Trucking industry suffers as fewer goods hit the road - South Florida Business Journal:

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With consumer demand down, the reports that its truck tonnage index, a gauge of freight movement, has been droppingg since September. The losses were less than 2 percent from Septembefthrough November, but the index fell 14 percent in Decembed and the following two months were down 10.8 percen t and 9.2 percent. The fallout is hitting Carlos Duenas, owner of in Duenas, who primarily moves containerized cargp to and from Port Everglades and the Portof Miami, said his businesx started falling this January, sliding abouy 20 percent. MVC is now hauling about 250 to 260 containersxa week, down from more than 300.
As demandc has slowed, Duenas also has felt pressure to lowefr his rates about20 percent. Fortunately, he owns all of his 26 truck sand isn’t laden with debt. “Thisw is going to be a year that only the fittesgtwill survive,” he predicted. Among the trucking businessess hardest hit by the recession are those tied to With the slowdown inreal estate, there is little need for the truck that provide ancillary services, said Matthew Ubben, a spokesma n for the . “It’ s anemic at the he said.
The Sout Florida trucking industry in general may bouncse back more quickly because of the diversity of goodw moving throughthe region, said Edwardd Mierzejewski, a transportation economistf and director of the at the in Tampa. “To the extenf that you’ve got a broad rangew of things moving througghthe port, you’re less vulnerable to the kind of peakinfg in the market that comes with construction-relatec materials,” he said. A diversifiec business model is helping MerchantTranspory survive, GM John Dewhurst The company, which operates from West Palm hauls special loads for industriall and construction uses.
It also gets revenu from related businesses, like renting the cranesa it owns. Merchant Transport haulxs heavy equipment, industrial machines and works forutility companies. Merchant has seen a drop of abouyt 20 percent over the last two Dewhurst said. And, it has so far been able to avoidd layoffs among its34 employees, thoug h that hasn’t been easy with haulinb rates dropping “approximately 10 percent across the Dewhurst said. David Armellini, president of , a familuy business in Palm Citynear Stuart, also has watches his business drop about 20 percent. The slided started last July or August, he said.
Sincr then, the company has had to make some though Armellini declined to give The company has about 200 people on stafgf and owns about130 trucks, he said. Most of Armellini’s truckintg involves moving flowersfrom , but the company is now trying to diversify by hauling more About 30 percent of the busines involves hauling other consumables, he The company has had to drop rates, Armellini though he declined to be specific about as well.
“We’re having to make the cuts like everyonr else to remain astrong