TRUCKERS: AS A LEADING ECONOMIC INDICATOR, WHERE DO YOU SEE THE ECONOMY TRENDING?
Truckers seem to be more optimistic about the economy than many in the United States. According to a CNBC Q2 small business survey, 81% of small business owners expect to see the domestic economy fall into a recession in 2022 due to high inflation. But only 12% of trucking companies that responded to our survey in 2022 say they expect the economy to head south. Forty percent foresee an upturn, while 48% expect that a combination of positive and negative forces will keep the economy somewhere in the middle. While this is a rosier outlook than the one in the small business survey, truckers are less optimistic today than they were in 2021. Then, 59% of them predicted an economic upturn, and only 2% said they expect a downturn.
Downward
12%
48%
40%
Somewhere in between
Upward
SHIPPERS: WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT, YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CARRIER OR WITH YOUR BROKER/INTERMEDIARY?
TRUCKERS: DO YOU HAVE A FREIGHT BROKERAGE OR LOGISTICS SERVICES DIVISION/SUBSIDIARY?
Eighty-six percent of trucking companies that responded to our survey say that they provide freight brokerage or logistics services through a division or subsidiary. In 2021, that number was 84%. While two points isn’t a huge increase, it does show that at least some carriers are seeking to secure more capacity for their customers while also bolstering the bottom line with an additional revenue stream.
No
14%
86%
Broker/ intermediary
15%
Yes
56%
29%
SHIPPERS: DO YOU BUY OR PARTICIPATE IN
Carrier
No
4%
Equally important
SOURCING/PURCHASING TRUCKING SERVICES?
96%
A conviction is slowly growing among shippers that they need to maintain strong relationships with both their carriers and third-party intermediaries. This year, 56% of shippers said that those two relationships are equally important. That number was 55% in 2021 and 52% in 2020. Among shippers who put more emphasis on one or the other type of service provider, carriers win the day. Twenty-nine percent of shippers consider the shipper- carrier relationship most important, while 15% give top priority to brokers or other intermediaries. Those figures were nearly the same in 2021 and 2020.
The vast majority of shippers in the 2022 survey—96%—participate in sourcing or purchasing trucking services.
Yes
Just as in 2021, 96% of shippers who responded to the survey are shippers or consignees; 3% are brokers, 3PLs, or other intermediaries who buy services from trucking companies to move goods on behalf of their clients. SHIPPERS: WHAT IS YOUR ROLE?
3%
1%
Broker, 3PL, or other intermediary
Carrier
96%
Shipper or consignee
September 2022 • Inbound Logistics 45
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