More or less Expediters on the road

[jjoerger]

Do you think that there are more or less drivers working in the expedite industry than there were last year. Every week drivers come and go. I am just wondering if the overall number has changed much.

 

[greg334]

I could wish that there would be less but learning more and more about the blurred line between 'expediting' and ltl freight, I think we actually have more competition from non-expediting transportation relocation service providers than we have had in the past and this is reflected in not just the rates many accept as the norm but also the problem with more dwell time in some markets.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I am leaning in Gregs way of thinking....the blurred line of expedite and JIT to express truckload and LTL...if anything there is more...

 

[purgoose10]

It seems to me when the economy goes down lots of people think about driving trucks. They see a lot of trucks, they must be making money.
Then when the economy gets better and those same people get worn out and can't take it anymore ( driving, being gone etc.) they head for the barn and it thins out the heard so to speak. I guess I should have added the work load. When it gets busy, the busy get going and the rest just quit, if you get my drift.

 

[davekc]

When just looking at expedite companies, just about all have less trucks than previous years. Very few new trucks out there verses years past. Tight credit and operating costs are slowly pushing out many of the one truck operations. I do think there are more companies entering the expedite market. USexpress is making a push this year to get some expedite market share, but there are others.

 

[jjoerger]

I think there are more CV's, less straight trucks and about the same number of tractor trailers.
I haven't heard of any large expedite companies buying more trailers, except FDCC.
I would bet that the number of new straight trucks sold this year is less than the number that were retired. A search on Truck Paper shows about the same number of used expedite trucks for sale as last year (138).

 

[moose]

John Elliot's Alliance have 94 members and counting ,
those are carriers.
who would've thought .

 

[smarian]

Not sure if there is more CV out there, but surely much less loads. 51,000 manufacturing sites have been closed in the last 12 years. Some corporations even got a tax relief from GW Bush government to move their factories offshore. There are our politics at work.

 

[Falligator]

Noticed that there are definitely more, but not so much with the larger carriers. I have noticed a lot more drivers with smaller outfits. Case in point: I delivered to the American Axle Company in Three Rivers, MI a couple of weeks ago and another Sprinter driver was right behind me who didn't speak a lick of English. (must have been from some former Yugoslavian country by the sound of his accent). He told security guard that he just started driving and that was all he could say. I got to the recieving door and had to explain him with some sign language that he the door was automatic and all he had to do was back up to it and the door opened and that he needed to back all the way into the factory. He drove for some small company that I can't even remember but It seems like there are a lot more of them out there. I have seen the number of Panther vans at truck stops dwindle a bit, but that usually still see the one sitting. I've been seeing a lot of the All State vans lately.