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August 19, 2013 - Truck Capacity Growth Expected to be Modest

A recent article from FleetOwner.com sites results from TCP’s Second Quarter Business Expectations Survey.

The survey revealed that, although 65% of carriers are planning to add capacity, those additions will most likely be conservative. More than 75% of carriers plan to add little (1% to 5%) or no capacity in the next 12 months.

“Carriers continue to voice concerns about the ‘headwinds’ impacting operations and returns,” stated TCP Partner, Richard Mikes.

The piece continues by referencing data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and from the Department of Labor’s recent jobs report that mirrors trends in the trucking industry – slow, conservative growth, and cautious optimism.

Read the full article here.

August 8, 2013 - Hiring Qualified Employees at Critical Positions Proving Difficult

A recent article from TruckingInfo.com sites data from the second quarter TCP survey showing carriers having trouble finding qualified employees and drivers.

In the survey, sixty-five percent of carriers expressed difficulty finding qualified maintenance technicians. Furthermore, 30% stated they are having problems filling operations staff and fleet manager level positions.

“Good employees, at all levels, have always been the lifeblood of the industry,” says TCP partner Richard Mikes. “Now, as we see growth in demand on the horizon, excellent human resource management is critical.”

Carriers, because of these shortages of drivers, technicians, and fleet managers, remain concerned about adding capacity at this time. Seventy-percent of larger carriers, and 50% of smaller carriers, in the survey indicated they were having trouble finding qualified technicians.

Click here to read the full article from TruckingInfo.com.

August 7, 2013 - New Fleet Investments Unlikely for Many Carriers

Recent articles from TodaysTrucking.com and TruckingInfo.com report that inadequate rates of return are keeping fleets from buying.

They share results from the second quarter TCP industry survey that show only slightly over 50 percent of carriers seeing returns on investments that can justify new equipment purchases. This figure is up just four percentage points from November 2012.

Additionally, one-third of all carriers reported having no current plans to add any new equipment. At this time, replacing aging fleets is the principle driver of most equipment investment.

“Higher equipment costs in recent years, combined with the lower utilization resulting from new HOS rules, will continue to make adequate returns on investment a challenge,” said Steven Dutro, TCP partner.

Read the complete articles here and here.

August 6, 2013 - Larger Carriers More Positive About Renegotiating Accessorials

Forty-three percent of all carriers believe they will be able to renegotiate detention pay, up significantly from the November 2012 TCP survey. This increase is most likely in response to recent changes in hours of service regulations.

However, small carriers are more pessimistic than larger carriers on accessorials. Sixty-four percent of those smaller carriers anticipate no relief in charge negotiations.

“As freight demand grows, shippers who need consistent service will need to assist carriers in gaining operational efficiency and adequate compensation. Larger carriers are more confident they are positioned to achieve this customer cooperation,” stated TCP Partner Richard Mikes.

For the full article from OverdriveOnline.com, click here.

August 5, 2013 - Rates of Return Still a Concern for Trucking Industry

Results from TCP’s second quarter 2013 Business Expectations Survey were highlighted in a recent article from FleetOwner.com.

Truck capacity is tightening, but many carriers are still not earning a rate of return large enough to warrant an expansion of their fleets. Stagnant cargo volumes combined with higher operating and equipment costs will likely force carriers to hold back expansion efforts for the foreseeable future.

Read the full article here.

July 24, 2013 - New HOS Leading to Tightening Capacity

TruckingInfo.com references data from the TCP second-quarter industry survey in their recent article. Survey results showed that almost 40% of carriers are expecting utilization to lower more than 5%. Just over 38% of carriers expect under a 5% change while only 3% expect no impact whatsoever. Strikingly, almost 19% of carriers have still not determined the full impact of these new regulations. Click here to read the full article.

July 23, 2013 - Three-Quarters of Carriers Expecting Lower Utilization

TheTrucker.com reports that, with new hours of service regulations, in effect on July 1st, approximately 75% of carriers are expecting utilization to lower. The way shippers work to minimize the impact of these changes will also affect this tightening capacity.

“This potential reduction in truck capacity is hitting at the same time as spot rates are climbing, reflecting a stronger demand in June. Rates will likely increase further in the months ahead,” noted Richard Mikes, TCP Partner.

Full article here.

July 22, 2013 - Current State of the Truckload Industry

A recent conference call hosted by Stifel featured Transport Capital Partners Managing Partner, Dr. Richard Mikes. In the call, Mikes suggests that fairly flat demand and supply point to an upcoming capacity shortfall in the truckload industry. Furthermore, tightening supply and demand is increasing the potential for future rate increases. To read the full transcript, click here.

July 9, 2013 - Outlook Hopeful for the Transportation Industry

Powers & Stinson reports that TCP’s most recent Business Expectations Survey reflects a growing optimism among those in the transportation industry. More carriers now expect volumes to remain steady, or even grow, ending a 3-year trend of negative volume growth expectations. Additionally, a large majority of carriers are anticipating rates to increase over the next 12 months. Read the full post.

July 8, 2013 - Optimism Growing for Future Rate and Volume Increases

There is an increasingly positive outlook for volume and rate growth in the industry. Both TheTrucker.com and TruckingInfo.com recently shared encouraging data from TCP’s 2nd quarter industry survey.  The survey indicated that eighty percent of all carriers have seen rates hold steady over the past quarter. Furthering optimism, seventy-three percent of carriers are expecting rates to increase over the next year.

“Even with modest improvement in freight demand, carriers are anticipating much-needed higher rates from customers,” says Steven Dutro, TCP partner.

TheTrucker.com full article.

TruckingInfo.com full article.