July 22, 2008 at 2 p.m. EDT

Shippers are finding no comfort in the pervasive dismal mood of the transportation industry as the cost of fuel continues to rise and everyone is weighing modal alternatives more carefully than ever. 

In case you haven’t noticed, oil spikes have been added to death and taxes as the third inescapable apocalyptic certainty of twenty-first century existence. The U.S. economy overall remains persistently and disappointingly weak, and prospects for any meaningful improvement during the next six months are almost universally dismissed.

So, what does all this dire news mean to your freight rates over the next six months?

Join Group Editorial Director Michael Levans and an all-star cast of industry analysts as they put the general economic picture into perspective for shippers and help explain the affect the economy is currently having on your trucking, rail, ocean, air, and parcel express rates for the second half of 2008.