Editorial: Ready for Spring

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img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>Springtime across the United States is supposed to be a period of rebirth, a time when the world comes alive again after hunkering down to survive what was for many a harsh winter.

We hope it will be so this year.

The trucking economy is trying to shake off a long, hard winter and is looking for spring to provide some relief.

The latest batch of reports from private and government sources shows the freight sector trying to claw its way back to solid growth even as the broader economy and some major customer groups may be headed for another round of suffering.

Trucking, rail and air cargo figures all show mild gains that give us reason to hope. None of them is robust, to be sure, and momentum appears to be slower than during late 2002. But all have shown gains from this point last year.

Yet, other news presents risks that freight haulers cannot ignore, news that clouds the outlook both for carrier operations and for their customers.

In many ways, the factory sector never completely moved out of the recession it entered late in 2000. In February it shed jobs on a net basis for the 31st consecutive month.

Retailers on the other end of the supply chain had been watching sales slow even before last month’s series of storms interrupted so many days of business.

For both those sectors, and for the trucking firms and other carriers in between, the shock of fast-surging fuel prices has wiped out a lot of purchasing power even as it drove up operating costs. It would take a while to get over such a hit, even if fuel prices started falling immediately.

But there are some silver linings.

Although the government has been reluctant to take steps to calm the fuel markets, a gloomy jobs report for February may have gotten the attention of policymakers at the Federal Reserve. Overnight, economists began urging the Fed to cut interest rates this week or at least take a preliminary step in that direction.

Such measures may help us get past the shocks, as well as get through the uncertainty over war risks. And if nations either produce more oil or release reserves, fuel prices can calm down and give us all a chance to recover.

The winter just ending was harsh both in terms of weather and business conditions, and in many ways it still had us in a cold embrace. We’re ready for spring.

For the full story, see the March 17 edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.