trucking bankruptcy's expected this year

[slavenomore]

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61H4IT20100218

"BANGALORE (Reuters) - Bankruptcies in the U.S. trucking industry are expected to escalate this year as higher fuel prices and excess capacity squeeze margins further and lenders start to tighten their noose on the sector.

Deals

The highly fragmented freight market in the United States has been in recession for about three years now. Excess capacity has put pressure on pricing and dented margins at truckers as well as freight brokers.

But the sector has not seen as many insolvencies as expected in the last two years, as lenders wait for the market to improve for the used trucks they hold as collateral.

Last year, lenders helped YRC Worldwide (YRCW.O), the No.1 U.S. trucker, narrowly avoid bankruptcy.

Industry analysts say a spike in bankruptcies might not be a bad thing after all for the sector -- it will take away hundreds of underperforming companies, suck out the excess capacity and finally narrow the gap between supply and demand.

Some of the bigger players in the market, such as J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT.O), Werner Enterprises (WERN.O) and Knight Transportation (KNX.N), are expected to benefit as the insolvency of smaller firms create some breathing space in the sector.

Andy Ahern of consultancy firm Ahern & Associates said he would be surprised if he doesn't see at least 2,500 to 3,000 trucking companies go bankrupt in 2010.

According to Ahern, about 2,220 truckers went bankrupt in 2009, compared to 5,500 in 2008. The figures do not include companies that just shut down operations without filing for bankruptcy protection.
"

[Tagmaster]

Makes my skin crawl to read that kind of thing . On the upside i received an email the other day from our presidents administration. Some of my family sends negative e-mail commentary about our current administration that is immediately sent to trash . I'm not sure what leads them to believe that
a Teamster could agree with anti-Obama propaganda. Even though in TX my hour wait to vote for Mr.President Obama was time lost. Straight up if Mclame would have won I think YRC and a lot of other business' would have been toast already.Kind of like Terell Owens said about Romo "he is my quarterback"
Ughm.. I mean "he is my President" with out the tears of course...Good Morning,

A year ago, President Obama signed the Recovery Act, a bold initiative not only to rescue our country from a potential second Great Depression but also to build a new economic foundation for the future of our Nation. At that time, we were in an economic freefall -- hemorrhaging more than 700,000 jobs a month with the middle class under assault and financial institutions on the brink of collapse.

One year later, I’ve prepared a report for the President on the impact of the Recovery Act. Even though we have much more to do, the evidence is clear: the Recovery Act is working.

Before I give you the hard facts, take a look at this video featuring several Mayors -- officials on the front lines of this economic crisis -- who discuss the impact of the Recovery Act.

Now here are some facts from the report I hope you’ll share far and wide:

* 2 Million Jobs: Public and private forecasters ranging from the Council of Economic Advisors to Moody’s Economy and IHS Global now say the Recovery Act is responsible for about 2 million jobs nationwide.
* Economic Growth: We recently learned that our economy grew 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter -- the biggest gain in six years that many economists say is largely due to the Recovery Act.
* Tax Relief: The Recovery Act provided over $100 billion in tax relief for American businesses and families.
* Aid to Small Businesses: This past year, the Recovery Act supplied over 42,000 small business loans that provided nearly $20 billion in much-needed capital.
* Building a New Foundation: The Recovery Act funded tens of thousands of projects nationwide this year that are not only creating jobs right now, but also laying a long-term foundation for economic growth, including investments in high-speed rail, health technology, broadband, a smarter electrical grid, clean cars and batteries, and renewable energy.

My entire report to the President is available on WhiteHouse.gov/Recovery, and it details specific recovery projects across America. So take a look at what’s happening in your part of the country:

Learn More

While we’ve made tremendous progress, our work is far from finished. Many projects are just now getting underway that will be creating jobs throughout 2010 and beyond. And on behalf of the President, I can say our Administration will not stop until every man or woman who wants a job can find one.

But one year in, the Recovery Act has helped pull us back from the brink of economic disaster and is helping lay a firm foundation for our economic recovery.

Thank you,

Joe Biden
Vice President

P.S. Take a moment to check out the video, browse through the report and share it with your friends and neighbors.