Now that the recession is over (what?), what have carriers/drivers learned?

The problem is that teams compete with railroads for longer-haul freight.
Railroads will always be more cost effective than teams....tho teams can often give better service.
However, nowadays it is all about the bottom line.

 

Here's some food for thought, since we've brought the rail into the disscussion.

While the rail may be more cost effective it's not the most expedient method of shipping. First it takes time to load a train. I used to work for a rail contractor in intermodal. It can take ten hours or better to unload/load a double stack.

Not all trains are straight from the yard to destination. Trains are frequently "re-made" during transit, depending on destination. Sort of like cross-docking in the LTL industry. So extra transit time is a given.

Most consignee's facilities are not within a reasonable distance of a rail yard so truck transport from the rail to the consignee is mandatory even for businesses that are right next door to the rail. Yes some businesses have their own spur lines but these have become fewer and fewer over the years, especially with the death of short line railroads.

Now, in the current economy you read a lot about businesses decreasing available inventory due to lower demand for their product or service. It makes sense, less on hand inventory leads to higher cash reserves since a standing inventory requires a capital investment. Lower inventory becomes more cash on hand for a business.

So if a business maintains a lower inventory level than normal, when they need their inventory replenished they would need it as soon as possible to meet an increased demand, even if only temporary, yes?

So even if shipping via a trucking company that uses teams is more expensive, wouldn't the speed of delivery actually work out better from a cost/benefit standpoint?

One more thing about the rail. I mentioned that short line rail is all but a thing of the past. Mostly because the smaller railroads couldn't compete with the bigger oufits. Then some of the bigger railroads merged as in BNSF.

What if the same thing happens in trucking? Most of the smaller companies go under and then the bottom feeders merge.

How about SWC transport (Swift/Werner/Covenant)? There's a scary thought.

sorry for the long post.

........... Jim