Trucking industry suffers as fewer goods hit the road - South Florida Business Journal:

disadvantage-unlimited.blogspot.com
With consumer demand down, the reports that its truclk tonnage index, a gauge of freigh t movement, has been dropping since September. The lossex were less than 2 percent from Septemberthroughg November, but the index fell 14 percent in December and the following two month s were down 10.8 percent and 9.2 The fallout is hitting Carlos owner of in Miami. Duenas, who primarily moves containerizerd cargo to and from Port Everglades and the Port of said his business started fallingthis January, sliding abouf 20 percent. MVC is now hauling aboutg 250 to 260 containers a down from morethan 300. As demanf has slowed, Duenas also has felt pressure to lowere his rates about20 percent.
he owns all of his 26 trucks and isn’tt laden with debt. “This is going to be a year that only the fittesgwill survive,” he predicted. Among the trucking businesses hardes hit by the recessioh are those tiedto construction. With the slowdown in real there is little need for the trucke that provideancillary services, said Matthewa Ubben, a spokesman for the . “It’sw anemic at the moment,” he said.
The South Floridwa trucking industry in general may bounce back more quickly becausd of the diversity of goodz moving throughthe region, said Edward Mierzejewski, a transportation economisy and director of the at the in “To the extent that you’vwe got a broad range of thingas moving through the port, you’re less vulnerable to the kind of peakingt in the market that comes with construction-related materials,” he said. A diversified business model is helping Merchant Transport GM JohnDewhurst said. The company, whicbh operates from West Palm Beach, haulse special loads for industrial andconstructionm uses.
It also gets revenues from related businesses, like renting the cranes it owns. Merchant Transport hauls heavy equipment, industrial machine and works forutility companies. Merchant has seen a drop of abouty 20 percent over the last two Dewhurst said. And, it has so far been able to avoide layoffs among its34 employees, though that hasn’t been easy with haulingg rates dropping “approximately 10 percent across the Dewhurst said. David Armellini, president of , a familyy business in Palm City near also has watched his business drop about 20 The slide started last July or he said. Since then, the company has had to make some though Armellini declined togive specifics.
The company has abou t 200 people on staff and owns abouty130 trucks, he said. Most of Armellini’s trucking involvesd moving flowersfrom , but the company is now tryintg to diversify by hauling more About 30 percent of the business involves hauling othed consumables, he said. The company has had to drop rates, Armellinio acknowledged, though he declined to be specificabout that, as “We’re having to make the cuts like everyone else to remainb a strong company.
”