Quote:
Originally Posted by OntarioVanMan
Greg...suppliers on site like as in the Toyota plant in San Antonio? If they model every new plant on this idea...this biz in the future will change dramatically.
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Well DUH!
That's progress and business has to conform to the economy it is in or die. If businesses don't get their supply chain in order and move them closer, than they will suffer a lot.
No one should expect to see this decentralized model to continue under the economy that is evolving as we type our posts today, should they?
I mean the idea to have a ten year plan in this business is asinine without considering that the changes to the business environment on a conservative end of things may be so dramatic that the life cycle of the truck will never be reached.
I expect to see a hard push from both candidates and greenies over the need to be green in this industry in the near future with the result will be that rail companies will be lobbying for more money to build up their infrastructure, and companies like GE and EMF will lobby for more deregulation in rail all the time the trucking industry will move back towards a hybrid solution of rail/truck on a regional basis for regular freight like vehicle manufacturing and distribution as they were doing in the 30's through the 50's.
Why rail? Because the cost per ton per mile is ten times less than truck, that's why.
We are already seeing this with Wal-Mart here, they are trying to reduce their 'Food Miles' by using local sources to centralize their distribution near a mass of stores. If we watch Wal-Mart closely you can see the trends others will follow in the future.
You really have to understand the history of these things to get a grip in where we may head in the near term. See History is important.
But with all that said, we are already seeing our work being used outside of the automotive industry, I haven't hauled much in a while and don't expect to in the future. I know that my company is diversified enough to hold it's own, while FedEx is not primarily concern with this market and others companies will move to LTL for a while and may go somewhere else.