It’s another case of good news and bad news depending on what side of the fence you sit. The good news for shippers is that trucking rates appear to be stable for the immediate future, but the bad news for carriers is that the uptick in business they were expecting in the second quarter just did not materialize.

A recent survey by Avondale Partners indicated a 49% drop in motor carrie r b ankruptcies between the first quarters of 2009 vs. 2008. Here again we see another example of the good news/bad news comparison. For those carriers who were able to weather the storm they continue to hope for a strengthening in the economy for their survival. And for their competitors hoping they would shut their doors and provide additional tonnage to help improve load factors and enhance their bottom line, no such luck.

So where does this leave the industry as a whole? In our opinion the motor carrier industry in both the LTL and Truckload sector should be doing everything in their power to strengthen their current relationships with their shipper customers. Remember, this economy will turn around, although no one really knows when. So the key here is building strong relationships to weather the current storm while at the same time building on the future. Are there opportunities for the carriers to reduce their shipper customer’s rates now? If so, it may be a good idea for the carriers to bring those savings to the table before their competition brings them up. On the other side of the coin, are there additional business opportunities with the customer that will aid the carrier in reducing its cost to serve? What efforts are being made to understand these opportunities?

We are keenly aware in this very competitive marketplace that carriers may be really struggling financially with certain shipper rate structures that continue to erode thei r b ottom line. Does it make sense for them to continue operating at these huge losses? What efforts are being made to work with the shipper customer to stop the bleeding? We can tell you that we have seen a new wave of creativity from several motor carriers in both the LTL and Truckload sector. These carriers are dropping their “normal” business standards to be as creative as they can to generate new revenue from their shipper customers. It’s time fo r b oth shippers and carriers to step outside the box of traditional business practices and be as creative as possible to strengthen business relationships for the future benefit of BOTH PARTIES.

Tony Nuzio