According to the 25th annual State of Logistics report, the trucking industry’s capacity is expected to tighten, while freight volumes are predicted to continue to increase. This will likely result in freight rate hikes by the end of 2014. Specifically, experts in the field say that the increases will be anywhere from 5 percent to 8 percent.
Parsons senior business analyst Rosalyn Wilson wrote the report, and spoke on its findings at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. earlier this week. As reported by Fleet Owner, Wilson explained at the conference that while 2013 was not a stellar year for the economy, the trucking industry did not necessarily always follow suit.
For example, freight volume in tonnage terms increased last year more than the number of shipments and revenue figures suggest. However, the freight rates remained flat.
“That left the trucking industry, in particular, in a weaker position in 2013 [with] rising costs for drivers, equipment, and maintenance pushing marginal trucking companies over the edge, as the number of bankruptcies rose in 2013,” she said, according to Fleet Manager.
Wilson added that there has been continued strength in the domestic third-party logistics sector. Specifically, gross revenues increased 7.1 percent in 2013. Additionally, with capacity an issue, the dedicated contract carriage segment rose 3.6 percent last year.
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