Customer Demand: The Trucking Industry Is Facing A Challenge

For the past few years, the trucking industry has tried to keep pace with customer demands. Customer demand from individuals has increased so much that carriers such as UPS were tossing around the idea of increasing shipping rates for residential addresses to offset the sheer volume of deliveries they have to make, even in the off season. However, customer demand is not just about residential deliveries, and currently, the trucking industry is being challenged to meet the requests from industries throughout the United States.

Customer Demand Is The Curse Of A Strong Economy

Construction, housing, and manufacturing are experiencing a huge increase this year. The economy is strong and people are spending money. Whether it is businesses purchasing produce, supplies, or manufactured goods, or private residents purchasing things online, these are symptoms of a healthy economy. On the important side of commerce, someone has to move all of these goods and supplies from one point to another. However, there are currently not enough trucks active on the road to meet the customer demand.

Growth Within The Trucking Industry Is Deceptive

Carriers with up to six trucks in their fleets grew by over four percent this year. Yet, on the other end of the scale, large fleets are not running at the capacity needed to meet customer demand for large client accounts. While the number look very positive for owner operators and small fleets, larger carriers are having trouble finding and retaining qualified drivers to meet customer demand.

Short-Term Solutions

Right now, the strategy among larger carriers is to be more agile. This means scheduling drivers to handle more deliveries in one haul. Drivers are currently carrying loads to multiple destinations on one trip. While this helps to meet customer demand, it is not a perfect solution. Once mandatory ELDs come into play in December, drivers will be restricted in the number of hours they can be on the road. Additionally, the cost of fuel, as well as wear and tear on the trucks could lead to fleets losing money on overhead, in the long run.

Stabilizing Finances

Express Freight Finance has been providing working capital solutions to the trucking industry for years. When customer demand is high, there is no reason for fleets and owner operators to be stuck waiting on payments for their deliveries. Our services include instantaneous turnaround on invoices so truckers can get paid quickly, and so overhead costs do not place a strain on finances. Contact us today to learn more.