This marked the third consecutive year in which dark economic clouds hung over the annual American Trucking Associations (ATA) Management Conference & Exhibition.
Fleets attending the conference are needing to be resilient and resourceful to survive such difficult conditions, several of which were discussed during a panel on navigating challenging times.
Panelists said enhanced communication with shippers is one important strategy.
Communication with shippers
Trucking companies are gripped with uncertainty, but so too are many of their customers. Amy Horn, director of intermodal pricing with J.B. Hunt Transport, said open communication with customers is important. And she noted more customers are coming to the company with concerns about access to capacity when the market does turn.
“There has been a prevalent occurrence in 2025 with customers coming to us, asking us what is going to happen with capacity and tariffs and how that is going to impact the capacity we have for them. We flip that on them immediately – we really need that insight from you, our customers, the shippers,” Horn said. “We are primed and ready to go. The more insight you can get to us, the quicker we are able to respond and the more agile we are to meet your needs.”
While she said shippers aren’t yet panicking or rushing to lock in capacity, “I think they do have some concerns.”
Horn said customers are aware they’ve been in a shippers’ market far longer than expected.
“They know the change is coming, they just don’t’ know when,” she added. “Are shippers going to pull bid cycles up thinking they’re going to get better rates today than in January or February? That’s still to be determined, but it’s something they’re watching out for.”
The rising cost of insurance
Rising insurance costs in a stagnant rate environment are one of the biggest challenges facing fleets today, Hunt said.
“It’s not just cargo insurance costs that are rising, or nuclear verdicts. It’s medical [insurance] costs as well,” she said.
Cheryl Garcia, senior vice-president and head of government transportation with U.S. Bank, said fleets need to educate everyone within their organization about how they can mitigate risks within their training programs or other areas of responsibility.
Bob Costello, ATA chief economist, noted many small fleets have cut costs to the bone, even deferring maintenance on aging equipment.
“Some of these smaller fleets have cut so much because they’ve been forced to by market conditions and now it’s starting to catch up to them and they’re not going to survive as a result,” he predicted.
Horn doesn’t see rising insurance costs reversing direction, noting in some cases premiums have doubled over the past three years. “I don’t think that’s a bucket on the budget we think is going down anytime soon,” she added.
Extended payment terms
And while fleets are dealing with rising costs, customers are increasingly looking for longer payment terms.
“More customers are asking us for extended terms and we continue to have to push back as much as we can on that,” Horn said, suggesting fleets use the data available to them to educate shippers on how extended payment terms negatively affect them.
Extended terms are increasingly risky for carriers as there’s increasing fraud within the industry.
Cargo theft continues to rise
Speaking of fraud, Costello said $18 million in cargo is stolen every day in the U.S. trucking industry. Fortunately, he said it’s an issue that’s now on the radar of legislators on both sides of the aisle.
Cargo theft isn’t new. But, said Costello, “What’s changed is how sophisticated this has gotten. International crime rings operating globally are stealing freight in the U.S., getting it out…and it’s showing up all over the world.”
As an example, he mentioned a truckload of Garmin devices that was stolen. Since each device in the shipment was trackable, Garmin was able to determine that within one month the products in that stolen shipment popped up on every continent except Antarctica.
Asked how to combat such thefts, Horn said “One of the first things we need to think about as an industry is the seals we’re putting on containers and trailers. They’re plastic seals that in half a second can be cut off. What are we securing with those?”
Stronger bolt seals and tracking devices can deter theft, but Horn said there’s a cost associated with those that customers aren’t always interested in paying. She also expressed frustration that those caught in the act of cargo theft are often released and go back to committing the same crimes within 24 hours.
“Everybody is a victim in this space,” said Costello. “You’re either spending a lot more money to not be a victim, which means you’re a victim, or you’re getting cargo stolen.”
Credit: Source link
