Last Legs for Long-Haul Trucking?

Magnus Koeck says a new industry emphasis on regional haul routes was a prime design driver for Volvo’s new VNR tractor.

Photo: Volvo 

“>

The long-haul model has been the dominant model for moving freight in North America for decades, but there are signs that could be changing, according to Magnus Koeck, vice president, marketing and brand management for Volvo Trucks North America.

The long-haul model for freight distribution developed organically after the Second World War in an age of cheap diesel fuel, a large driver pool, and infrastructure limitations at the time: The Panama Canal was not able to accommodate larger freighters and a new class of container ships. This placed an emphasis on East and West Coast ports, with corresponding long-haul truck routes becoming the norm.

A lot of the pieces that set the long-haul freight model in place have changed dramatically over the past several years, however. The size of the driver pool has not kept pace with the rise in freight volumes. Moreover, a new generation of potential drivers sees the isolation and long periods away from home associated with long-haul routes as a distinct negative.

At the same time, the widening of the Panama Canal (with a new, Chinese-funded canal across Nicaragua under construction now) has made it easier for larger container vessels to reach Gulf Coast ports.

Industry experts tracking these trends have predicted they could lead many truck fleets to adopt short-haul, regional, or super-regional routes, leveraging port expansions on the Gulf Coast to get drivers home sooner, while still maintaining increasingly important efficient freight deliveries.

While there is still some ways to go before trucking sees a full-blown shift away from long-haul routes, Koeck sees signs the shift is underway. “We actually don’t see that happening yet in a larger scale as there are still some work to …Read the rest of this story

Source:: http://www.truckinginfo.com/channel/drivers/news/story/2017/06/last-legs-for-long-haul.aspx