National Trucking Services Procurement Category Market Research Report from IBISWorld has Been Updated
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) February 16, 2015 -- National trucking services have a buyer power score of 3.2 out of 5, which indicates moderate negotiation power for buyers. Buyers benefit primarily from low market share concentration. Hundreds of thousands of carriers serve this market due to its low barriers to entry. “Most carriers are owner-operators with miniscule market share, and even the largest carriers [YRC Worldwide, J.B. Hunt, Con-way and FedEx] generate only a minor portion of total sales,” says IBISWorld procurement analyst Scott Winters. “As a result, no single carrier can influence total capacity or price, as can happen in more concentrated freight transport markets such as rail, air and inland water transport.” Instead, carriers compete heavily on the bases of price and customer service.
However, recent regulations from the Department of Transportation (DOT) have impeded the national trucking service market's ability to expand capacity during a period of general economic growth and rising demand. In 2013, new hours of service regulations went into effect that reduced drivers' maximum weekly hours from 82 to 70. As a result, carriers have needed to hire more drivers to move the same amount of freight, and their difficulty finding qualified applicants has contributed to a driver shortage. “Freight rates have been pressured upward due to capacity constraints on growth this shortage has created,” adds Winters. “The fact that carriers' total wage costs have risen alongside the necessary expansion of their workforce has added to recent price gains.” During the three years to 2014, freight rates have grown moderately, and are expected to continue this trend during the next three years, reducing buyer power. However, fuel surcharges, which are universal in this market and nonnegotiable, have been on the decline, reducing buyer risk and enhancing buyer power. Fluctuations in fuel charges have elevated price volatility to a medium level during the past three years.
Buyers can leverage the availability of substitute carriers and shipping modes to improve their rates. However, alternative modes are only cost effective and sufficiently fast for a subset of shipments, and do not provide last-mile service like trucks do. Finally, high-volume and long-term buyers can negotiate customer-specific discounts and freight class exemptions to reduce costs. For more information, visit IBISWorld’s National Trucking Services procurement category market research report page.
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IBISWorld Procurement Report Key Topics
This report is intended to assist buyers of national trucking services. Suppliers are long-distance freight trucking companies including truckload (TL), less-than-truckload (LTL) and containerized freight carriers. Their routes typically run between metropolitan areas and can cross state borders, thus making them too long for same-day return trips. Local freight trucking companies as well as letter and parcel delivery services are excluded from this report. Buyers are also called shippers in this report, and suppliers are also called carriers.
Executive Summary
Pricing Environment
Price Fundamentals
Benchmark Price
Pricing Model
Price Drivers
Recent Price Trend
Price Forecast
Product Characteristics
Product Life Cycle
Total Cost of Ownership
Product Specialization
Substitute Goods
Regulation
Quality Control
Supply Chain & Vendors
Supply Chain Dynamics
Supply Chain Risk
Imports
Competitive Environment
Market Share Concentration
Market Profitability
Switching Costs
Purchasing Process
Buying Basics
Buying Lead Time
Selection Process
Key RFP Elements
Negotiation Questions
Buyer Power Factors
Key Statistics
About IBISWorld Inc.
IBISWorld is one of the world's leading publishers of business intelligence, specializing in Industry research and Procurement research. Since 1971, IBISWorld has provided thoroughly researched, accurate and current business information. With an extensive online portfolio, valued for its depth and scope, IBISWorld’s procurement research reports equip clients with the insight necessary to make better purchasing decisions, faster. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IBISWorld Procurement serves a range of business, professional service and government organizations through more than 10 locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.ibisworld.com or call 1-800-330-3772.
Gavin Smith, IBISWorld Inc., +1 (310) 866-5042, [email protected]
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