Up Front

Down, but not out

Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita delivered a devastating one-two punch to the Gulf Coast region, with Katrina landing by far the most damaging blow to the heart of New Orleans. The Crescent City will come back, but it’s going to take time and money—lots and lots of money.

Economists say the price tag will be something on the order of $200 billion, but the truth is, no one knows how much it will cost and how long it will take. As of this writing, Congress has already approved $62.3 billion in relief funds, with billions more on the table.

Katrina took its biggest toll in terms of human suffering: more than a thousand dead, an estimated 400,000 people without jobs and nearly the same number homeless.

The trucking industry absorbed a major hit in terms of higher fuel costs and disrupted infrastructure. Sky-high diesel prices knocked some smaller trucking companies and owner-operators out of business.

New Orleans will eventually bounce back, and so will the trucking industry. The rebuilding effort will require massive amounts of supplies. The supplies have to get there somehow. Trucks and truck drivers will deliver them.