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December 2, 1999 9:43 AM, EST

Stockpiling inventory in anticipation of any Y2K snag may not be on the scale originally predicted, according to carriers and shippers.

“This is a consumer issue, and not a carrier issue,” said Bob Rothstein, general counsel of the Truckload Carriers Association. “Carriers are not dictating the market, consumers and their demands are. It is what the consumer asks for, carriers just do the job.”

Carriers can put on extra trailers to get the work done and are not under the gun from the demands of shippers. The reason for the busy spell is that many businesses are approaching the end of the fourth quarter and the holiday season, he noted.

“Retailers pretty much have their year-end stock on hand by Thanksgiving,” said Rothstein. “As of this date, the things that people will be stockpiling cannot be hauled because they are perishable.”

For the full story, see the Nov. 29 print edition of Transport Topics. .