Repossessions of trucks rose 45 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with 2004, according to the NasTrac Quarterly Index.

Edward Castagna, senior executive vice president for Nassau Asset Management, the Westbury, NY, company that publishes the index, said in a news release that it’s too early in the year to tell whether the number signifies a greater trend.

“But (this quarter) is the first time in a long time that repossession and liquidation activity increased for most equipment sectors,” he said.

Castagna said several conditions might be contributing to the increase in repossessions, including rising fuel and insurance costs for trucks.

Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said the report is definitely not a good omen for the trucking industry.

“It’s not a good sign because trucking company failures for the first quarter of 2005 were up about 50 percent over the average for all of 2004,” he said. “And it’s likely trucking company failures in the second quarter will be even higher yet, so it’s certainly not a positive trend.”

Spencer said the trend becomes even less positive when you consider the rising cost of diesel fuel.

“Truck owners should not expect relief in terms of lower prices to come any time soon,” he said. “Going into this winter, we may be once again setting all-time new highs for the cost of diesel.”

One thing that could help truckers, however, is the fuel surcharge provision currently making its way through Congress. The provision was approved earlier this year by the U.S. House as part of its version of the highway bill.

Currently, a conference committee made up of members of both the House and the Senate is ironing out a final version of the highway bill.

The language in the House bill – HR3 at Section 4139 – requires all motor carriers, brokers and freight forwarders running truckload freight to implement fuel surcharges and pass on 100 percent of those charges to the person who actually pays for the fuel.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is urging truckers to fax and call – writing may not be fast enough – the committee conferees and urge them to include the same fuel surcharge language in the final version of the bill.

If truckers are uncertain who their congressmen on the conference committee are, they can contact OOIDA’s Membership Department, and they will look up the information. The toll-free OOIDA number is 1-800-444-5791.

– By Terry Scruton, senior writer
terry_scruton@landlinemag.com