A Little Help For Our Friends
Coping with crisis series might help with regulators, shippers.
DEBORAH WHISTLER
EDITOR
When we started our "Coping With Crisis" series in the March 2001 issue of Heavy Duty Trucking, little did we know just what proportions that crisis would reach -- and that it would still be with us now.
Trucking was facing a perfect storm that had started with the nation's economic downturn. Fuel costs spiked. Insurance rates skyrocketed. Credit tightened. Labor was expensive.
When 9-11 struck at the world's heart, hopes for a fast economic turnaround were dashed. Freight dropped off. Added costs of tighter security and still higher insurance rates heaped more financial burden on trucking. Throughout it all freight rates, for the most part, remained unchanged.
The storm still batters us, and more clouds -- in the form of pending government regulations that threaten to drive costs up further -- loom ahead.
At the American Trucking Assns. convention last fall, several of the industry's top leaders asked us to help. So we, in turn, solicited a little help from some of our friends and yours to reprint our "Coping With Crisis" series. It is an extraordinary document of the industry's struggles. It also provides validation of the vital service trucking provides to the country and the economy, especially in the wake of the 9-11 catastrophe.
Three industry suppliers stepped up to help defray the costs of reprinting the document. Following are messages from executives representing each:
Tom Gosnell, President, Commercial Vehicle Systems, ArvinMeritor, Inc.:
Your management and planning in these unusual economic conditions will be put to the test. We feel this collection of articles and insights will assist and help direct you in your operations and decision-making. Yet the real solutions will come about through your ingenuity, your tenacity, your spirit, and your everlasting commitment to succeed for yourself and your families.
Our nation and great industry will prosper and grow again, spurred by your efficient movement of freight and goods and your commitment to shippers and customers.
God Bless America!
John Lampe, President & Chief Executive Officer, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.:
During this time of challenges to our nation, to our industry and to each of us individually, we are happy to do all we can to help you meet those challenges. We hope this collection of articles provides useful information -- Real Answers you can use in managing your present and planning your future.
We are confident that our industry and our nation will meet our current challenges -- and emerge victorious -- and we wish you every personal and business success.
Joe Berkel, Commercial Vehicle Lubricants Manager-North America, ExxonMobil Lubricants & Specialties:
In 2001 nearly everyone was challenged in ways we never expected. We trust this collection of articles will be useful to fleets and owner-operators alike as customers adjust to the new realities facing our industries.
We are confident that, working together, all of us can weather the current business environment and emerge stronger.
It is our hope that this series of articles will help fleet managers, their shippers and receivers, legislators and government officials better understand how trucking got into this predicament.
We think that, using this as a tool, you can build upon that understanding to negotiate future contracts that, we believe, will help us all work together to achieve better times.
Copies of "Coping With Crisis" are being distributed to members of the Truckload Carriers Assn. and the American Trucking Assns.
If you would like copies of the reprint, write Deb Whistler, Coping Reprint, PO Box W, Newport Beach, Calif., 92658; or email me at dwhistler@truckinginfo.com.
Please be sure to let me know how many copies you need and where to send them.
