If Economy Completely Tanks

People will always have to eat.

And people will always need toilet paper after they eat.

That covers reefers and van.

 

More beer is sold during a recession.

 

I think flatbed may be the way to go. Consider:

The flatbed segment may get you more of the genuine long-haul runs. Do flats run many of those overnight fireball runs for only 400 miles? Also, people talk about all the vans they see on trains. Do they see many loaded flatbeds piggybacking the rails?

 

I don't think any particular type of trailer will be stronger than any other, there will just be less of them as everything gets cut back. With operating costs sky rocketing, there may be a lot of O/Os, especially new ones, who might have to pack it in. Lots of smaller and or poorly run companies might fold, as well. Larger, or well run medium size, companies will have their pick of drivers, if the pay stays decent. If they can get more experienced, safe drivers, they might be able to reduce their insurance costs.

There will be a need for some sort of truck delivery for the foreseeable future, even if they are robotic, without drivers. Railroads can't do the 'to the door delivery' in most cases. It's why they lost so much business to the trucks in the 50's and 60's.

 

No becuase the material they would put on a Flat they would put into a rail car.. Coils, bars, lumber ext.. are hauled all the time by rail

 

Which supports my original claim that the rails are gonna rise from the grave.

But for those who are lucky enough to remain a solo driver, I'd guess more than likely the majority will be flattop drivers.

 

I would say that this is very likely. In fact, I believe it has been ongoing for years with many companies. Most of the biggest companies appear to me to feel like it is cheaper to "train" a new driver than it is to PAY a veteran.

These companies don't give a rip about who is driving their trucks, all they care about is getting the load there. The "drivers are a dime a dozen" attitude is alive and well at places like Swift, CRE, etc.