By Jennifer Smith April 21, 2020 1:01 pm ET Tony Singh has spent much of the past month working the phones to find shipments to get his trucks back on the road. So far, the owner of a small Richmond, Va.-based trucking company has come up dry.Loads that would have paid $1,000 last month, when a rush to restock grocery stores briefly lifted business, now fetch $300 or less, he said.
Trucking companies with six or fewer trucks made up more than 90% of the carriers in the nearly $800 billion U.S. trucking market in 2018, the most recent year for which figures were available, according to industry group the American Trucking Associations. Omaha, Neb.-based Werner Enterprises Inc. said last week that Chief Executive Derek Leathers would take a 25% cut in base salary, with other executives reducing pay by up to 15%, the company said in a filing.
Truckers that aren’t moving food, medical supplies or other essential items “are sucking wind,” said Jeff Tucker, chief executive of Haddonfield, N.J.-based freight broker Tucker Company Worldwide Inc. That business is drying up. Demand measured by the ratio of loads to trucks fell 68% to 0.91 for the week ending April 19 from the week of March 29, leaving more trucks looking to move freight than available loads, according to online freight marketplace DAT Solutions LLC. The average spot market price for booking a big rig fell to $1.72 per mile including fuel in the first three weeks of April, down 8% from the average during March.
When a large enough number of small business truckers stop running the food shortages you see now in certain areas will spread nationwide. Then the real violence will begin. America will starve without an open economy and reliable transportation.
Marvelously Said by OOIDA if the rest of the Country and media would listen to this organization and give them their real say in the Community and DC we would have, brightest knowledge of how Americans can help us even though we continue to be a model of our essentialservices
The harm that is being done to our economy and the American people is reprehensible. This must never happen again!!!
That’s a lie. That are hiring like crazy right now. AskATrucker
A steep decline in the supply side of the transpo. market already facing tight supply due to an ongoing driver shortage would be a body blow to the economy of epic proportions. Here’s hoping they can get access to stimulus cash in a timely manner.
Well, if you're paying pre-pandemic pricing for pandemic times, there will not be much work in any industry. Don't wait for hand outs. Renegotiate contracts, including insurance. If everyone cooperates, no need to go bankrupt. It's not about making money right now.
These truckers/companies could be marshalled to transport PPE, ventilators, COVID-19 tests, food from farmers, etc if we had a POTUS who really provided competent, courageous and compassionate leadership!
Hopefully this last only 7-10 days more.
Odd. The only vehicles I see on Rte 95 between MA and ME through NH are 18 wheel rigs. Well, mostly. Few cars, just lots of trucks.
Retail is shut down?
Open economy immediately!
The country needs to reopen. We can’t stay shut down for another month We will have NOTHING to reopen if we do.
It's time to come back to work! NOW.
HamEggsnSam
Because you leftist maniacs are trying to create the most hysteria possible to shut down the economy.
Open the economy .. this is America.. people dying is notva problem.
“Heavily exposed” to capitalism
This is why we are telling open the economy now
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