The Beginning of Happier Days in the Trucking Business

For the last couple of years, the trucking industry in general has been stuck on a plateau. Fortunately, 2017 marked the beginning of a more positive future for the trucking business.  As one of the best owner operator companies, Status Transportation has a finger on the pulse in the owner operator trucking industry and can attest to this.

As discussed this year in the annual Trucking Owners Business Roundtable, many factors had been affecting the trucking industry.  Among these factors are diesel costs, new regulations, increased capacity and market fluctuations.  The Industrial Production Index (IPI) had hit a plateau during 2015 and 2016. IPI tracks the amount of output from manufacturing activities. Although GDP has a direct impact on the economy, owner operator trucking jobs have a direct correlation with IPI.  That’s why it’s so important to keep track of this indicator.

A Positive Shift in the Trucking Economy

After two years of gloomy reports on the state of the trucking industry, things are starting to shift.  According to Thom Albrecht, there has never been a 3-year decline in manufacturing and industrial production.  This is good very news for owner operator trucking companies, owner operator jobs, and the trucking industry in general.   

Better Rates, Better Owner Operator Pay

Economic activity during the past two years was moderate, especially during the first two quarters of each year.  Load rates were slowly picking up but still nothing compared to load rates back in 2014.  Fortunately, this year we can see a new perspective.  As of April 2017, there was an IP growth of 1.0% and commodity prices are starting to stabilize which will also increase production.  Owner Operator jobs will see an increment in available loads, and thus an increase in owner operator pay.  

Signs of a Stronger Economy

As you can see there are several indicators of a recovering economy. An often overlooked sign of a better economy is consumer sentiment.  Positive thinking does play a very important role in the economy and there is actually an indicator for it.  It's called the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI).  Depending on consumer sentiment people are more likely to spend or reduce their spending habits.  If people perceive the near future as somewhat positive, they are more likely to start or expand businesses.  People's short and mid-term decisions based on a positive perception do have an impact on economic growth.

All in all, owner operator trucking jobs and trucking companies are experiencing a positive upward trend. This improvement is not only the result of a good produce season, but the start of a better and stronger economy for the trucking industry.