http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/061708dnbustruckers.41a7ab7.html
Kent can relate to the costs to truckers, but we all feel it, as it trickles down to the cost of the goods we purchase that are trucked into our communities.
I was surprised to read that 935 trucking firms failed in the first three months of the year--I imagine a great deal of those are one-truck operations?
Troy,
There are roughly 600,000 trucking COMPANIES in the US. 2/3 of them have 6 or fewer trucks. That leaves 200,000 companies with more than 6 trucks.
I can tell you that way more than 935 owner-operators parked their trucks in the first 3 months of the year. Their companies didn't "fail" - They simply stopped operating. An owner-operator has the flexibility to just stop when he's not making enough money. I know some folks who have stopped during the winter the last couple of years - Idling to keep warm has lowered their profits enough that they just don't drive during the cold months. (Most of our owner-operators who do run during the winter take all the Texas loads.)
So, I would bet that the 935 stat is actual companies, with hired-on drivers that have no relationship to the owners. On top of that, I'm sure there are many more that are shutting down portions - As you know, I'll be out of a job at the end of July because my company is shutting down the van division (>3/4 of the company) to focus on the more-profitable flatbed side of things and hauling materials and houses for the parent company (Wausau Homes).
As stated in the article - The economy's been bad before, but we've never had this combination of bad economy and god-awful fuel prices. Diesel crossed $4 a gallon in the 2nd week of March and hasn't been close since - It's hovering in the $4.60-$4.80 range in most places, and I have seen $4.999 at least once. (I wouldn't be surprised if it's over $5 in California, New York, etc.)
The trucking industry is a pretty good indicator of how the overall economy is doing... And things are bad. Very, very, very bad.