Growth in the Trucking Sector Translates to New Opportunities for Your Institution

1. The trucking industry was a $642 billion dollar industry in 2012
2. Most trucking companies are small businesses.  The ATA reports that 97.2% of them maintain fleets with fewer than 20 trucks while 90.5% operate fewer than six trucks.
3. In 2011, 6.9 million people in the US were employed in trucking related jobs, up 1.5% from the previous year.  The industry also reported that there were an estimated 3.1 million truck drivers at that time.
4. There are more than 440,000 for-hire motor carriers in the US and more than 700,000 private carriers.
5. Business failure rates in this industry totaled an estimated 495 in 2012, which represented a decline of more than 38% from the previous year.
6. Industry revenue rose 2.9% in 2012 while per mileage revenue rose 2.8%.

Source: ATA Trucking Trends 2013 and the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Representing a significant number of small business owners across the country, trucking businesses are also disbursed across virtually every market in the US.  For that reason, they can represent opportunities for most community based financial institutions.  That being said, lending in this sector does require some working knowledge of the business processes and terminology specific to trucking.  If you are looking for a great source of information for the industry, I would recommend the ATA Trucking Trends 2013 report referenced above.  It can be a meaningful industry analysis tool for institutions that want to explore this business sector and educate their lending staff.

Our financial institution clients typically want to explore lending opportunities that can have a significant impact on their local communities.  Trucking serves that goal very well, given that the majority of these companies are small businesses that employ locally and have a direct impact on local economies.  They also represent an opportunity to grow loan portfolios through equipment and working capital financing.

Have you experienced the opportunity to grow your loan portfolio through the trucking sector customers?  Share what you’ve learned.