Freight

Been weak for about 2 years now. I don't know if the election being over is really going to change much of anything. Seems like the problems run too deep and have been going on for too long. I mean you have drivers hoping the EOBR mandate will improve rates. Myself included actually.

But realistically like other big regulatory changes in the past it probably won't or will be a short hiccup if it does. There needs to be some real economic activity that spurs growth for everyone. Excessive government oversight is a parasite on us all and ultimately the only thing that comes from onerous unnecessary regulation is increased cost and hardship for everyone.

 

Using only two of many available examples, one can see that the economy CAN'T recover. The powers that be have forced obamacare on us (a big expense to the average consumer and employer), and flooding the workforce with immigrants, driving wages to nothing. How can our economy improve when the consumer no longer has the funds to buy products, which is what provides loads to deliver ? This is the most basic understanding of economics that I can come up with, yet many can't even grasp that. Watch or listen to Watter's World sometime, and you'll see that our country's future doesn't look very bright.
Have a great, sunshiny day !

 

One of the sharpest comments I've ever read on TTR right there!!!!!

Right On!!!!.....

The basic problem we all face in the US is a Cost of Living that's been outpacing income for decades!!!...Credit has been used to cover this fact up for years, but finally the middle class is realizing it's been put in an untenable situation. Something has to change, and my biggest fear is that, if it doesn't,.....well, history shows us change is constant...one way, or another.....

Mary Barra put it in perspective a year ago, when testifying before Congress. She said, numerically, the biggest year in New Car Sales of all time was 2014 (something like 17 million new cars sold in the US), taking the increase in population from 1970 to 2014 into account, in order to sell the same % of new cars to the US population as in 1960, the number would have been something like 45 million new cars!!!!!!....

Lesson, the purchasing power of the American middle class is been eroding badly!!!!...

 

Do you foresee the next 'bubble' being auto industry or auto financing related?

 

I think it has to be low interest related. Due to the fed. That has propped up the stock market.

 

Also consider the smartphone. You can transport ~100,000 phones in one dry van. What has the smartphone replaced pertaining to tangible goods ? Maybe bicycles, footballs, basketballs, baseball bats, toys, PC's, entertainment centers, home stereos, etc., etc. How many loads of bulky items have disappeared because entertainment has been condensed into a small, hand-held device ? Now, we have to pay for our monthly usage of that device, which means there is less money to be spent on physical goods, further reducing demand for physical goods. We can't strap down a load of cellular data onto our flat beds or load it into our dry vans. Because of our addiction to the Internet, autonomous labor, and lack of employment, some are content to live in mom's basement, playing on their smartphone, consuming just enough nutrition to keep their body alive, using Pokemon Go! as their only form of outdoor activity with no money to spend on anything that we can transport via truck.
Just a thought from a guy who has lots of road time to think...maybe a bit too much, huh ?

 

It used to only be slow first 3 months now it September and it's still slow. Glad I'm back to company truck. Seem like it not improving.

 

I do. The crazy home mortgage biz didn't go away, it just shifted from homes to cars. The auto industry is on pace to sell 17.5 million units this year. It's growing 5-8% for years. Those are crazy numbers. Inventory is growing. One manufacturer has been working 6 day weeks for last 6-7 years. Just a matter of time. The economy is overdue for a recession. The interest rate yield curve is forecasting a recession within 12 months (60% chance). I admit I'm a pessimist. I've been certain a big recession was due since 2011 (Greek/Euro episode).

 

Sooooo all my planning for a truck start up is futile??