Paul Kazan, president of Target Interstate Systems Inc. in New York, added a couple of Florida offices in 2015 and recorded his best year of business since 2010.

He said the economy rebounded and he and his staff were aggressive booking loads for new customers and working some new lanes of travel. He was not quite as optimistic for 2016 because he believes the rate structure may not be as good — at least not in the early going.

In fact, Kazan said rates dropped during the last quarter of 2015 creating a drop in revenues. Speaking during the first week of January, Kazan said there was a noticeable lack of demand for product coming out of the West and headed for the East. Of course, lack of supplies of product means an oversupply of trucks. It tends to follow that when produce prices are high and supplies light, truck supplies are heavy and prices are low.

The veteran truck broker said truck rates did spike a bit over the holidays as many truckers parked their equipment and spent Christmas at home. But speaking 10 days later, he said the trucks were back on the road and prices dropped.

Kazan expects a relatively slow first quarter as it appears to him that the economy is not in great shape, and orders for industrial goods have slowed down. Again this means fewer loads on the road and more truckers fighting for the loads that are there. In fact, the very day he was talking to The Produce News (Jan. 7), Kazan said a story in the Wall Street Journal revealed that sales of semi tractor trailers retreated in 2015 and truck dealerships have an excess of inventory.

He noted that the slow sales reflected a slow down in business for the big fleet operators. “It seems like the big companies are pulling back and waiting to see what happens “to the economy.

But Kazan wasn’t singing the blues. In fact, he said there were several positive situations in play or on the horizon. In the first place, the cost of oil is way down. There has been a tremendous drop in fuel prices over the past six months, which lowers the cost of a cross country trip by almost $1,000. Kazan said those savings typically aren’t reflected when the market for loads is hot and transportation rates are sky-high, but they do come into play on the other end of the spectrum when equipment is plentiful and rates are low. He reasoned that top rates are determined by the market but the floor rate is determined by just how low of a rate a trucker is willing to take. With lower fuel costs, some truckers would no doubt drop their rate to get a load.

Kazan said the lower rates also give independent brokers like him a bit of leverage in working with drivers and offering certain services to customers. He explained that currently fleet operators require their drivers to carry some type of GPS system in their trucks that gives the transportation company constant up-to-date information as to exactly where the truck is at all times. The company, of course, as the owner of the vehicle, has the right to know that information.

“Independent owner-operators are a little different,” Kazan said. “They own the vehicle and they know where they are. But when a customer calls and wants to know where the load is he doesn’t want to hear that I don’t know and I’ll get back to him.”

Target has software that enables it to track a truck via the driver’s smartphone. But it can’t do it without the driver’s participation. When the load is picked up, Kazan and his staff text a message to the driver asking for the participation. A simple click of the “yes” bottom activates the GPS tracking system. At the end of the haul, the driver can hit the “no” button and turn off the tracking software.

Kazan acknowledged that when trucks are plentiful and he has lots of options, it’s a very good time to insist that the owner-operator activate the tracking system.