Boom or Bust? Trucking's Uncertain Future in a Cooling Economy!

Truckers, buckle up! The road ahead might be a mixed bag. Our analysis of recent economic reports reveals conflicting signals for the trucking industry. Here's the breakdown:
April 2024 LMI Whispers Growth:
This report offers some positive news compared to the April 2023 report we discussed earlier. The LMI reading jumped to its highest level since September 2022 (58.3), suggesting expansion in key areas like inventory levels, warehousing utilization, and transportation utilization. This indicates a potential short-term boost for the trucking industry.
Inventory on the Rise:
One key trend is the continued rebuilding of inventories, leading to tighter warehousing capacity. This translates to a potential increase in demand for transportation services in the near future.
Cost Pressures Remain:
However, there's a catch. While transportation utilization is up, transportation prices haven't fully recovered. This suggests trucking companies might still be facing pressure on their margins despite the potential rise in demand.
May 9th Jobless Claims Report Sounds the Alarm:
This report throws a curveball with a significant rise in unemployment claims, hinting at a broader economic slowdown that could cool the labor market.
Reconciling the Reports: A Bumpy Ride Ahead
There are a couple of reasons why these reports might seem contradictory:
Timing: The LMI report reflects data through April, while the jobless claims report is for the week ending May 4th. The trucking industry could be experiencing a temporary boost due to inventory rebuilding, followed by a potential slowdown reflecting the broader economic trends.
Focus: The LMI report focuses on logistics, while the jobless claims report offers a wider view. The trucking industry's uptick might not fully reflect the overall economic slowdown.
The New Outlook: Buckle Up!
Based on this combined analysis, here's what truckers can expect:
Potential Short-Term Growth: The LMI report suggests a possibility of short-term growth in the trucking industry due to inventory rebuilding. This could be a good time to capitalize on increased demand.
Long-Term Uncertainty: However, don't let the short-term positivity fool you. The rise in unemployment claims points to a potential long-term economic slowdown that could negatively impact demand for trucking services later in the year. Be prepared for a potentially challenging economic environment.
Cost Pressures: Even with potentially lower wage pressures (due to a more balanced labor market as suggested by the jobless claims report), the trucking industry might still face cost pressures from factors like fuel prices.
Overall, the combined information suggests a period of uncertainty for the trucking industry. There might be a temporary boost followed by a potential slowdown later in the year. Trucking companies need to be prepared to navigate this potentially challenging economic landscape.
Stay tuned!
In upcoming videos, we'll delve deeper into these trends and analyze how they might affect specific segments of the trucking industry. We'll also explore potential strategies that truckers can use to navigate these challenging times. So, subscribe to the channel and hit the notification bell to stay informed!
#TruckingIndustry #MarketOutlook #EconomicShift
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00:00 - Intro
00:49 - Story
04:49 - Get Started
05:45 - Loads
12:49 - Outro

[@texwilliams5802]

Not great last week, but AFT helped me get $3800 @ $1.57 per mile. Getting out of Florida can always be a challenge. For the month AFT got me $8000 @ 3792 miles @ $2.15 pm. Sometimes you just have to patience during low market conditions. Just like using patience during a traffic jam. Thanks to Andy, an amazing partner. Special thanks to V, who has his pulse on the market conditions each week. 1st QTR 2024: 22,518 miles, grossed $71,314 at $3.12 per mile.

[@AFTDispatch]

Thanks for the update Tex. I would say you and Andy are doing very well. The market is absolutely terrible right now and brokers are carrying themselves in the worst of ways. Have a good weekend!

[@TruckItTillYouMakeIt]

Hey vitally do you guys work with a new mc i been active for 40 days really need a dispatcher

[@AlexPayne-cj5hn]

Sure thing sir! Give us a call at [phone] , so we can discuss more about it!

[@yuseff_bobr]

Why not show all miles? Empty, loaded - everything. I mean, Unless your drivers are capable of breaking the laws of physics and move between loads without burning a drop of diesel what’s the point of hiding real numbers? Silver City, NM to Tucson, AZ was 200+ mile deadhead. And then Meridian to Buhl 140 miles.

[@chefbergsfoodadventures6531]

Even the rates sound inflated , no dispatch company is getting drivers these rates , and not take a huge percentage themselves. Something doesn't smell right with his numbers and whatever.

[@Rosstransportllc]

Man this is a dispatcher channel so I won't speak the truth but I'll only say this loaded miles only is not your real rate per mile with the cost of equipment any load below $1000 is INSANE also any load with 3 stops or more is also very costly on that fuel bill and equipment wear but carry on, OH by the way that gross for Antonio also doesn't include dispatcher fees / sorry for raining on your parade. Carry on 😄💪💯

[@AlexPayne-cj5hn]

@@Rosstransportllc Is it 433$ if you really insist on it. The reason we don't put the deadhead miles in because we don't want to make an 1 hour video, it would be much more to talk about it and it would take much much longer. An experienced trucker knows more or less how much dh it is in those loads anyway. And by the way are you making 5757$ with 3.8$ x mile? I'm really curious, because that's how much he made after he paid us. And he didn't had to deal with the brokers , didn't had to look for loads while driving risking an accident, everything was taking care of. I understand is easy to hate on something without proper investigation. You are not ruining* anyone's parade. There are people who can do this and people who don't. If you got more questions, give me a call and we can discuss.

[@AlexPayne-cj5hn]

@@chefbergsfoodadventures6531 Come and work with us for a couple of weeks and see it for yourself. Our percentage is 7% so I don't think is huge. The reason we manage to get those numbers is because we are working in this industry for a little bit over a decade. Our dispatchers including me have 4-10 years of experience. Yes , we did our fair share of mistakes in the past long time ago, now when a bad market comes we know exactly how to handle it and come on top, because is not our first rodeo.

[@A_A_Ron_G]

You're doing great Alex we appreciate the information. As a dispatcher, you aren't going to give a full breakdown of each driver's costs and deadhead and all that stuff. It would take forever. You give us honest numbers of what you booked, and what it paid. And you clearly say loaded miles. Most of us understand that.

[@DD20248]

1st driver has some connections to make that rpm

[@AFTDispatch]

Thank you. That was all broker freight. Call or text if you have any questions [phone]

[@danielross7032]

A lot of short runs, drops, and Mountains. He worked for that lol.

[@yuseff_bobr]

Also, Colorado to Temecula, CA for $1/mi??? 😮😮😮 Wow. I-70 over there in Co and Utah is one heck of a road. He prolly burned more fuel and did more damage to the truck on that load. Jesus Christ, sometimes you have to say no to brokers. It would have been much much better to just deadhead from CO to Cali

[@Knightrem]

Everything should just be moved via rail to Colorado and Wyoming imo. Tye only population centers there are Cheyenne and the Denver area. The rest just gets picked up by local carriers anyway.

[@AlexPayne-cj5hn]

Agreed , also that gentleman is a trucker not an employee paid per mile. Trucking has been like this for a bit over 10 years. Is called backhaul.

[@A_A_Ron_G]

People don't understand basic supply and demand economics. Too many people jumped in and bought overpriced equipment a few years back when the market was on fire. That's the reason. There's too much capacity. It's not the government. It's not immigrants. It's not brokers, dispatchers, or anything else everyone wants to blame. It's just simple math. Rates rise and fall based on capacity and volume. Nothing else matters. It's been that way for decades. Rates will come back up. They do every single time. It's just taking longer than usual this time because the bigger the boom, the bigger the bust.

[@poonetidestroyer8955]

Its basic supply and demand but its also the government and the immigrants. My friend runs a cdl school. Most of the people in his classes speak almost no English

[@gypsyrollin6835]

Speaking of boom or bust… would those low rates have anything to with Amazon saturating the market with their low rates, musical trucks and people that don’t look or sound like us? Those trucks are moving. There is a huge surge of migrants and “such” and that’s known to shake up rates as well. No disrespect intended but I’ll bet that will continue to ruin the industry, as usual and make powerful elites richer.

[@AlexPayne-cj5hn]

I am not 100% sure but , I will investigate and maybe talk about it in the next live show . 5/19 , 4 PM Central Time

[@A_A_Ron_G]

Right. A person's skin color and language they speak has an impact on freight volume and capacity. Because 3 years ago when the market was on fire, only white Americans were driving. 🙄