Reckoning a ‘tsunami of freight’ as a very bad thing

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Updated Dec 11, 2009

I don’t intend to do so, fyi, just passing on a bit of eye-opening reporting that recently appeared at the website of the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper. Even as freight volumes around the country are at extremely low levels, putting the hurt to trucking companies small and large, reporter James Pilcher (or, more likely, his editor) chooses the unfortunate ‘Tsunami of Freight’ headline for a story about highway funding and road conditions in Southern Ohio/Northern Kentucky. Along the way to a relatively insightful story, various four-wheelers get the opportunity to take potshots at big trucks, like this one from 21-year-old PR student Lauren Johnson, as Pilcher reports: “Trucks are very scary, especially when you are merging on the highway and you think they are going to run you down… I always freak out and hope they won’t hit into my car. They are definitely a big distraction.”

I imagine that from an experienced big-rig operator’s point of view, never has the unintended irony been thicker. In any case, the link to Pilcher’s full story is here, and well worth the look. Among transportation providers called on by Pilcher to show just how little the “tsunami of freight” tag applies to the current environment are ESJ Carrier Corp. of Fairfield, Ohio. Freight competition is “more cutthroat than ever,” company President Sandra Ambrose told Pilcher.

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