep going and hope for the best as I can’t stop and sleep again till my 14 hours or at least another 11 driving is done. The new hours of service have taken an almost intolerable job and added misery to it. Some of the interstates are getting to be almost unsafe to drive on with all the broken pavement and huge potholes, and of course there is the cash flow problem, the cops have their hand in one of my pockets and the DOT have their hand in the other. I’m glad that I don’t have to many years left to put up with this crap and am looking for a way out as quick as I can. Thank you.
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