Page 14 - ATR 1 2014 web

News iN brief, fleeT faIlUreS INCreaSe
Continued from page 13 deSpITe HIgHer freIgHT
White House fail to act swiftly – includ- deMaNd
ing imposing a deadline on the presi- Despite improved freight demand,
dent to act. A similar effort led Obama ongoing cost and regulatory pressures
to reject the plan in January 2012, are to blame for the highest level of
saying he had not been given sufficient fleet failures in more than three years,
time to study the proposal. according to Avondale Partners analyst
The 485-mile southern half of Donald Broughton.
the pipeline, which did not need State A total of 335 fleets with 7,775
Department approval, is already open. trucks failed during the fourth quarter,
Meanwhile, steel pipe for northern sec- the highest since the third quarter of
tions is being stored at Welspun Tubular 2010 and more than double the 150
in Little Rock, Ark. 116.5 was 22.8 percent above the April carriers and 2,515 trucks in the final
2009 low during the most recent reces- quarter of 2012.
freIgHT INdeX rISeS To BeST sion and exceeds the previous high of “In the past, we haven’t had a
level oN reCord 115.4 in September 2013. Records go period where demand is growing and
The amount of freight carried by back to 2000. capacity is coming out of the industry at
the nation’s for-hire transportation “Growth in tonnage intensive meaningful levels,” Broughton said. “If
industry rose 1.2 percent in November industries such as heavy construction that continues, it could be very power-
from October, rebounding from a and oil and gas fracking produced an ful for pricing for truckload carriers.”
one-month decline to reach its highest increase in truck tonnage,” the DOT If demand and capacity trends con-
all-time level, according to a new U.S. said. Compared to the same month tinue, truckload pricing may rise later
Department of Transportation report. a year ago, November 2013 freight this year by “strong single digits,” he
The November 2013 Freight shipments were up 5.2 percent from said, suggesting 6 to 8 percent.
Transportation Services Index level of November 2012. That would be a sharp increase

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14 arKansas trucKing report | issue 1 2014