Trucking Growth for 2012

The trucking industry is the lifeline of America. Millions of miles are logged each day with deliveries to all areas keeping America moving. This year as in the past, people are looking to find out what we can expect from the economy and the trucking companies are a good place to start. There are many different types of indicators that we can look to in the trucking industry to see what kind of economic outcome we can expect to see in the upcoming months. Despite job reports and slower than normal growth overall since the recession started, the trucking industry is showing signs of bouncing back. With a 3% increase in the US economy in general and consumer spending power expanding, the trucking industry has seen an increase as well. Not only has the truckload volume extended past expectations, but there is also a 3-5% increase expected in less than truckload (LTL) cargo as well. This is great news for economists since a growth in trucking can indicate overall growth in the economy. If there is more trucking, than there is more cargo, if there is more cargo, there is more money going through and so on. The trouble now includes things like fuel costs which can be detrimental to trucking companies as well as the entire supply chain. If the problems in the Middle East continue, the growth of the trucking industry as well as the economy in general could be greatly affected. Otherwise we can expect to see continued growth in trucking throughout 2012.