Trucking industry is getting really slow

[4dsc]

Perhaps this is a sign of thing to come but people in the trucking industry have noticed since about August that business is getting slower and slower with each passing month. September was worse than August when things seemed to have slowed down. If business precieve a slowdown then they tend to order less which mean fewer loads and less business for us truckers..

So I guess we'll what really happens soon.

[tabasco]

1. If your observations are correct ...

it is indeed a bad sign for the economy.

[DaveJ]

2. Probably a result...

..of Americans having less disposable income, since we are basically enslaved into forking over our entire paychecks for housing, healthcare, and utilities. I can see the trend making its way into businesses that spend too much on their employees. That is surely the thinking of the top .01% who have everything.

[tech3149]

3. Since I live near RR tracks I've noticed

a significant increase of container and trailer loads for the past year or so. It costs much less to transport by rail. It just takes longer and requires better logistics.

[OzarkDem]

5. High cost of fuel the last few months

has probably shifted a lot of traffic from truck to rail car or TOFC/COFC. That always happens when the price of diesel rises rapidly. As the price of fuel drops, more traffic will go back to truck.

The Assn of American Railroads stats for August show some increases in rail car loadings over the same year last month, but some of that is in bulk commodities, like coal and grain, which move regardless of economic cycles. While the show TOFC/COFC as rising for the YTD, that could be just the shift of traffic from truck to rail, not a sign of a healthy economy.

http://www.aar.org/Index.asp?NCID=3836

[Porcupine]

4. No joke. 60 mph on I-5 last weekend. Like fuel was expensive

or something. I'm sure you would find an increase in freight hauled by rail if you looked. Freight costs are cheap compared to most costs on an item. The industry is just shaking out some of the marginal shipping.

[lonestarnot]

6. Repiglicans are pushing 6% increase in holiday sales....

:rofl: