A slowing economy has slowed the pace of freight in 2023. But are we nearing the bottom of the downturn?
Crete Carrier Corporation President and COO Tim Aschoff discussed the outlook for the trucking industry during a recent interview with Jimmy Mac on Sirius XM’s Road Dog Trucking. Aschoff said we’re currently in a destocking period as retailers move accumulated inventory. As that inventory is reduced, orders for new products are expected to pick up, leading to normalizing freight patterns.
“Hopefully we’re at the at the bottom of the trough on the destocking, and we’ll start seeing normal amounts of inventory start moving again,” said Aschoff.
While no one is immune from the current economic conditions, Aschoff believes Crete Carrier and Shaffer Trucking are doing better than many in the trucking industry.
“We’ve been built for decades to handle whatever cycles (emerge), so we do feel that we’re faring a little bit better in that our customers are food producers, consumer packaged goods producers. So, you know, everyone still needs to eat. We still need paper towels. Diapers are always in demand.”
Aschoff pointed out that Crete Carrier’s first customer, ALPO Pet Food, remains an important customer in a strong area of the economy.
“We’ve had long, consistent relationships with our customers and I think we’re benefiting from that right now. Yeah, they may not be as strong (right now) as they were, but we’re still getting a good deal of freight and now we’re seeing them maybe show some signs of picking up.”
Aschoff says Crete Carrier Corporation is continuing to invest in new equipment.
“We’re seeing other companies canceling orders. So, we’re actually able to get more trucks this year than we initially thought we would when we were working with the manufacturers in January.”
Crete Carrier Corporation is debt free, and family owned, which Aschoff says puts the company in a strong position to purchase equipment and invest in facilities, including construction of a new terminal in Lakeland, Florida.
Listen to the full interview on our SoundCloud page.
Crete Carrier Corporation COO Tim Aschoff talks to Jimmy Mac on Sirius XM Radio’s Road Dog Trucking about the current challenges facing the trucking industry as retailers continue to work to move their overstocked inventory.