thoughtleaders CHUCK CLOWDIS
muster to deal with the cards we’ve been dealt. It is not
going to be easy.
QHow do we go about surviving the downturn? Do
you think there are ways shippers can actually thrive
during the recession?
AI think there are some opportunities in both cases. It
may sound trite to some, and it is not an original
thought on my part, but if you are a shipper, you really have
to work more closely with your carriers, as genuine partners, than ever before. You need to work together to recognize and understand the carriers’ costs and do all you can
to help them control and lower those costs.
For years, we’ve been hearing carriers complain about
showing up on time for a delivery, then having to wait two
hours to get an empty door and unload. Likewise, we’ve
heard from plenty of disgruntled shippers who wanted a
truck there at, say, 11, but had to wait until 1: 30. I think a
closer dialogue between the parties—between the shippers,
receivers, and the motor carriers—could help both the
shipper and the carrier understand the costs that they can
control and then work toward controlling those. I think
that if we have ever needed teamwork between the transportation provider and the transportation buyer, it is with
the situation we are in now.
QSome have suggested that, as painful as the economic downturn may be, there could be a longer-term
benefit in that it’s likely to force many of the weaker players
out of the market. Do you think that is correct?
AI think that is absolutely right. I think there is tremendous overcapacity now, despite the fact that we still
have carriers teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. When
the economy rebounds, we are the first to know in the
transportation industry. We can feel that recovery first, and
that is good. That will give us a chance to ramp back up.
It is my opinion that the carriers that survive this are
those that don’t have a great deal of debt, aren’t struggling
to hold their creditors at bay, and have some extra cash—
and at the same time, are devoting executive attention to
finding new revenue sources and making sure that their
sales forces maximize their penetration of every possible
account. I hate to say it—it is not like picking over the
bones of the dead—but you have to take advantage when a
carrier does unfortunately drop out of the market. You have
to be in a position to capture that business while still being
careful—even with those new accounts—to go in and open
that dialogue and work closely together. The carriers that
survive will be the smart ones, and there are an awful lot of
smart ones out there.
QI’ve been covering this field since 1988, and I doubt if
a year has gone by when I haven’t written at least one
story or column about the state of our bridges and roads,
or the fact that we don’t have enough runways, and so
forth. But now it seems that for the first time, we’re actually hearing officials at the highest level of government saying, yes, we have a problem; yes, we should invest in infrastructure repair and rebuilding projects as part of our economic stimulus package. Is this perhaps a silver lining in
the economic storm cloud?
AI think it is a silver lining, if not gold. I think it puts
people back to work. If people are at work, they are
going to spend money. If they are spending money, transportation providers are going to have something to haul. I
think it is a great idea.
Like many in this business, I’ve been talking about the
need to repair and rebuild the country’s transportation
infrastructure for years, long before our newly elected president put it at the top of his administration’s agenda. And
I’m not even talking about new interstates; I am talking
about repairing what needs to be repaired. The bridges, like
the bridge in Minnesota. And that’s not an isolated case—
something like 60,000 other bridges need to be inspected
more closely. They have faults and problems, not so much
that they are unsafe but that they can become unsafe.
We need to look at ways to move trucks more efficiently
on the highways. We need to look at rebuilding a lot of our
rail infrastructure and finding ways to do that. If there is a
silver lining, all those things mean people can go back to
work, and that is needed more than anything.
