U.S. economic activity remained generally weak in June and early July, and several regions reported trucking companies were having a hard time recouping higher costs, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
“A trucking-industry expert reports that the industry is having a very difficult year and that a sizable number of firms have gone out of business — especially small to medium-sized firms,” the Fed said in its latest “beige book” report.
The Fed releases the beige book report eight times a year, and the latest version was based on information collected from June 3 through July 14.
Trucking contacts in the New York region said fuel, as opposed to labor, was now the number one expense and that most surcharges were inadequate to defray escalated costs, the report said.
The Cleveland district reported that many trucking firms had reduced capital spending, with little change expected in coming months, while Atlanta and Dallas noted a decline in auto and construction materials shipments.
National trucking companies in the Richmond district said shipping volumes rose, while a machinery factory in North Carolina said that interrupted shipment schedules, due to higher fuel prices and restrictive truck schedules, reduced sales.
