The president and chief executive of YRC Worldwide Inc., one of the nation's largest trucking companies, on Monday expressed concern about the U.S. economy's near-term growth, and its affect on the company.
"I think the economy is a lot softer than people are saying," Bill Zollars said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "The Fed needs to move quickly and make some kind of rate cut so that we can generate some kind of economic growth."
Zollars noted that while the public's primary focus has been on financial markets, the goods market is not recovering as expected in the third quarter.
"The demand we expected has not materialized," Zollars said. "And our customers are telling us that economic recovery has not shown up at this point."
Many analysts were touting a turnaround in the second-half of the year, following a largely disappointing first two quarters in the freight market.
Last month, YRC Worldwide reported its second-quarter earnings fell 40 percent on soft volumes related to the sector-wide slump. Zollars said primary indications suggest things are not likely to improve in the near-term.
"Usually at this time of year, we see business building toward a Christmas peak, and that is not materializing," he said. "We don't foresee a normal seasonal peak - at least not yet."
Zollars said the company has been aggressively cutting costs in response to a dim near-term economic outlook, and that YRC Worldwide will continue to consider cost-cutting measures - including possible job cuts - should the downturn continue.
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