“My optimism grows every day,” ATA’s Bob Costello told Symposium attendees.
How quickly things have changed. Just a few years ago, a glut of trucking capacity and an economic recession had many carriers scrambling to keep idled equipment moving. Today, strong freight volumes, the consolidation or failure of thousands of carriers, a renewed driver shortage and external constraints on capacity such as the new hours-of-service regulations have put carriers in the driver’s seat of their shipper relationships.
While cost control remains critical, the best prospects for improvement today may lie on the revenue side – the top line. With greater leverage, carriers have the opportunity to reshape their relationships with shippers in the near and long terms. That can mean more than getting a higher rate per mile. It can mean a transformation from a vendor/customer relationship to one in which both parties collaborate to achieve common objectives.
This was the lay of the land as several hundred trucking executives convened May 24-26 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the 15th Annual Randall Trucking Spring Symposium, organized by Commercial Carrier Journal.
Symposium attendance is by invitation only, but in the next several pages you can glean some of the key observations and insights of the expert presenters. In addition, presentation materials are available at www.ccjmagazine.com under “CCJ Special Info.”
The Randall Trucking Spring Symposium is sponsored by Caterpillar, Comdata, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, International Truck and Engine Corp., PeopleNet, Roadranger, Shell Lubricants, TravelCenters of America and TripPak Services.
TRUCKING IN DEMAND
Costs rise along with freight volumes and revenues
After a “false start” rebound in 2003, trucking can expect a stronger and more sustained recovery this year and beyond, forecasts Bob Costello, chief economist and vice president of the American Trucking Associations. “This industry’s definitely back,” Costello told the Randall Trucking Spring Symposium. “My optimism grows every day.”
