Ahern and Associates Take an In-depth Look at What 2014 Holds for the Trucking Industry
Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) January 14, 2014 -- 2013 has been a challenging year for the trucking industry with the controversial Hours of Service ruling beginning to take effect, rising fuel costs and a cold snap that has increased delays and maintenance costs across the nation. However many trucking companies who were able to plan and adapt to these circumstances captured healthy profits in 2013, that put them above the economic curve. The industry experts at Ahern & Associates say that there is no reason that this pattern cannot repeat itself across the industry, despite the challenges on the horizon in 2014. Ahern & Associates are in a unique position to observe industry trends and patterns in real time, working with trucking companies both large and small all across America and even overseas and have capitalized on this position when analyzing a wide array of statistical research and political and economic forecasts to make their predictions for 2014. According to their predictions, while there are certainly changes on the horizon for the industry, there is also the opportunity for healthy growth and profit for companies that are properly prepared to adapt and grow their business model when necessary.
The trucking industry remains the dominant force in the freight transportation industry and according to the American Transportation Association’s figures is forecast for healthy growth over the next 10 years. Currently, the trucking industry continues to lead the freight transportation industry for both revenue and tonnage, and has moved an average of over 9 billion tons of freight in the past 2 years. By 2024 trucking's share of total freight tonnage is expected to rise to 70.8%, a growing market share in an industry that is expected to see a very healthy 63.6% growth in overall revenue over the same period.
The primary challenges that Ahern and Associates predicts for the next several years are the increasing legislative burdens on the trucking industry and a looming skill shortage that is affecting more than just the trucking industry but is also being felt in aerospace, construction, agriculture and healthcare. Over the next two years there are a total of 27 new regulations that will be coming into effect which trucking companies will need to be able to accommodate and adjust to. Trucking companies need to educate themselves about these upcoming changes now and begin planning for the needed changes to their business models and practices so that they are already a step-ahead when the time for implementation comes.
As the leading transportation consultants in America, Ahern and Associates have had extensive experience in implementing this kind of change with their clients and remain optimistic about the upcoming year and beyond. The trucking industry moved over $10 trillion of the country's goods in 2012 and employs over 7 million people in America and the next 10 years are expected to see both of these figures grow substantially if trucking companies are able to adapt to the economic and political pressures that are coming their way.
About Ahern & Associates, Ltd.
Ahern and Associates is North America’s leading trucking and transportation management consulting firm. The skilled consultants at Ahern and Associates specialize in mergers and acquisitions of trucking and logistics companies as well as the restructuring and evaluation of existing carriers that seek to increase operating efficiency and improve profitability. Since 1987, Ahern and Associates has aided hundreds of buyers in the acquisition of trucking and logistics companies throughout the U.S. and Canada as well as assisting many transportation and logistics companies in reducing their overall operating costs and increasing their profitability.
For more information, please call 602-242-1030 or visit http://www.ahern-ltd.com.
Andy Ahern, Ahern & Associates, http://www.ahern-ltd.com/, 602 242 1030, [email protected]
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