Domino Effect Tests Links in


School Bus Supply Chain


By Art Gissendaner Earlier this year South Carolina state education officials purchased 85


“Te entire industry is


used school buses from school districts in Kentucky. It was South Caroli- na’s second such purchase from Kentucky since 2005 as education officials there seek to provide safe, efficient transportation to the state’s 700,000 students who ride the bus to school. Te move enabled South Carolina to replace 26- and 27-year-old buses


with 18-year-old buses and cannibalize parts from retired buses to service their aging fleet. State Superintendent Jim Rex said the purchase was not the most desirable solution, “But we’ve got to do the best we can with the resources we have.” Rex summarizes how educators are adjusting to the economic realities


suffering.” » Keith Kladder, IC Bus


of the day. He also indicates how the school transportation industry is morphing to keep pace with a familiar chain reaction, in which school dis- tricts are the lead domino. And vendors in the supply chain are scrambling to minimize the impact of their fall. Tis one transaction eliminated bus dealers, manufacturers and suppliers from the sales equation. Te school transportation industry is in distress. Te degree of the prob-


lem depends on who’s talking, but everyone agrees there is a disturbance in the force. “Te entire industry is suffering,” said Keith Kladder, manager of school


bus marketing for IC Bus. “School districts have fewer dollars. Tey run older buses. Bus manufacturers are seeing fewer orders and suppli- ers are seeing less demand for parts.” Cost-cutting scenarios are playing out in school districts across the country. Bus routes are being eliminated by


36 School Transportation News Magazine August 2010


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