Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

 Companies moving offshore, layoffs, slow economy. We hear these same stories almost everyday. We hear that if a company moves its’ operations to Mexico or any other country, a portion of the U.S. population will claim that they will not buy their products any longer. What is the real impact on these corporations? Probably not as much as you think. Although the intent to boycott these companies is valid, the follow through just doesn’t seem to be there.

 Do you still buy products from big corporations that have moved some or all of their operations out of the U.S. ? Of course you do. Public opinion changes drastically and constantly, with a short memory.

 Corporations are in business to make a profit. Plain and simple. When the environment in the U.S. is not the best choice for profits, they leave, in the name of profits. Yes, some here will lose their jobs, but if the corporation remained here, and run at a loss, they would lose their jobs anyway. Consider also all the people who have investments with these corporations. Should they not expect some return on their investments? It is no different if you are a large corporation or a small sole proprietor business owner, if you can not keep costs down and revenue up to make a profit, you will be out of business.

 In the trucking industry, we make choices to stay profitable. If you run at a loss consistently, you will not run very long. Would you turn down a good paying load from a corporation with offshore manufacturing in favor of a lower paying load just because it was from a company with only U.S. based facilities? Probably not, or there wouldn’t be so many trucks in border towns loading and unloading freight daily.

So why the outcry when a corporation decides to move abroad? A knee-jerk reaction?

Webster’s dictionary defines capitalism as :

Capitalism [kap-i-tl-iz-uh m]

noun

1.

an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.

 If you own a truck or trucks and use them for business purposes, there is a very good chance that you are a capitalist. Are you not working to earn a living? Do you not want to be profitable?  You make choices to stay in business and grow your business. If you reach a point where trucking is unsustainable for you, you will find other employment or maybe retire.

 Well, now you have closed up shop. Your business is no longer. What about all those who depended on you ? Not just your employees, if you had any, but all the other people that depend on you to stay afloat. What about all the people that rely on your company to deliver the products they need? Like the large corporations who left the U.S., should you keep going even when you see the end is coming, or do you make adjustments to keep your company profitable? While cutting U.S. jobs in favor of creating new working environments abroad is not ideal for the American worker, by any means, instead of boycotting ( or claiming to boycott) these companies, why not look at the source of the problem. Businesses closing or moving is a symptom, not the cause.

  We as small businesses have to make difficult choices as well. While I won't be relocating my business to Mexico anytime in the foreseeable future, I will make the necessary adjustments to keep it up and running. Finding the best fuel price, lower maintence costs( not omit maintenance), running as efficiently as I can and saving as much as possible. 

 So the next time you eat Oreo’s or turn on that Carrier product, while talking on your Apple phone this summer, consider that if they had not decided to move some of their operations, you might not have cookies while sitting in the air conditioned room and talking on the phone, or they could have been available, but unaffordable.

See you down the road,

Greg

What got us out of the depression was capitalism, and we would have gotten out a lot quicker had the government not intervened.

- Peter Schiff