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PROGNOSIS * USA - Fitch: Weak U.S. Economy Will Challenge Freight Transportation in 2009
Chicago,ILL,USA -MarketWatch -Dec 9, 2008: -- The past year has been very challenging for freight transportation issuers in the U.S., and Fitch expects conditions to be even more difficult in 2009... The U.S. trucking industry is entering 2009 in a weakened state. Overcapacity, particularly in the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector, has eroded pricing over the past year, while high fuel costs have added to the industry's difficulties. Although demand looked as though it had stabilized in the middle of 2008, volumes took another step down in September, and demand has remained weak through the fourth quarter. The bankruptcies of a large number of small truckload carriers have helped to rectify the capacity situation somewhat in that sector, but the LTL sector continues to struggle with too many trucks chasing too little demand. With expectations for weak consumer retail spending through much of 2009 and increasing challenges facing trucking's industrial customers, particularly the U.S. auto manufacturers, there is a heightened potential for a significant decline in industry credit quality next year... (Photo) 
Labels: trucking markets prognosis
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