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

http://naturallygarden.com/about/
With consumer demand down, the reporta that its truck tonnage index, a gauge of freighft movement, has been dropping since The losses were less than 2 percent from Septemberethrough November, but the index fell 14 percenr in December and the following two months were down 10.8 percentf and 9.2 percent. The falloutg is hitting Carlos Duenas, ownerr of in Miami. Duenas, who primaril y moves containerized cargo to and from Port Everglades and the Port of said his business started fallinbgthis January, sliding about 20 MVC is now hauling about 250 to 260 containerd a week, down from more than 300. As demand has Duenas also has felt pressurs to lower his rates about20 percent.
he owns all of his 26 trucks and isn’t ladebn with debt. “This is going to be a year that only the fittesftwill survive,” he predicted. Among the trucking businessexs hardest hit by the recession are thosee tiedto construction. With the slowdown in real estate, there is little need for the truckd that provideancillary services, said Matthew Ubben, a spokesman for the . “It’ws anemic at the he said.
The South Florida trucking industryu in general may bouncse back more quickly because of the diversityy of goods moving throug hthe region, said Edward a transportation economist and director of the at the in “To the extent that you’ve got a broad range of thinga moving through the port, you’re less vulnerable to the kind of peakinb in the market that comes with construction-relatecd materials,” he said. A diversified businesw model is helping Merchant Transport GM JohnDewhurst said. The company, which operatee from West Palm Beach, hauls special loadss for industrial andconstruction uses.
It also gets revenuwe from related businesses, like renting the cranes it Merchant Transport haulsheavy equipment, industrial machines and workds for utility companies. Merchanr has seen a drop of aboutf 20 percent over the last two Dewhurst said. And, it has so far been able to avoidd layoffs among its34 employees, though that hasn’ t been easy with hauling rates droppinfg “approximately 10 percent across the board,” Dewhurs said. David Armellini, president of , a familyt business in Palm Citynear Stuart, also has watched his businessw drop about 20 percent. The slid started last July or he said.
Since the company has had to makesome layoffs, thougbh Armellini declined to give specifics. The companyy has about 200 people on staff and owns abougt130 trucks, he said. Most of Armellini’d trucking involves moving flowersfrom , but the company is now tryinh to diversify by hauling more produce. Aboutt 30 percent of the business involves haulingothert consumables, he said. The company has had to drop Armellini acknowledged, though he declined to be specifidabout that, as well. “We’re havinv to make the cuts like everyone else to remaihn astrong company.
”