SURVEY * USA - Capacity expansion lagging behind freight demand: TCP

Carriers may be ready to replace their aging fleets, but their appetites for fleet expansion shrunk compared to earlier in the year

Nashville,IND,USA –Today's Trucking -8 Dec 2010:   ... That's the word from Transport Capital Partners, which recently completed its Business Expectation Survey for the fourth quarter of 2010... This quarter, 40 percent of carriers said they would acquire (or replace) more than 10 percent of their fleet this quarter compared to 30 percent of carriers in the last survey... However, they're not as keen on adding capacity right now. Fewer are planning capacity increases than a quarter ago, with 41 percent saying they have no plans to add capacity up from 34 percent last quarter, while a quarter of the carriers plan to add only 1 to 5 percent... Those that do indicate they'll expand their fleet size, tend to do it with owner-operators... Meanwhile, 13 percent of the under $25 million revenue carriers expect credit to tighten over the next twelve months compared to only 4 percent of those with revenues above that level...