Grower/shippers have always relied on having access to an adequate supply of trucks available to carry their crops to market. Recent developments have upset the balance of available trucks to loads needing a ride and subsequently created a serious transportation capacity shortage.

According to data collected by logistics company C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., the transportation industry is affected by three main challenges. At the top of the list is the cost of fuel. As of June 1, East Coast diesel costs are up 95 cents a gallon over 2010. Although those costs vary from week to week, no one sees the return of 2010 prices.

This increase in fuel costs translates into increased operating costs of about 17 cents per mile for trucking companies. That means fuel for a load traveling from Plant City to the Bronx in New York (1,162 miles) would cost $200 more than it did last year.

Another issue affecting transportation is truck supply. During the economic downturn, more than 6,000 trucking companies went bankrupt, which reduced total truck capacity by about 13 percent, according to investment research firm Avondale Partners. That shortage is expected by industry experts to get much worse.

Fleets of all sizes have declined in the past few years, according to the American Trucking Association. Small truckload fleets with less than $30 million in annual revenue have declined in overall size by 16.2 percent since their peak in mid-2005. Large truckload fleets with greater than $30 million in annual revenue have declined by 13.1 percent since their peak in mid-2007.

In addition to fewer existing trucks on the road, production of new trucks is lagging demand. The majority of new trucks being purchased are for replacement of old ones, not as additions to a fleet.

The third issue that will affect the transportation picture is new government regulation. Three proposed regulations could make a difference in how many trucks are available. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) program would replace the current method of rating the safety of motor carriers. The program will assign all carriers a rating based on a scoring system the FMCSA calls BASIC, which stands for Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement.

A second proposal involves changing the number of hours a carrier may drive in one day. It has the potential to shorten the overall on-duty hours from 14 to 13 per day. It also may limit driving time to 10 hours and extend the mandatory restart period to include two midnight-to-6 a.m. periods.

The third proposal is mandatory use of electronic onboard recorders. This would replace the current manual log book process and provide greater controls on actual hours that a driver is in service.

Experts say those regulations will take even more trucking capacity out of the market. John Larkin of Stifel Nicolaus & Co. calls the probable scenario “the mother of all capacity shortages.”

But assistance is available. FFVA works in partnership with C.H. Robinson to assist members with transportation and other marketing-related issues. "Other than the cost of the product, transportation is the highest cost component in the sale transaction," said Mike Aerts, FFVA diretor of membership and marketing. "By managing transportation expenses, quality and availability, delivered sales via C.H. Robinson allow shippers to elevate this service from the process of moving product from origin to destination to use as a significant marketing tool." For additional information, contact the FFVA Membership & Marketing Division at (321) 214-5200 or via email.