NEWARK, N.J. — There’s those words again: ‘Cautious Optimism.’ That’s what transportation executives across the shipping world are feeling these days towards the prospects for economic recovery in 2010, according to a special Annual Review & Outlook edition of The Journal of Commerce. 

The special annual edition — including outlooks from 170 executives from major maritime, rail, trucking and air as well as retailers and manufacturers that buy shipping services — suggests transportation carriers plan to restrict any additions of new capacity for the rest of the year until there are clear signs of real economic growth.

That cautious approach, some industry leaders suggest, could trigger a rapid upturn in shipping prices if demand scales up more rapidly than forecast.

For shipping industry providers and customers, 2009 will go down as one of the worst years in modern transportation history.

"But as the economy stirred from its slumber late in the year, attitudes began to shift from ‘How do we survive?’ to ‘How should we prepare for the recovery?‘, states an executive summary of the JOC report.

"It marked a dramatic turnaround from the hopeless feelings of a year ago, and represented another testament to the resiliency of best-of-breed companies capable of weathering even the worst of downturns."

This year’s ambitious project, a supplement to the weekly JOC, includes in-depth analysis of the maritime, rail, trucking, logistics and trade landscape, as well as critical statistical data and the 2nd Annual Shipper Roundtable, a comprehensive discussion among the JOC editorial staff and three prominent shippers.