Keep on trucking Archives - The Loadstar Making sense of the supply chain Thu, 31 Oct 2024 15:11:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 31889032 Freaking cool CH Robinson – it’s the operating model, stupid! https://theloadstar.com/freaking-cool-ch-robinson-its-the-operating-model-stupid/ https://theloadstar.com/freaking-cool-ch-robinson-its-the-operating-model-stupid/#respond Thu, 31 Oct 2024 12:19:11 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=283860 … and very wrong here.
Yours truly.
Oh, in fact 
Even at a glance, CH Robinson’s Q3 24 (CHRW) update out yesterday (30 October) after the US stock market closed, was nothing short of sensational. Too good to be true, however?
There are lots of adjustments in its figures and non-GAAP metrics kicking around. Nonetheless, in a soft market, adjusted earnings per share came in about 11% higher than expected, hitting $1.28 for the ...

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]]> https://theloadstar.com/freaking-cool-ch-robinson-its-the-operating-model-stupid/feed/ 0 283860 Full-throttle Ryder between a cushion and a hard place https://theloadstar.com/full-throttle-ryder-between-a-cushion-and-a-hard-place/ https://theloadstar.com/full-throttle-ryder-between-a-cushion-and-a-hard-place/#respond Tue, 29 Oct 2024 12:55:18 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=283634 It was late spring 2022 when $70-or-so-a-share Ryder System (R) from Miami was approached by a suitor that was totally unconvinced that management had what it took to deliver shareholder value.
Now a $144-a-share trucking/leasing/supply chain firm expanding its logistics offering, with contract logistics* also one of its operating pillars, a key driver of its outperformance relative to prior cycles, in management’s own words:...
(*More about its 3PL operating model is here, ...

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]]> https://theloadstar.com/full-throttle-ryder-between-a-cushion-and-a-hard-place/feed/ 0 283634 A long slow road to recovery for US trucking – some operators won’t make it https://theloadstar.com/a-long-slow-road-to-recovery-for-us-trucking-some-operators-wont-make-it/ https://theloadstar.com/a-long-slow-road-to-recovery-for-us-trucking-some-operators-wont-make-it/#respond Fri, 18 Oct 2024 10:16:43 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=283014 The recent cut in interest rates is not lifting the US trucking industry out of the doldrums – nevertheless, the sector is beginning to roll out of its long slog through depression, according to the latest DAT Truckload Volume Index.
However, recovery is going to be slow – with no significant improvement expected before next year – and some operators may not last the course.
The DAT Index, a monthly market snapshot ...

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]]> https://theloadstar.com/a-long-slow-road-to-recovery-for-us-trucking-some-operators-wont-make-it/feed/ 0 283014 Lean and mean JB Hunt sparkles, surges, but value!? https://theloadstar.com/lean-and-mean-jb-hunt-sparkles-surges-but-value/ https://theloadstar.com/lean-and-mean-jb-hunt-sparkles-surges-but-value/#respond Wed, 16 Oct 2024 11:16:22 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=282793 It’s a very simple message concerning Q3 24 from JB Hunt’s (JBHT) management team: remain laser-focused on what you can control around your cost base and you’ll be fine, folks.
And that’s also how to think about business beyond peak season, as “more normal seasonal demand patterns” were spotted in the three months to the end of September.
But that’s not what did the trick for the US-based intermodal and transportation logistics ...

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]]> https://theloadstar.com/lean-and-mean-jb-hunt-sparkles-surges-but-value/feed/ 0 282793 Keep on trucking with DSV Schenker? Let’s hope so… https://theloadstar.com/keep-on-trucking-with-dsv-schenker-lets-hope-so/ https://theloadstar.com/keep-on-trucking-with-dsv-schenker-lets-hope-so/#respond Thu, 10 Oct 2024 12:12:45 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=282342 While DSV CEO Jens Lund today, following another Dkr1,563.5-52-week high on the stock market a day earlier…
… shared on LinkedIn the latest… “pleasure” he felt “welcoming” Schenker CEO Jochen Thewes “to our headquarters in Hedehusene Denmark” recently…  “for a positive discussion about the future”…
… with focus*… “on how we can best leverage the strengths of our people, networks, and capabilities to maximise benefits for our customers and employees”…
(*I figured the ...

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]]> https://theloadstar.com/keep-on-trucking-with-dsv-schenker-lets-hope-so/feed/ 0 282342 Trucking capacity and storage costs under pressure as shippers re-route cargo https://theloadstar.com/trucking-capacity-and-storage-costs-under-pressure-as-shippers-re-route-cargo/ https://theloadstar.com/trucking-capacity-and-storage-costs-under-pressure-as-shippers-re-route-cargo/#respond Wed, 02 Oct 2024 12:31:37 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=281782 Trucking capacity, storage costs and rates are expected to come under pressure as shippers re-route cargo inland owing to the US east and Gulf coast port strike.
Truckers that transload containers won’t be able to pick up or drop off containers as scheduled at affected ports, impacting operations.
While the FMC has told container lines to stop detention and demurrage accruals at ports, “drayage is another story”, said Brandon Fried, head of ...

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]]> https://theloadstar.com/trucking-capacity-and-storage-costs-under-pressure-as-shippers-re-route-cargo/feed/ 0 281782 US shippers indicate scant hope for rail carriers to regain business https://theloadstar.com/us-shippers-indicate-scant-hope-for-rail-carriers-to-regain-business/ https://theloadstar.com/us-shippers-indicate-scant-hope-for-rail-carriers-to-regain-business/#respond Thu, 12 Sep 2024 10:35:50 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=280140 In July the US Surface Transportation Board (STB) took the unusual step of summoning the Class I rail carriers to a hearing to examine strategies to regain dwindling business. However, preliminary input from shippers indicates that this quest is going to be an uphill battle.
Robert Primus, who took over as STB chairman in May, appears to be bent on pursuing the path of his predecessor, who repeatedly lambasted the railways ...

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]]> https://theloadstar.com/us-shippers-indicate-scant-hope-for-rail-carriers-to-regain-business/feed/ 0 280140 RXO – deep value for some https://theloadstar.com/rxo-deep-value-for-some/ https://theloadstar.com/rxo-deep-value-for-some/#respond Tue, 13 Aug 2024 11:55:55 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=278394 “And if I could just ask one more, any more color or clarity on financing for the Coyote deal?” – equity research analyst, Q2 24 conference call, Q&A session with RXO execs a week ago.
The reply from management, in a nutshell, was:
“We can’t get into the specific details right now. (..) We’ve got committed financing (…). We are in the process of getting all of our financing pulled together. There’ll ...

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]]> https://theloadstar.com/rxo-deep-value-for-some/feed/ 0 278394 ‘The Great Transport Value Play’ https://theloadstar.com/the-great-transport-value-play/ https://theloadstar.com/the-great-transport-value-play/#respond Fri, 26 Jul 2024 10:39:11 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=277409 There’s lot of transport – rather than pure logistics – appeal flowing from stock market events that unfolded in the past 24 hours.
As you may recall a couple of weeks ago, with portfolio rotation (out of tech) to safer places very much in vogue, Seeking Alpha was one of those riding the Great Shift wave in the US market:
“The Russell 2000 index (RTY) of small-cap stocks climbed more than 3% ...

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]]> https://theloadstar.com/the-great-transport-value-play/feed/ 0 277409 Knight-Swift – spot the elusive inflection and fill the gaps https://theloadstar.com/knight-swift-spot-the-elusive-inflection-and-fill-the-gaps/ https://theloadstar.com/knight-swift-spot-the-elusive-inflection-and-fill-the-gaps/#respond Thu, 25 Jul 2024 11:51:14 +0000 https://theloadstar.com/?p=277245 For Knight-Swift (KNX) management, it was another “wait-and-see” call with equity analysts yesterday, 24 July, after the US market closed.
CEO Adam Miller (pictured above) was very clear following the release of mixed Q2 24 numbers, about where we stand at the moment in land transport stateside (emphasis in bold added):
“Again, we don’t want to sit here and call the inflection. Again, we saw positive signs (…), we can’t call it ...

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