November 2014
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NOVEMBER 2014 VOL 10 • NUMBER 3
Business Journal Central Valley
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StOCKtOn • traCy • lODI • ManteCa • latHrOP • lInDen • rIPOn
MODeStO • CereS • tUrlOCK • OaKDale • rIVerBanK
Drivers in short supply
Auto Rebounds Car sales are making a comeback.
By CRAIG W. ANDERSON Business Journal writer
Page 7
canderson@cvbizjournal.com
Spencer, who serves as Northern California retail manager for Excel Trust, whose holdings also include Stockton’s Park West Place along Eight Mile Road. “I think we’re on the verge in the Central Valley of things getting stronger,” Spencer said. “I don’t see us going backward. At least I hope we don’t go backward.” Spencer is not alone in his
STOCKTON – As the Central Valley has increasingly built its reputation as a logistics center, the trucking industry has grown along with it. Now the challenge for companies is finding drivers. “When the recession was at its worst, everyone was down but the trucking industry has weathered the economic recession and is busier now and doing pretty well,” said R.J. Cervantes, director of legislative affairs for the California Trucking Association (CTA). “But there are still a number of challenges slowing our return to full productivity.” Trucks transport 80 percent of all manufactured tonnage and 80 percent of California communities depend on trucks for their goods. Cervantes said there are more than 440,000 registered trucks in California, but drivers remain in short supply. The continued shortage of qualified drivers, especially in the Central Valley, is the industry’s greatest concern. “The average age of drivers today is 50, and we have to bring in new drivers,” Cervantes said. “Insurance companies won’t insure a fleet if its drivers don’t have at least three years of experience.” There are few, if any, new drivers looking for work, Cervantes said, so incentives are directed toward retaining drivers and quelling any movement to other trucking companies as firms compete to lure drivers into the cabs of their trucks.
Please see RETAIL Page 28
Please see TRUCKING Page 10
Amazon’s Mission Online retailer recruits veterans.
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ELIZABETH STEVENS/CVBJ
A local family spends a Saturday shopping at Modesto’s Vintage Faire Mall where the average shopper spends $132 per visit, compared to $92 nationwide.
Heroes & Villains Haggin Museum hosts comic book art exhibit.
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WHAT’S INSIDE Publisher’s Notes............Page 2 Real Estate.............Pages 38, 39 Briefs.....................Pages 52, 53
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Retail resurgence
Local shopping centers thrive as economy turns By JONATHAN PARTRIDGE Business Journal writer jpartridge@cvbizjournal.com
MANTECA – While some experts have described the national economic recovery as fragile at best, Gaylen Spencer has seen no shortage of tenant interest in the shopping centers he manages in southern San Joaquin County.
The Manteca-based Stadium Center, which includes Old Navy, Kohl’s and Costco, has seen more leasing activity within the past few months than all of last year, and the Tracy Pavilion shopping center, which includes Home Depot and Winco, is completely filled. It’s a stark difference from the situation a year ago, when things were “very slow,” said
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