Carriers Boost Their Capital Spending

rucking companies flush with cash after several quarters of posting higher profits from surging freight volumes and increased freight rates said they were funneling more funds into equipment and real estate, making up for years of restrained buying during the economic downturn.

“People are feeling pretty good,” Randy Marten, chief executive officer of refrigerated carrier Marten Transport, said in an interview. “We’ve ramped up a little bit; we have more trucks on order. There were a lot of people who sat out the last go around and are trying to get back [in the game] in some way, shape or form.”

Most carriers interviewed by Transport Topics said they would continue to spend money to replace aging equipment in 2005, evening-out trade cycles that were thrown off kilter when fleets pre-bought equipment in 2002 ahead of stricter diesel-emission standards from the Environmental Protection Agency.