The U.S. logistics and transportation industry is highly optimistic regarding the U.S. economy and their company prospects over the next three months, according to a quarterly survey conducted by TCompanies, Henderson, Nev.
“The survey shows continued strong optimism in the U.S. economy and in the logistics and transportation industry,” says Tom Burke, chief executive officer. “As with the Q2 2018 survey, there is still concern with inflationary pressures as a majority plan to increase pricing and pass costs on to customers in the next three months.”
Here’s a breakdown of the survey results in comparison to Q2’s survey:
1. U.S. economy
“With regard to the U.S. economy over the next quarter, would say that you are:”
Optimistic 74.15% (Q2 2018, 73.71%)
Neutral 23.13%(Q2 2018, 18.29%)
Pessimistic 2.72% (Q2 2018, 8%)
2. Company hiring
“With regard to hiring at your company in the coming quarter, do you expect that you will:”
Increase 63.51% (Q2 2018, 64.37%)
Stay the same 31.76% (Q2 2018, 30.46%)
Decrease 4.73% (Q2 2018, 5.17%)
3. Company revenues
“With regard to revenues at your company over the next quarter, do you expect revenues to:”
Increase 80.41% (Q2 2018, 74.86%)
Stay the same 17.57% (Q2 2018, 18.86%)
Decrease 2.03% (Q2 2018, 6.29%)
4. Company profitability
“With regard to profitability at your company over the next quarter, do you expect profitability to:”
Increase 73.65% (Q2 2018, 67.24%)
Stay the same 23.65% (Q2 2018, 25.29%)
Decrease 2.70% (Q2 2018, 7.47%)
5. Wage growth
“With regard to your employee wages over the next quarter, do you expect to:”
Increase 47.30% (Q2 2018, 38.29%)
Stay the same 52.03% (Q2 2018, 57.71%)
Decrease 0.68% (Q2 2018, 4%)
6. Pricing of goods/services
“With regard to the pricing for your goods or services over the next quarter, do you expect that you will:”
Increase 56.46% (Q2 2018, 57.71%)
Stay the same 40.82% (Q2 2018, 39.43%)
Decrease 2.72% (Q2 2018, 2.86%)
7. Obstacles to growth
“Over the next quarter, your largest obstacle to growth will be:”
Workforce shortage 46.58% (Q2 2018, 43.6%)
Trade tariffs 18.49% (Q2 2018, 17.44%)
Regulatory issues 10.96% (Q2 2018, 18.6%)
Wage costs 8.22% (Q2 2018, 5.23%)
Energy costs 6.16% (Q2 2018, 2.33%)
Access to credit 5.48% (Q2 2018, 8.72%)
Repair expense 4.11% (Q2 2018,4.07%)
The survey was conducted in October.
