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Freight Carriers Reluctant to Add Capacity

The Third Quarter 2012 Business Expectations Survey from TCP shows that carriers remain slow to add capacity to their fleets. TCP Partner Richard Mikes notes an increase in the used equipment market, while Partner Lana Batts acknowledges the effects of a shrinking driver pool. Read the full article on Automotive World.

Carrier Capacity Unlikely to Expand in Coming Year

TruckingInfo.com reports that “Few Carriers Expect to Add Much Capacity in Next Year,” citing Transport Capital Partners’ Third Quarter 2012 Business Expectations Survey. TCP Partner Richard Mikes notes, “Carriers are not adding capacity as the economy remains relatively flat and used equipment prices go up and conservative equipment plans boost used demand.” Read the full article here.

Increase in Carriers Interested in Making a Strategic Acquisition

A recent article by Fleet Owner magazine cited TCP’s recent Business Expectations Survey which found a record number of carriers are interested in making a strategic acquisition in the next 18 months. Richard Mikes was quoted in the article as saying: “A lot of fleets buy and sell for different reason, but what we’re seeing now is that there are more strategic buyers in the market versus purely financial buyers.” Click here to read the full article.

Transportation Issues Absent from Presidential Discourse

Lana Batts is quoted in a Logistic Management article citing the absence of infrastructure discussion in the political discourse. “Neither party wants to address the fact that the infrastructure is crumbling beneath their very feet because it means raising taxes to pay for it,” Batts said. “Building the interstate system took a visionary; maintaining it takes politicians with the guts to raise taxes and not just cut ribbons.” Read the full article here.

Survey: Half of Carriers Consider Switch to Natural Gas

In a survey by Transport Capital Partners and ACT Research, over 50% of carriers report considering buying natural gas vehicles. TCP Partner Richard Mikes notes significant savings at the pump. Read the full article here.

Degree of Interest in Natural-Gas Powered Trucks Surprising

Logistics Management reports on the growing interest in natural gas as a potential fuel source for transportation companies, especially as the price of diesel continues to rise. Richard Mikes, the TCP Partner who directed the survey in collaboration with ACT Research, was quoted in the article stating that “the degree of interest in natural gas-powered trucks by survey respondents was higher than TCP originally anticipated” and that “the fairly high level of interest compared to degree of knowledge was surprising”. Click here to read the full article.

Carriers Looking at Natural Gas as Potential Fuel Source

Carriers are looking at natural gas as a potential fuel source, but conditionally, reports Refrigerated Transporter. TCP Partner, Richard Mikes, is quoted in the article: “The survey confirms the growing interest in natural gas by carriers encouraged by the large difference in price, but also shows the complexities of choices in terms of type of fuel, fuel supply systems, payload impact, station availability and so forth.” Click here for the full article.

Batts Quoted in Virtual-Strategy Magazone

TCP Partner Lana Batts was recently quoted in Virtual-Strategy Magazine about Internet Truckstop’s Trans4Cast. Batts said, “The ATA’s tonnage is primarily from contract rates and are usually tied to one-year contracts; Internet Truckstop’s data is spot market and tells us more what is happening now with supply and demand.” To read the full article, click here.

Batts Quoted in DC Velocity Article

TCP Partner Lana Batts is quoted in a recent article by DC Velocity about the problems that truckload carriers are currently experiencing. Fleets are aging and the costs of labor, fuel, and insurance are escalating. Batts points out that shippers are “holding the line on rate increases” making it difficult for carriers to recoup costs. Read the full article about cost pressures in the trucking industry here.

Dedicated Services a Win for Both Carriers and Shippers in Long-Term

Carriers are reluctant to add capacity, says TheTrucker.com in a recent article citing TCP’s Second Quarter 2012 Business Expectations Survey. Mikes is cited in the article discussing how, in the long run, dedicated services will be a win for both carriers and shippers. To read the full article and findings from the survey, click here.