With the USPS moving Springfield mail processing to Kansas City, some local trucking companies feel left in limbo.
“We employ a lot of people, about 48 individuals on a daily basis, so it’s a big part of our business. We are concerned about the future,” said Billy Peck Jr. or Thunder Ridge Transport.
“We have got over 100 employees, and that’s 100 people, 100 families,” said Montgomery.
Many companies say they're getting few answers from the USPS.
“If we don't have the information, it’s hard to make the decisions, the investments, the things like that,” Peck explained.
The USPS may have few answers to give, however, as it sorts out its own future. In a written statement on Friday, the post office said:
"...given the significant decline in mail volume, it becomes much more expensive for USPS to transport less-than-truckload. Excess capacity at mail processing centers means there's also excess truck capacity. Our negotiated transportation contracts ensure that rate-payers . . . get the best deal possible."
“As bigger companies come in, there is more of that possibility that they will be able to underbid the smaller companies,” said Montgomery.
“Exactly how that process is going to happen, we are all a little uncertain,” Peck stated.
These truckers just want the opportunity to keep doing what they do best.
“We want to be along for the ride, so we are prepared every way we can to make sure we are available to continue to employ people,” Peck said.
“The only thing we can do in the meantime, until they tell us otherwise, is keep operating, keep moving forward,” stated Montgomery.
These trucking companies will still have the chance to bid on these routes but the competition could be stiffer.
An ironic thing here: e-mail and the Internet is one of the main things cutting into the Postal Services revenue. It turns out the bidding process for these contract routes is no longer done through the mail; it’s also now done online.
