![[Valid Atom 1.0]](valid-atom.png "Validate my Atom 1.0 feed")
OPINION * USA - Holding Tight on Price
Another flat peak shipping season is helping keep a lid on price increases for LTL truckers and their shippers
Washington,DC,USA -Traffic World, by John Gallagher -15 Sept 2008: -- ... Add to that a stagnant economy and high fuel costs, and the outlook for stronger pricing remains frustrating for carriers looking for signs of a turnaround... Several major LTL carriers are already planning for lighter-than-normal tonnage by the time the third quarter is over. YRC Worldwide said it expects to see a drop in business levels after seeing volume stabilize in the first half of the year. It adjusted by cutting 400 nonunion positions... For carriers, the market has been tough for a long time. "We've seen the LTL market in a gradual decline for the last two-and-a-half years as far as price is concerned," said Harold B. Friedman, senior vice president at Data2Logistics, which helps negotiate spot and contract rates for shippers and carriers. "Fuel prices have a significant impact on rates, but raw rates have been soft even without fuel. It's been a buyer's market that continues today"... Friedman said once the economy starts to pick up, rates will begin to tighten. "And then we'll see a role reversal. It's not going to be a buyer's market forever, so I suggest customers look hard and fast in building those relationships now so that when the shoe is on the other foot they're not looking at huge increases in freight costs"... Predictions of a large-scale turnaround in demand for truck freight have so far been off the mark, and Friedman declined to hazard a guess...
Labels: opinions
posted by Unknown @ 3:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home