The New Year: Reflections & Resolutions
It is unwise to pay too much, but it's more unwise to pay too little.
Nobody I know was sad to say goodbye to 2003 — or '02 or '01 for that matter. The term "good riddance" comes to mind.
Fuel price spikes. Sky-high insurance. Scarce capital. Government rules. All those things hit trucking in a depressed economy. Fair pricing? You must be joking. Thousands of carriers went under.
Now, even though driver wages are going up and fuel and insurance will still be volatile, the survivors seem poised for recovery. And fleets are looking to make freight rate increases stick.
It's about time for that, but can it be done?
Rate hikes have been tough to come by in a business environment so dominated by low price competition between carriers, between truck manufacturers, between shippers and among suppliers of all kinds.
To survive stagnating revenues in that environment means pressuring your own suppliers. Fleets did that; they were able to make up for part of the profit squeeze by taking advantage of some sweet new truck deals.
Those deals are going away. Truck manufacturers now want fair prices for their products. So do their suppliers. Carriers need to take that stance with their customers.
John Ruskin, a critic, essayist and reformer in the 1800s, said this on the subject of quality:
"It is unwise to pay too much, but it's more unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money; that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do.
"If you deal with the lowest bidder," he said, "it is well to add something for the risk you take. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better."
Profit mattered then, just as it matters now. One doesn't make a profit by selling at a loss and making it up in volume.
Having said that, and looking at what will hopefully be a good year in 2004, we offer a few New Year's resolutions. They're based on Lessons From a Dog's Life (author unknown), and suggest that dogs have the right idea about life's endeavors. We happen to agree:
• Sit quietly and listen to what others have to say.
• Go outside at least once a day and let the fresh air rejuvenate you.
• Run and play every day.
• If what you want is buried, dig until you find it.
• Take joy in a walk with a friend.
• Eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're tired and stretch before you rise.
• Be loyal to those you care for.
• Be true to yourself.
Happy New Year.
Doug Condra
President
E-mail Doug Condra at dcondra@truckinginfo.com, or write PO Box W. Newport Beach, Calif. 92656.
