Summary
Cheap trucking rates may have gone the way of the Edsel. A two-fold increase in diesel costs, an industry-wide shortage of 20,000 truck drivers and elimination of excess capacity are causing long-haul truckers to redouble their efforts to increase yields.
Shippers are even finding more ways to deliver "carrier friendly" freight -- that is, freight on pallets and supplying conditions by which truck drivers can get in and out of customers' docks without losing precious driving time.
Analysis
Big trucking companies are getting bigger, and profitable truckers are becoming even more profitable. The days of the massive 60 to 70 percent truck discount rates are over.
Heading into the peak freight season, shippers are rattled. They are locking in capacity by showing a willingness to pay more, even at a time when fuel surcharges are a record highs.
Truckers who are holding the line on discounts -- specifically, FedEx Freight, Con-way, New England Motor Freight, among them --are looking like big winners heading into the summer season.
