And smaller carriers will feel pressure to grow. However, he cautioned against growth for growth's sake. Small carriers that can't make money with 400 trucks aren't going to fare any better with 1,000 trucks, he said. Prime Inc.'s Mr. Low cautioned against sacrificing profits for the sake of growth. Mr. Knight doesn't think the public markets will provide the opportunities they have in the past.
Technology also weeds out carriers.
Increasingly, smaller fleets cannot afford the sophisticated systems needed to manage goods in the supply chain, according to Mr. Low. All these technologies are expensive and when you spread it out over more trucks you get a lower per unit cost. Technology like electronic logs and imaging systems also aid the industry in battling its chronic paperwork problem, according to Mr. Knight. The challenge we have in our industry is to eliminate paper. The flowering of technology and resulting consolidation doesn't mean the end of the smaller carrier, according to Mr. Knight.