Posted on 07/11/2010 7:24:35 PM PDT by fuzzybutt
I have my own observation on the state of the economy, and its not good. I drive back and forth between Orlando and Tampa on I-4 at least once a week and have for several years and have noticed a disturbing trend. For the last 6 mos. or so the number of trucks on the road has been dropping at a steady rate and now there are almost none. BTW when I say truck I mean Tractor/Trailers. On the way to Tampa Sat I only counted 21, on the way back to Orlando today my wife & I counted 70. Of those virtually all were either food or fuel carriers.
This means a lot of truckers are not working and goods are not being moved.
Anybody else seeing the same thing out there in Freeperland?
Until jobs are created, it will get worse. 0bama is such an evil bastard that his defenders are running out of B S excuses.
Ha, not here along the I-94 corridor between Chicago and Detroit/Port Huron. 25% of traffic is all semis and I haven’t seen a decrease at all. There are some strange things that travel this freeway, including windmill parts. One got jackknifed on a ramp — what a mess that was.
It’s even more harrowing right now. I-94 is ripped up through Jackson to Chelsea, the semis occupy the passing lane...it’s making for a miserable summer.
Rail has picked up around here. If there were little goods being transported, stores would be closing left and right but I don’t see that here.
Plenty of trucks on I-70 going between STL and KC.
I did a drive on a Thu afternoon from Indianapolis to Dayton, OH. There was a lot of heavy truck traffic. When I returned to Indy, I chose to take US 40 from Richmond, IN and had almost no traffic but you had to slow down for the few small towns along the road.
When I drive my Jeep back to Colorado next month, I will check how the truck traffic is between STL and KC in Missouri.
I make and sell concrete yard staues for a sideline last 3 years were great buisness was growing like a weed i have sold enough this year to count on one habd and i have made several new molds this year and have not sold any of those ....seems like people don’t even have spare change anymore cause my stuff is inexspensive where can you get a standard concrete birdbath for 13 dollars ?
They’re all on Interstate 83 in Pennsylvania.
They’re all over the place along I-88 and I-39 around Rochelle, IL. That’s where I live. Our Intermodal facility is down in volume, but the truck traffic along the Interstates hasn’t slackened as far as I can tell.
Last year, I-25 from Las Cruces to Albuquerque was almost devoid of truck traffic - this year, it’s been a completely different story -— almost bumper-to-bumper trucks *and* RVs....
I hadn’t been in our walmart ‘super center in a few months.
When you walk down the main isle opposite grocery, there used to always be a row of pallets (2 wide) full of ‘stuff’.
It went all the way to the back of the store. The same across the back isle with TV’s, big screens, boom boxes, etc. Now it’s just big wide walkways.
Nobody’s buying ‘stuff’ now. I think they’re either out of work or being frugal. Either way, walmart must be moving a lot less trucks.
Just finished a 8,500 mile road trip..to Montana and back to Venice, FLA...more trucks on the road than last year but not by much...The only city that had any construction was Denver...as for road construction a lot of signs but very little work...
Do an observation of freight trains.
Drive M-F between Richmond and Fredricksburg VA on I295 and I95. Haven’t noticed any change in the “rig count.”
My daughter is a pilot/escort for oversize loads. She’s been more than busy running up I-75 bringing pre-fab buildings from Florida to Georgia.
Heard a report on NPR Morning Edition the other day-said trucking companies are hiring like crazy...FWIW.
Here in Biloxi/Gulfport, it seems like 7 out of 10 businesses have shut their doors, for good. With the Gulf oil leak, it can only get much worse.
Do you have a garden statute raccoon?
I noticed that 2 weks ago on I-70 going to Columbus 2 weeks ago. Used to be about every 5th vehicle was an 18 wheeler this time I counted 10 in a 65 mi stretch. That shocked me since it was also a Friday.
The National Truckload carrier Mrs. RQSR works for the past 32 years is booked solid, and is moving everything they can in rail containers via their InterModal Division.
Currently freight is moving like crazy. It can’t last. It is our opinion here at the ranch that the economy won’t sustain it.
Living within a mile of I94 here in northern Indiana, and a couple miles of I80/90, and traveling them frequently I would say that semi traffic is down considerably from a couple years ago. It used to be at night, you could hardly hear yourself think when outside, there was so much traffic noise from the semis on the interstate.
However, I would have to say that traffic was up, at least double or triple what it was last summer (which was very light), but still less than two or three years ago.
Plenty of truck traffic in Houston, TX.
And the sign factories with government contracts are going full bore, round-the-clock, fully staffed, making signs for these freshly paved interstates.
Sorry Hairy, but I-80 is chock full of eighteen wheelers going east and west!
Same with I-5 north and south.
They are all down here. Mon, Wed and Fri are especially bad.
It’s not a nationwide thing, not yet.
I noticed the same in the spring of ‘08 when the economy in my part of North Carolina took the worst and most rapid nosedive I have ever seen in my forty-plus years. It was downright spooky for that entire summer. Even commuter traffic was off by what seemed like half, with a rush hour drive that normally took an hour down to 35 minutes.
All the interstates were wide open, even during high tourist season and summer holidays that normally had all roads heading to the coast at a standstill on certain Fridays.
If your observation is valid and not just a fluke, I’d take it as a serious indicator that FL is headed back down hard. Maybe the rest of us will be spared, maybe you’re just the first to go.
Just drove 12 hrs from Detroit to NYC via I-80 and was surprised by the dearth of truck traffic. Virtually no tandem rigs. All were running at 70 mph+, few had to crawl up the steeper hills, which made me suspect they were running with light loads. Not many passenger cars either. In years past, there would have been a solid wall of semis along that route. Driving after 10 p.m. in PA, there were many times when I’d have to use the brights because there was no other vehicle visible either eastbound or westbound. Got to the Lincoln Tunnel at 2 a.m. and there was NO waiting at the toll booth. Oddly, ALL the motels were full in PA along 80 and the rest areas were full of rigs, on a Wednesday night. Tells me truckers are taking their time, cutting costs, and are under less urgency to deliver just-in-time inventory.
Where do you live? I haven’t seen them around here for less than 40. And that is on sale!
I can add, regarding this topic, I have seen less trucks on the road, but what I have really noticed is that every time I have to go to a store (I don’t go unless I have to) I end up not finding at least 4 or 5 things that are always available. Basic once a month things, nothing odd or out of ordinary. My impression is stores are either not getting deliveries as they were, or they aren’t stocking their normal inventory, perhaps because they are selling less. Could also be they are getting fewer deliveries less often, bigger when they do come, so they run out? I don’t know, but stock is down, and this has been since shortly after the election. And doesn’t matter which store. I typically shop once a month and go to 3 stores.
Always were!! LOL And they do not stop for anything or anyone, even pouring rain and flooding roads.
Borders and Barnes&Noble have been rearranging
the stores. The computer science section has contracted
noticeably in the last two months.
Absolutely ZERO truck traffic on I-280 between San Jose and San Francisco. But there never is any...I think they are not allowed and have to use CA-101 by the Bay. So my personal observation is totally worthless. FWIW.
I concur. Walmart is one of the stores stocking less these days. I think it’s both, people cutting back due to being out of work, or being frugal. It’s annoying when you can’t find things they always stocked though.
I live/work in a crowded part of Jersey and the drop off in traffic over the last 2 years has been stunning to say the least. Commute used to be a nightmare-now it is a breeze.
Drove south from northern Utah on Thursday and could hardly fit in between all of the semis jockeying for position. Same situation from what I could see on the north bound side.
That's just a change in WalMart’s layout policy that is company wide. It's a dumb idea they tried because their trying to copy “Target”. Why they would try to copy a less successful competitor is dumb, but probably had something to do with the CEO, who now has been replaced. They needed to open up the main aisles so people could actually get around the idiots that stop and gab and block the aisles.
On the other hand, the Florida Department of Revenue report for May of 2010 shows sales and use tax collections to be slightly above estimate. In addition, in keeping with the pace of tourism, collections annually decline from April through June before rising in July. On balance, the observed fall off in road freight seems normal.
Here's a link to the May 2010 Florida DOR report.
Last 2 weeks I’ve been on the road (vacation). Dayton to Minnesota and Dayton to State College and up to Niagara Falls. Plenty of trucks both ways although I-90/I-65 from Rockford to Indy was more crowded than I-74/I-39 from Indy via Bloomington-Normal to Rockford. I-70 to/from Dayton to Greensburg, PA was I-70 (plenty of trucks).
One thing I did notice was a boatload of road construction. Here in Ohio they are fond of those darn green American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signs (stimulus). They’ve added orange signs to the top of them that say Putting Americand To Work. People believe that crap. Taking money out of the economy to create temporary road construction jobs, most likely with union labor enforced, is not productive or long term. Some is make work. A good example is Route 22 from Pittsburgh to Altoona. I have been driving that road several times a year as I have a kid at Penn State. Until Obama, they were making good prograss creating a very good 4-lane highway. Now the stimulus crews appear to be taking up sections of concrete and repouring it making a hell of a set of bumps. I know they have to take up small sections from time to time to inspect it, but it can now be done with ground penetrating radar.
My daughter and I wanted to buy razor blades at Walmart on Saturday but the shelves were totally empty!
I have a friend who drives (drove) and the company he worked for just let go of half their drivers including him.
>>”I make and sell concrete yard staues for a sideline...”<<
Mrs. panax asked me to find out if you make an 0bama fire hydrant? Our male dog is killing her bushes. I’ll order one today if you do.
Just a thought.
It;s a little easier since they redid malfunction junction.
I’ve noticed I-5 from Tacoma to Seattle is lighter than I’ve seen in 15 years of commuting (including semis). I took a pic for my dad last week on my cell phone on a Monday morning at 8 am that showed an empty freeway in front of me. That has never-ever happened before. We have stores closing down here. Husband is in the restaurant business, and they are slowing down (well established restaurant that has weathered other recessions) to a degree that is starting to scare him. Talked to people yesterday in construction. One said her husband just experienced the slowest month he’s ever had last month. This is bad.
In my neck of the woods of N.E. Indiana, traffic in general is down, big rigs in particular.
A friend works in a trucking warehouse, they are down to a skeleton crew with many of their drivers laid off.
I-20 through Louisiana is same ol’ endless convoys of big rigs. No letup here.
I just got back from a three week road trip. Far South Florida up through the Smoky Mountains of NC and back. I would have to agree that traffic is light along that route. I also saw more single men standing at entrance & exit ramps with signs saying, “homeless, hungry, no job, broke” and the like than I’ve ever seen before. Lots of those guys between Atlanta and Valdosta, Ga.
No kidding...that’s the frikkin’ Thunderdome there! ;)
regards,
Not yet but you know you gave me an idea ! i’ll bet that would sell like crazy Hmmmmmm ....
Would be interested to know if you ran into any construction tie-ups. I-80 through PA was always a pain before especially where they had l lane between Snowshoe and Milesburg back in 2007. I remember many times sitting for an hour between a bunch of semis waiting to get through that 10 mile section late at night. I would much rather drive it in the middle of winter than deal with the orange barrels every 30-40 miles.
Too many tractor-trailers in both directions on I-30 near Texarkana.
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