Trucking 1st to feel recession and 1st to come out of it

"Trucking is the first to feel a recession, but often the first to come out of it, if that is any kind of silver lining in the cloud," said Louis Campion, senior vice president of the Maryland Motor Truck Association in an article in the Frederick News Post.

Trucking takes brunt of bad economic times

Originally published June 26, 2009

By Ed Waters Jr.
Frederick News-Post Staff

Though it is dwindling, trucking employs about 150,000 people in Maryland and pays $6 billion in wages. That is 6 percent of the state's work force.

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Even if the economy turns around, it will be at least a decade before the American trucking industry is back to normal, according to Louis Campion, senior vice president of the Maryland Motor Truck Association.

Campion said 480 trucking companies -- each with at least five trucks -- had become bankrupt. That followed more than 3,000 trucking firms that went bankrupt in 2008.

Howard Levine, owner of Ramar Moving in Frederick , said the trucking industry is taking a major hit with the economy.

"People don't realize that everything they get, from clothes to food to furniture, is brought by truck," Levine said.

"Ninety-two percent of Maryland companies depend exclusively on trucking for their goods," Campion said.

Besides rising fuel prices and other operating costs, Levine said customers have dropped off. And there is a significant rise in what he calls rogue movers who prey on customers looking to save money.

"They will tell you they can do the move for half what I would charge," Levine said. "The customer finds out later that they have to pay more or the mover won't unload or the movers damage goods during the move."

Levine is on the board of directors of both the Maryland Motor Truck Association and Maryland Movers Conference. He's been honored for his service to the industry and especially for consumer education on using a reputable moving firm.

The average cost of fuel on June 15 was $2.57 per gallon. This year's low was $2.04 in May, Campion said.

"That's more than a 50-cent-per-gallon increase in less than three months. While the current price is nowhere near where it was last June (more than $4.60 a gallon), it is climbing and companies are still waiting for the economy to turn," he said.

Though it is dwindling, trucking employs about 150,000 people in Maryland and pays $6 billion in wages. That is 6 percent of the state's work force.

Housing is a major factor for trucking, Levine said. When homes are built there are not only jobs in construction or direct-related work, but for trucking in bringing parts and materials, moving people in or out and supplying stores to serve the new homeowners.

"It is not just hitting trucking, but all types of shipping," said Clayton Boyce, vice president of public affairs and secretary of the American Trucking Associations.

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