The freight recession is officially over.

yup everything has turned around for the better…..

 

I mean, I live up here and I roll out empty for a reason…

 

You can buy ac machines for r1234 on amazon.
Dealership and most independent shops that work on newer models will have the machines

 

Back to the original topic:
From the article:

Immigration deportation: According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 20% of truck driver employees are immigrants. While many of these are legal immigrants into the U.S., there are numerous reports of drivers using international driver’s licenses and fake documents to drive in the U.S.

It is hard to know the percentage here, as the data is sparse (after all, the undocumented workers would not admit it). Having been around the industry, any opportunity to game the system will undoubtedly be used. Are undocumented workers 1% of the population of immigrants or 10%?

I don’t know, but if Trump follows through with his threats of deportations, this could remove some percentage of the trucking industry’s excess capacity and make it harder for carriers that skirt the law to stay in business.

IMHO this is the most important variable. Yes, the freight volume may very well increase. But so will the available drivers, most importantly trucking companies that are in the netherworld categorized above. So the ratio of available equipment will rise at least as fast as the freight volume, keeping rates at recessionary levels. They admit their conclusions by the numbers are impossible to quantify.
The regime change vis a vis this population is not going to change for a while, if at all. Yes, they will be able to deport dangerous individuals relatively easily. But numerous legal challenges will delay mass deportations, especially if it can be proven they are in "critical" industries.

Nothing has changed economically, people are just not buying as much stuff because of the pressure on incomes (inflation). Not factored in are things like a potential trade war with China which could cripple freight volumes.

Don't go buy another new $220,000 tractor just yet.

 

In the past year I've had more customers say to me "oh thank goodness you speak English" than I have during the rest of my career combined.

 

The other week there was some sort of religious holiday. Not sure if indian, Muslim, etc but for a few days rates spike from $5000 to $8000 out of Cali to the Midwest. Just shows how many foreign workers there are driving trucks.

 

I know Denver is an absolute dead zone but my oh my...hey goin' to Vegas? Can you do us a favor?

 

But they get 9 mpg so they’re good

 

You can't beat this one