More Truck Loads on Road Anticipated

More consumer spending and an uptick in corporate investment are expected to put more trucks on the road in 2014, experts in one of Inland Southern California’s most prolific industries say.

Bob Costello, the chief economist for the American Trucking Associations, the industry’s largest trade group, said in a recently published interview he is anticipating an increase of between 2.3 and 2.7 percent in the number of loads this year. That would continue a turnaround that started less than a year ago, Costello said.

Last year, truckers saw steady work moving flatbed and tanker loads. The latter grew because of increased production in the energy sector.

What will pick up in 2014 is what the trucking industry calls “boxed freight,” which refers to the vans that ship general merchandise in large enclosed trailers.

“Probably that’s going to be because of general consumer spending,” Costello said.

On Thursday, Feb. 6, the National Retail Federation released an estimate of retail sales, calling for an increase of 4.1 percent from 2013. That’s up from an earlier estimate of a 3.7 percent. The estimates do not include purchases of automobiles, gasoline or food in restaurants, according to a statement from the federation.

These estimates bode well for Inland Southern California’s economy. About 125,000 San Bernardino and Riverside counties residents, more than 10 percent of all workers who receive regular paychecks, work in industries involved in the movement of goods, according to the most recent state Employment Development Department report.

Redlands-based economist John Husing said that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where most of the goods that are trucked through the Inland area enter the country, saw record volumes in 2013, and that is expected to continue.

Also, Husing said that a current dispute over cost overruns incurred during the project to improve the Panama Canal could slow completion of the project as much as two or three years. That would force importers to continue to use ports in California.

“The U.S. economy is continuing to recover, albeit slowly, and you can anticipate … the sheer volume of retailing to go up,” Husing said. “That will drive the trucking industry, especially west of the Rockies, and the sector will continue to grow and add jobs.”

An economic forecast released earlier this week by Chapman University called for about 4 percent job growth this year in the sectors relating to logistics and goods movement in the Inland area. Only the construction industry should see more growth.

Winter is typically not a busy season in the trucking industry and it was weaker than usual this year because many companies that are the end users of the shipped goods have been slowed by bad weather. But companies in the Inland area are optimistic nevertheless.

“We’re anticipating a big year, although so far there’s not a lot of projects. The freeze back East is stopping some work,” said Kim Cooper, vice president of C & K Transportation, a San Bernardino trucking company. “Imports are supposed to be really strong and we’re looking forward to it.”

C & K Transportation, which has a fleet of flatbed trucks and a freight brokerage business, has moved steel made in Asia, suggesting growth in construction projects, Cooper said.

The trucking industry is preparing for new air quality controls to come on line in midyear, and some smaller firms have gone out of business rather than spend the money needed to comply, said Valerie Liese, president of Chino-based Jack Jones Trucking. That means that the firms that will still be operating should stay very busy, she said.

Source: The Press-Enterprise

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