The Atlantic City, N.J., boardwalk was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.Demand for resupplying retail stores and repairing and rebuilding damage from Hurricane Sandy will have generate more long term revenue for trucking and carriers than is being lost short term to freight not moving because of the storm and its effects, says FTR Associates’ Senior Consultant Noel Perry. He estimates a loss of roughly $140 million per day — 20 percent — due to down time caused by the storm.
That money will be recouped, Perry says, once the need for materials and goods starts jetting upward. “While some fleets will surely lose revenue during the initial phases of the latest disaster,” Perry says, “storms like Sandy create new demand later,” adding that trucking is the only mode of transportation that can accomodate the region’s post-storm goods needs.
“That creates longer term addition freight tonnage,” Perry says. “While the storm is devastating to many, the trucking industry will see mostly positive effects.”
