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Surviving 2000 was a praiseworthy feat for a truckload carrier, but companies that have made it this far cannot coast through the year.

The slowing economy and high rate of trucking company failures in 2000 have eased the acute shortage of truck drivers — at least momentarily — and given companies a break from escalating driver-pay increases, according to several trucking executives.

Douglas G. Duncan, the president of FedEx Corp.’s newest and most truck-heavy division, is no longer spending his time organizing less-than-truckload shipments as he once did. Now he’s focusing on the dynamics of whole companies.

Trucking is already in recession because its main customer, manufacturing, is in recession, say analysts — some of whom see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

In the world of profit and loss statements for trucking in 2000, the strong survived, the adequate stumbled and the weak were buried. Truckload failures reached an all-time high, taking out as much as 3% of industry capacity since December alone, according to analysts.

The typical truck driver earned an average of $40,883 in salary in 2000 — up more than $5,400, or 15.3%, from three years ago — according to a study released last week by American Trucking Associations. In addition to salary, the typical driver was also eligible for three bonuses and a menu of fringe benefits.

Advantage Management Group, an Ohio-based holding company with trucking and logistics assets, will buy tank truck carrier Kenan Transport Co. for about $84 million in cash, creating one of the nation’s largest bulk haulers of petroleum products, operating in 35 states.