Survey: Transportation providers eye healthy returns in 2007

Survey: Transportation providers eye healthy returns in 2007 Small and medium-sized transportation companies are more optimistic than other industry segments, with many owners and managers projecting double-digit revenue growth over the next 12 months, according to the results of an International Profit Associates Small Business Research Board survey released Tuesday.
   The report found that 45.3 percent of owners and managers in the transportation industry see the economy strengthening, and more than 62 percent of respondents said they believe their revenue will increase.
   The report showed that 26.3 percent believe their business will grow by up to 10 percent and another 35.8 percent are expecting revenues to grow by more than 10 percent. Slightly more than 26 percent believe their revenue will remain the same for much of 2007 while 11.6 percent are projecting lower revenues.
   Transportation companies are expressing mixed attitudes about hiring.    Forty-seven percent will try to sustain the current workforce level, with about 30 percent looking to increase hiring, 10 percent planning for a decrease and 13 percent not sure.
   The cost of energy and fuel was the leading concern of business owners in the transportation segment, with health care expense, taxes, cost of materials and government regulation also worrying respondents.
   Like nearly every other segment, increased revenues are the priority for 2007, followed by plans to decrease expenses and improvements in productivity.
   More than 550 small business owners and senior managers participated in the poll, a voluntary survey conducted via phone and email. The board has been tracking the attitudes of small businesses since July 2004.