Editorial: A Good News Week
img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>It's getting easier to believe that better days are coming. Last week, we learned that many heavy-duty truck and engine makers were recalling workers and increasing production based on higher customer interest; fuel prices fell for the fourth straight week; and the news from Iraq indicated that hostilities could be over reasonably soon.
While we’ve all been waiting for the big business turnaround to put smiles back on our faces, so far its been a series of little ups and small downs, with a slightly positive overall trend line.
But a stronger recovery may be building.
And truck makers Freightliner LLC and Volvo AB have increased their build rates recently and expressed more optimism about the future.
Meanwhile, the national average price of diesel fuel at the pump has declined by 21.7 cents during the past month to the lowest level since the first days of February. While hardly at bargain-basement levels, the price reductions have provided a measure of relief to trucking fleets, which burn about 576 million gallons of diesel a week.
At the same time, crude oil inventories are growing and refiners are increasing production, both of which portend lower prices in the future.
The trade group that represents truck stop operators, Natso, called March an “ugly month.” But, said President William Fay, some members are now “cautiously optimistic” that business will soon return to normal levels.
To be sure, the economy is clearly not out of the woods yet. Last week’s sobering reminder came in the form of lowered revenue expectations from two large carriers, USFreightways and Covenant Transport.
The carriers cited weather delays and fuel costs as the biggest problems that led them to warn investors of their diminished prospects.
But there is little doubt that optimism is beginning to creep into comments from industry executives, a feeling that could only be bolstered by how events have unfolded in Iraq.
A few months back, many officials voiced concern about the unknowns surrounding the effects of world events on the nation’s fragile economy.
If the economy recovery now goes as well as the U.S. military effort in Iraq, we can all begin to breathe a little easier.
This article appears in the April 14 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
