Key to Trucking Industry * USA - Profits Under New 'Hours-of-Service' Rules
White Paper Reveals: "Carriers must get a handle on their costs of operation if they are to successfully adapt to industry changes"...
Columbus,OH,USA -TRINCON GROUP, by Cheryl Claypoole/Unit 02 (China) -22 Nov 2009: -- As the clock ticks down to January 4, when the Department of Transportation's new 'hours-of-service' rules go into effect, long-haul carriers are bracing for impact... Although designed to improve highway safety by reducing fatigue-related crashes, the rules are expected to drive up carrier costs and, as a result, increase shipping costs... In the white paper, Duff Swain, president of transportation consultants the TRINCON GROUP, offers a comprehensive solution to the 'hours-of-service' problems that will force more carriers to consolidate or go out of business. He outlines options for increasing productivity, such as decreasing loading and waiting time and using drop-and-hook operations... The stakes are high. According to a DOT press release, a one-percent change in shipping costs has a $98 billion impact on the economy... "In a capital-intensive industry like trucking, it is imperative to make efficient use of equipment," he said... Accelerated depreciation allows a carrier to write off trucks over three years. The average truck has a warranty life of 700,000 miles and a useful life of 1 million miles. To maximize profitability, carriers should find ways to drive trucks at least 700,000 miles in three years. You cannot do that with a one-driver-per-truck operating philosophy"... He noted that an average driver turnover of 100 percent each year continued to aggravate a shortage of licensed truck drivers. "The new rules make efficient use of labor even more critical," he said...
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