The most active shippers pay attention to industry trends so that they can project the transportation prices for their supply chain. In the trucking industry, the trends are looking very promising. The results are in from the first quarter of 2014, and trucking companies have a lot of reasons to celebrate. According to the reports, there has been a nearly 5% increase in shipping volume during the past quarter. This was one of the fastest quarterly increases in years in trucking. The trucking carriers are doing very well now.
When a shipper speaks to a freight forwarder about helping with logistics, there are several options for shipping. The options are shipping by ocean, by air, by rail and by truck. More often in the US, it seems that trucking has been the dominant form of transportation. This is a trend that continued to grow last year. According to the American Trucking Association, the trucking industry transported 69.1% of the freight last year. This total comprised of 9.7 billion tons of cargo.
A strike can occur at anytime among people in the trucking industry, but for truck drivers at the port, it might some special meaning. Last fall, port truck drivers in Los Angeles went on strike, and eventually went back to work. The reasons for the strike stem from an alleged misclassification of truck drivers as independent contractors (and not employees), lost wages and having to wait on long lines. The big issue is being labeled as independent contractors.
In the past year, there are have been some carriers in the trucking industry who question certain regulations from the Federal Government, most notably the hours of service rules for truck drivers. However, there is recent news from the Federal Government, directly from President Obama, that has most people in the industry happy to hear. The news involves upcoming trucking fuel efficiency rules that would force higher mileage requirements for commercial trucks.
The domestic trucking market can sometimes be described as a roller coaster. Sometimes the market outlook is improved, and sometimes there are situations that could negatively impact the market. The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index recently reported on some news that shows that the market is not doing well. According to their report, there is a 2.9% increase in truckload rates from the previous time 12 months ago. These rate increases are based on contract prices and spot rates.
Refrigerated shipments of food by truck will be facing new regulations in 2014. The rules, set forth by the US Food and Drug Administration, will provide a way to make the transportation of food safer for people and for animals. The objective is to decrease contamination in the transportation process, which will prevent food-related illnesses. These rules in 2014 are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Trucking companies who transport LTL and FTL freight run on a precise schedule for pick-ups and drop-offs. The same could be said about all truck drivers everyday. During the winter months in certain regions of the United States, the daily schedules of truck drivers could be dangerously impacted due to the impending cold weather and winter snowstorms.
Shippers who use truckload freight shipping received some alarming news recently. A new Journal of Commerce article cited analyst David G Ross who suggested that there could be significant increases in truckload freight rates and less truckload capacity that might make intermodal shipping seem more promising for supply chains. Higher truckload rates could be troublesome for supply chains that depend on domestic freight shipping.
