As Europe continues to deal with the economic struggles of the PIIGS nations (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain), and prepares itself for the possibility of a second recession, the United States is beginning to accept the inevitable reverberations of such a collapse.
Because the world’s economies are so closely tied together, fears of poor recent international showings in the Asian and European markets are sure to have effects in America. In fact, the U.S. dollar has been slowly sliding in the forex markets amidst the mounting overseas crisis.
What effects will this have on American businesses?
Unfortunately, this could signify the start of a double-dip recessions and the laying off of American workers. It is too early to get paranoid, but important to be cautious.
The United Parcel Service lowered its year-end earnings prediction down from $4.75 to $4.50 per share, a significant drop. The global economy is in tatters, and the world’s largest package delivery service could see this tumultuous period causing businesses and individuals to cut back on spending and shipping for the second half of 2012. The news caused the stock to fall 4 %.
Is there a silver lining?
Not to sound too gloomy, there actually are some positive signs. For one, shipping revenues have been steadily climbing the past two years and have reached pre-recession figures.
Secondly, the package delivery service has been thriving, to the point where they have nearly 200,000 unfilled trucking positions, due to a lack of qualified candidates. Without commitments from new truck drivers, the largest shipping companies are understaffed and offering big bonuses to join their businesses.
Thirdly, it is possible that the United States could remain in a bubble, separate from the rest of the world. Although this is probably overly optimistic, it is possible.
Conclusion
Times look bleak, but now is the best time to get involved in trucking. Even if there is a recession, the rebound could potentially create even more trucking positions down the road.
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