Don’t tell people in the heavy trucking industry about the “best economy ever.” This economically sensitive industry looks for all the world like it’s already in a recession. From Wolf Richter at wolfstreet.com:
“On our lots, there are no lookers for used sleepers, and we will sell new sleepers at a loss to clear them out, and new orders for sleepers have come to a stop,” a heavy truck dealer who owns two stores with several franchises told me. The truck dealer was talking about the turmoil in the heavy-truck business, where orders for new Class-8 trucks have collapsed by as much as 80% year-over-year…
…and where the used-truck market is now being flooded by tractors from the nearly 800 trucking companies that have shut down this year, including Celadon Group, which announced on December 9 that it had filed for bankruptcy and would cease operations. It was the largest truckload carrier to file for bankruptcy in US history [here’s my take: Accounting Fraud & Freight Recession Topple Celadon, Largest Truckload-Carrier Bankruptcy in US History]. The company had about 2,700 tractors, some of which were being repossessed at truckstops and elsewhere by creditors even before the bankruptcy announcement.
“This, I think, was the Big One, where the fleet valuations fell out and took this company out,” said the truck dealer, who wishes to remain anonymous. “There will be other fleets to follow Celadon, as assets are valued in the months to come, and accountants get wise to their real book value as compared to market reality.”
