Trucking industry hurt by economy, gas prices

7 percent of trucks are parked

Steve Hawley, Apr 08, 09.

The American trucking industry is struggling as a result of high fuel prices and lower freight volumes, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Diesel prices hit $5 a gallon last summer, and the current recession means fewer goods to transport.

The article states:

Truck tonnage moved during the final three months of 2008 dropped 6 percent, the trade group American Trucking Associations calculated. Some industry watchers say shippers even now are moving 25 percent to 30 percent less freight nationwide compared with a year ago.

It continues, “During 2008, more than 3,000 companies went belly-up, with more than 137,650 trucks — 7 percent of the nation’s capacity — parked, according to Nashville-based Avondale Partners LLC’s Donald Broughton.”

The article notes that truckers account for 69 percent of freight traffic in the United States, and that truck volume is considered to be a key indicator of economic health. However, it is unclear how freight patterns might change if the United States becomes a less “voracious consumer market,” as President Obama indicated it might in his trip to Europe last week.

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