Heavy Duty Trucking, May 2019

HDT MAY 2019 18 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM Hotline TRUCKINGS MOST RESPECTED BUSINESS REPORT Survey identifies small fleet challenges Many fleets say 2018 was one of their best years ever but smaller carriers 1 100 trucks while growing struggle with challenges such as drivers high fuel and insurance costs government regulations and fierce competition according to a survey by Bibby Financial Services The BFS Trucking Operators Survey of more than 250 U S carriers between 1 100 trucks took place the first two months of the year and covered a cross section of carrier types More than half of respondents 52 said they are growing and one in three said they expect to increase their revenue by 11 25 in the next two years noted Mary Ann Hudson executive vice president and managing director in the introduction to the report But they also face challenges she said 68 confirm that increasing costs are their number one challenge insurance maintenance and fuel expenses top the list When asked about key chal You cant put freight on a subway car Kendra Hems president of the Trucking Association of New York on New York Citys plans to implement congestion pricing to battle congestion and raise billions to fix the citys subway system lenges the fleets with fewer than five trucks reported increasing business costs 71 followed by keeping up with government regulations 52 and competitors charging unsustainable prices 52 Only a little over half 51 cited finding good drivers In contrast finding good drivers was the number one concern for fleets of 5 100 trucks at 72 followed by increasing business costs 67 retaining good drivers 66 and keeping up with government regulations 60 Top business costs for all respondents were insurance 79 and fuel 78 followed by truck maintenance 67 and vehicle purchasing leasing 50 Over half 52 said they are under threat from new and emerging companies Intensifying competition has led to losing contracts to competitors who are offering unsustainably low prices 66 Added to this many regular customers have requested a price reduction in the past 12 months 55 Deborah Lockridge SPOT FREIGHT INDEX Information provided by DAT Solutions Softer rates The spot truckload freight market closed the first quarter soft on pricing but relatively firm on freight availability Truckload freight volumes increased in March although ample capacity and weather related supply chain disruptions kept rates in check said DAT Solutions The DAT Freight Index increased 43 in March compared to February Unexpected events including flooding in the Midwest and a major tank fire in Houston prevented the typical surge of shipments near the end of the quarter so truckload rates were lower than expected in March 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 50 100 150 200 DEC NOV OCT SEP AUG JUL JUN MAY APR MAR FEB JAN INDEX YEAR 2000 100 DAT NORTH AMERICAN FREIGHT INDEX VAN SOURCE BIBBY FINANCIAL SERVICES TRUCKING OPERATORS SURVEY PHOTO ISTOCKPHOTO COM SPYARM Fleets of 1 4 trucks dont have nearly the problems with the driver shortage as their larger counterparts