The Final Word by Helen Roush

Helen Roush, Executive Vice President of Paperitalo Publications

The Final Word by Helen Roush

Freight Waves, in a recent article, stated that LTL carrier rates will continue to increase in 2020.

Material Handling & Logistics, in a recent article, also stated that the costs in the United States to operate a trucking company will continue to increase in 2020, particularly due to two key factors, evolving state and federal regulations, and pressure to reduce the environmental impact of the industry.

Material Handling & Logistics went on to say that the "Department of Transportation is always looking to ensure U.S. roads are safe, and as such, the introduction of laws like the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate require trucking companies to continually invest in new technology or new assets in order to remain compliant. The ELD mandate has not only required trucking companies to invest in logging devices, but has also reduced the amount of work a single driver was doing prior to the mandate going into effect, which in turn increases costs for operators.

As states develop or expand upon national DOT initiatives for safety and environmental laws, trucking companies who wish to operate across the entire U.S. must ensure compliance with states with the most stringent requirements. Higher operating costs often lead to higher prices for customers, so it will be interesting to see how the competing trends of lower pricing and higher operating costs battle it out over the course of the year."

Helen Roush is Executive Vice President of Paperitalo Publications.