We hear a lot about the economic stimulus package and rightfully so, it is the moment of change that we pin our hopes for an improved economy to. What is it going to do for the fundamental problem of freight volume has not been addressed. This is an important question. In the past, one of the first predictors of depressed economy’s new health has been the growth in freight. But today that is simply not the case and the stimulus package is aimed entirely differently. It’s not going to deliver a radical change to freight volume and the trucking industry.
What it might do is help to stabilize and slowly grow industries that will create freight volume. The stimulus package has only begun to work upon the economy and as a result,
we simply cannot expect to see much change before the onset of 2010. The major areas of growth targeted by the package are energy, automotive, and infrastructure. Of these three, infrastructure has the most potential to impact freight volumes, both directly and indirectly, as long as automotive continues to struggle. Directly, because infrastructure projects will demand materials that need to be shipped. Indirectly, because successful infrastructure will increase jobs and consumer confidence, which may then increase spending and retail sales. Freight volumes will remain constant for the foreseeable futures and then, as an indirect effect of the stimulus package they may increase.
At the moment, it’s enough to know where we stand and plan for the future.