Non-asset-based providers of logistics services are still showing growth, despite a slowing transportation market. That is the view of Clarity, itself a non-asset-based carrier headquartered in Gainesville, Ga. In 2006, Clarity said, non-asset-based companies grossed three times more than their asset-based counterparts. Citing figures from Armstrong Associates, Inc., which tracks the third-party logistics sector, Clarity noted that growth in the asset-based sector is slowing. All transportation providers face a rough road in 2008, it said, with many economists predicting a recession during the year. According to Evan Armstrong, president of Armstrong Associates, the industry is already in a freight recession. "It's bad for everybody," he said. "If we can get a rebound, things should come back by mid-2008." For its part, Clarity is claiming continued growth, and vowing to focus on customer service as a means of weathering the coming economic crisis. Its strategy "is not to react to immediate surges and slumps of the industry,' the company said. Executive vice president Lang Riddle pointed to numerous challenges confronting the industry, including heightened competition and business uncertainties arising from a deregulated environment. "It's good news for the consumer," he said. "But it's bad news for both non-asset-based 3PLs and asset-based carriers that are under-capitalized or have no real business plan in place."
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