One thing recent history shows us in our economy is that when costs rise in any industry, it spurs on consolidation to seek economies of scale. Some say it weeds out the weak and many Merger and Acquisition Specialist admit that the best market for industry consolidation is at the peak before a downturn in the economy.

One company flush with cash can buy out another at the first sign that higher costs are hurting them, thus increase customer base, increase economies of scale and lower their costs and increase margins. Sounds good on paper, but there is a skill to this in its self. Right now we see in the Transportation Sector increases in fuel costs. Last time this occurred in 2001 we saw much consolidation in the trucking sector. Here is a brief summary of just a few examples from an article I wrote back then;