Seasoned expediters have never seen business conditions this bad. A number of expedite carriers have been forced out of business. Make no mistake, it's rough out there and your competitors are playing for keeps.

Four to five thousand prospective and current expediters are expected to attend this year’s Expedite Expo to learn more about the business and interact. Many will come with the usual questions, including: Is this a good time to get into expediting? How much money can I make? What is it like to be an expediter? Can I succeed?

While these questions are common, the answers offered this year will be given with an extra dose of caution because we are in the midst of the worst economic downturn since World War II. Yet even in the midst of this recession, some people are entering the business and doing well. Preparation is the key.

Seasoned expediters have never seen business conditions this bad. A number of expedite carriers have been forced out of business. Numerous individuals have been forced not just out of the business but into bankruptcy. Make no mistake, it’s rough out there and your competitors are playing for keeps.

The short story is that the supply of trucks available to haul freight exceeds the supply of available freight. While truck capacity has steadily declined for many months, the freight has declined more. This ongoing surplus of trucks has put downward pressure on rates, making it more and more difficult to find and haul profitable loads.

No end to what some call the freight recession is in sight. Forget what the optimists on the business news channels are saying. Focus on the freight and listen carefully to what the numbers say.

Many shippers of expedited freight have gone out of business, reducing to zero what used to be dozens and even hundreds of shipments a week. Others have drastically cut their shipping budgets and with them their willingness to use premium services like expediting. Expediters with trucks left empty by these changes are going after the remaining freight and reducing the prices they charge to get it. That drives prices down for everyone and leaves many expediters hauling freight at breakeven rates or worse.

Looking at freight volumes and rates beyond expediting, the numbers are sobering. The American Trucking Associations reports that April 2009 truck tonnage fell to a seven year low. The Freight Transportation Index had its largest April-to-April decline in 20 years. Port Tracker reports that while April containerized imports rose slightly from March levels, they marked the 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year declines. The American Association of Railroads reports that April carloadings of bulk materials are down 23 percent for the month. The International Air Transport Association reports that April 2009 air cargo demand fell 21.7 percent from April 2008 levels.

The best that honest analysts can point to is that while such declines have been reported month after month, the rate of decline may be slowing. But nothing in that can be taken to mean that declines will not re-accelerate, or that if the numbers do bottom out, they won’t stay there for a long time.

So, is this a good time to get into expediting? Absolutely not!

When times are good, the freight flows abundantly and there are not enough trucks to haul it. Loads are easy to find and rates are good. Almost any fool can jump easily into the business and make enough money to keep going, at least for a while. If the fool and his money are soon parted, it is not for lack of the opportunity to make it. In bad times like these, good-paying freight is more difficult to find and there is little room for error.

Yet there are people jumping into the business right now and making a go of it. How do they do it? Preparation is the key.

To prepare to be an expediter in times like these, begin by forming accurate expectations. There is a reason the questions in the opening paragraph are frequently asked. How well they are answered is entirely up to you. Don’t be the expediter that asks the questions, hears only what he or she wants to hear, and then jumps in. Ask the questions and then ask them again. Ask them of carriers, experienced expediters and brand new expediters. Keep asking until you know in your head and heart that you have the answers that are right for you.

We say answers that are right for you because expediter trucks, carriers, opportunities and expediters themselves come in all shapes and sizes. Expediters have different needs, expectations, goals, risk tolerances and pain thresholds. A solo cargo van operator who almost never goes home has an entirely different business than a married-couple straight-truck team that wants to get home once a month.

When you talk to expediters of any kind, remember that they are in the business for their reasons and you will be in the business for yours. In good times and bad, the people who tend to last are the ones who asked a lot of questions and came to understand what to expect. Preparation is the key.

Good lessons can be learned by studying the expediters who are surviving, and in some cases even prospering, as the recession progresses. Notice that experience is not a common denominator. Seasoned expediters and newbies alike have gone bankrupt in this recession. Other seasoned expediters and newbies have survived.

People wash out of the business for many reasons. One of them is the lack of financial reserves (capital). It’s not that the expediters who stand strong today saw a recession of this magnitude coming; very few did. They knew, however, that slow times would come for one reason or another.

The people standing strong today learned from other expediters that slow times always come. They come because of mechanical breakdowns, accidents, illness, injury, economic slowdown, family emergency and more. Knowing that, these expediters built financial reserves that help sustain them today. In this way and many others, today’s successful expediters show that preparation is the key.

How much should I have in reserve before I begin? Which kind of truck is the best for me? How do you handle your mail? What do I do about health insurance? How often can I get home? When I first begin, should I accept every load they offer? How do you secure freight? What is a liftgate? How much does a new truck cost? Should I buy a new truck or used? Which carrier is the best?

There is no better time or place to ask your questions about and get your answers than the Expedite Expo. We hope to see you there.