Mr. Jay Thompson

GLG News by Mr. Jay Thompson, President and General Manager

GLG News is now G+ Insights

G+ is a community for professionals, academics and entrepreneurs to connect through online discussions and in-person meetings. You will continue to see G+ Insights (formerly GLG News) here as well as on the G+ website, where you can share and discuss the G+ Insights you read.

Trucking hours-of-service regulations "final rule redo" released with negative implications

December 30, 2011

Analysis of:Hours-of-Service (HOS) Final Rule (December 2011) | www.fmcsa.dot.gov

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released its trucking hours-of-service (HOS) regulation in response to a lawsuit agreement from the 2003 HOS Regulation limitations. The new rule will cost the most productive truck drivers in pay and logbook “gotchas,” cost trucking companies in productivity (profits) and cost shippers more. All of this is passed on to us consumers. The new rules take effect in mid-2013, but the 2003 Regulation-related lawsuit will most probably be reconstituted anyway.

The driver pay lawsuit against Swift Transportation highlights a well-known issue

September 16, 2011

Analysis of:Arizona Supreme Court lets drivers' case against Swift go to trial | www.ccjdigital.com

Truck driver pay within the freight industry is based on work performed. The metric used by 90% of firms is length-of-trip “miles” – but there are different approaches used in employment contracts. Driver pay makes up the largest company expense (25% of revenue) so a few percentage points of pay increases and back-pay costs can be huge. This suit will cost Swift Transportation legal fees – and will result in more detail in driver contracts.

Will Freightliner's 2015-2018 greenhouse gas fuel mileage pitch equal more sales?

September 7, 2011

Analysis of:Freightliner Says Fuel Economy, Uptime Prime Directives for 2011 and Beyond | www.truckinginfo.com

Truck-maker Freightliner recently laid out its thoughts on how it will stay ahead of the recently announced Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for medium - and heavy-duty engines and vehicles. The plan is great for marketing and engineers, but not necessarily for sales.

Daimler Freightliner 2015-2018 Fuel Mileage Pitch Underway

August 19, 2011

Analysis of:Freightliner Says Fuel Economy, Uptime Prime Directives for 2011 and Beyond | www.truckinginfo.com

Truck-maker Freightliner recently laid out their thoughts on how they will stay ahead of the recently announced Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium - and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles.” It’s great for marketing and engineers, but how about sales?

Fuel Mileage Rules For Big Trucks Is Another Thing On The Table

August 12, 2011

Analysis of:Early Reaction to Truck Efficiency Standards Mostly Positive | www.truckinginfo.com

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued the Notice Of Rule Making titled “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles.” Calls about what we think are rolling in, so we’ll offer comments as it moves along. I sped-read the almost 1,000 pages. I know I am a glutton for punishment and in the minority, but the source article is right - we better read it first…

Roadrunner Transportation Systems Is One To Watch More Closely

August 8, 2011

Analysis of:Roadrunner Transportation Systems Reports 2011 Second Quarter Results | www.marketwire.com

Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc. reported their 2nd Qtr. results where revenue was up over 30% to $208MM and operating income was up over 50% to $12.5MM. This is one we are watching because of the companies we liked - they are rolling up - leveraging solid and growing sectors.

Second Quarter Logistics Profits Still Positive

August 5, 2011

Second quarter truck, rail and logistics providers 2nd Quarter numbers are still positive with expected nuances with individual companies. Our new colleague in these missives - Mr. James Bisaha - is a welcome addition, to which I’ll make some comments about his noted companies and others.

Yellow-Roadway (YRC) Going Back To Court On ABF “Labor / Cost” Suit

July 11, 2011

The Arkansas Best Corporation suit against YRC Worldwide Inc and the Teamsters is back on the docket. The suit is regarding concessions given to YRC by the Teamsters to keep YRC in business - and not to ABF under the same contract. ABF’s contention is that this is not fair contractually - and it costs them in their business. Regardless, this is not good news for YRC from several aspects.

Mexico Cross-Border Trucking Program Signed Into Reality - Without Fanfare

July 6, 2011

Analysis of:ALERT: U.S., Mexico sign cross-border trucking program | fleetowner.com

In a relatively low key visit this week in Mexico City, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and his Mexican counterpart signed the cross-border trucking agreement allowing Mexican trucks to haul freight beyond the commercial zones in the US. What does it mean? Mostly it will eliminate Tariffs on Southbound goods that will help US exporters - and get rid of the NAFTA issue left from the Clinton administration. We won’t see many Mexican trucks plying the US highways – here are some reasons why.

We Need To Regulate (Throttle Down) The Regulators

June 21, 2011

The Information Age has led to tremendous productivity gains in every aspect of our lives - and in the logistics world. We have just seen the tip of the iceberg of what will come. In our and other's view, it seems to have also accelerated the Federal / State Government regulator's notion that - if it's interesting data, let's figure out how to put a rule, regulation and fee around it.

US Truck Manufacturer "Orders Versus Deliveries" Numbers

May 30, 2011

North American (NA) Class 8 truck "orders" continue to show almost record numbers, which some don't think reconciles well with the real deliveries to come, the true freight market and today's choppy economic marketplace. History and surveys of dealers and financiers give some insight into the disconnect - meaning orders versus trucks being delivered to truckers. Truck sales people are looking for financing everywhere, which leads to some upstarts making promises - but that's another story...

Can Government Really Help With Shipper-Receiver Dock Delays?

May 20, 2011

Analysis of:OOIDA, ATA face off over dock delays | fleetowner.com

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) and Owner Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA) are both right in their opposing views regarding dock delays. The real issue in our mind comes from whether lawmakers can really address it - and get it fair and right. History says...

Wabash National Trailer Sales Benefitting From A Variety Of Factors

May 8, 2011

Analysis of:Wabash Reports Increased Income On Major Trailer Shipment Increase | www.truckinginfo.com

Wabash National Corporation is seeing a significant growth in sales, due to a variety reasons - including increased numbers going to their well-financed fleet customer base. We expect to see continued good sales - so the next major job for them is to turn that into better profits..

Trucker Hour-Of Service / EOBR Decisions Are Highly Political - Duh!

April 23, 2011

Analysis of:Former FMCSA Chief Speaks out on HOS, EOBRs | www.truckinginfo.com

The ongoing Hours-Of-Service (HOS) and Electronic On-Board Recorder (EOBR) issues are political and emotional. Deborah Lockridge in Heavy Duty Trucking well represents comments from former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) head John Hill at the recent National Private Truck Council meeting. His hindsight vision is clear. The real benefactors are the IT players selling upgrades to their big clients and units / software to smaller carriers - e.g. Qualcomm, PeopleNet, Xata...

Louisville Truck Show & More Recent Financing Discussions

April 17, 2011

The truck and trailer financing folks we work with (and talk to) are scratching their heads. The projected truck orders don't seem to match well with the numbers of those who are approved credits. The trailer market is different for other reasons, but is where there are some reasons to see continued strength. In the following, we offer an update.

Mid-America Truck Show Update - Optimism and Caution!

April 8, 2011

Analysis of:Fuel Economy Key Theme at Mid-America Show | www.truckinginfo.com

The accompanied article by Debra Lockridge of Heavy Duty Trucking magazine gives a good overview of the big industry suppliers' theme last week at the biggest truck show in the world - the Louisville Truck Show (Mid-American Truck Show / MATS). While that theme was fuel mileage on new products, there were other as (or more) important discussions on-the-floor that had different priorities - including new Information Technology issues and current engine performance...

Mexico Cross-Border Trucking Program - Update From The Border (EOBR Included)

March 16, 2011

Analysis of:Ferro Explains FMCSA Approach to Mexican EOBR Decision | www.truckinginfo.com

The Mexico Cross-Border trucking problem resolution is seen by most involved in it as positive, but it's adoption will be slow for many reasons. FMCSA's discussion of such at the Truckload Carrier Association meeting this week highlighted the Electronic On-Board Recorder (EOBR) issue - meaning why we are buying EOBR's for Mexican Carriers. There are other more important considerations.

Trailer & Truck Underride Issues Are Not Simple - But Expensive & An Opportunity

March 5, 2011

Analysis of:Insurance Institute Wants Underride Guard Improvements | www.truckinginfo.com

Cars underriding BIG trucks and trailers rear-end and sides have been going on for decades. I offer as a historian that there have been many improvements in minimizing the effects of such, but we keep changing other things that increases the risk. Could higher Gross Weight Combination help here? We offer that it would...

YRCW Numbers Follow LTL Market - Yet Dependent On Economic Recovery & Oil Price

March 2, 2011

Analysis of:YRC Reaches Tentative Agreement on Debt Restructuring | www.truckinginfo.com

YRC Worldwide announced they were offering another debt for stock deal to keep things going. Some folks calculate we still have excess capacity in the Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) sector, so what does this mean for YRC's profit potential? Then there is the oil price impact on the consumer, trucking rates and flowing fuel costs.

Class 8 Diesel Engine Trends - Integrated Approaches Showing In Market Share

February 21, 2011

Truck-builders are moving toward putting their own engines in their own trucks / buses (internal / vertical integration) addressing a variety of issues including cost, profits, complexity, etc. Cummins Inc. and (now non-player) Caterpillar, Inc. share has been displaced by integrated approaches of Volvo, Paccar, Inc and Navistar Corporation. That trend is showing up in the Wards Communications numbers, which we our share "derived share-info" in the following.

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