UP Railroad had the biggest intermodal gains in railroad industry during 2011
January 21, 2011
UP Expects More Intermodal From Truckers | www.joc.com
The Union Pacific posted a gain of approximately 20% for intermodal traffic in 2010, outpacing Norfolk Southern (+18%) and CSX (16%) in the East, but also bettering privately held BNSF in the West for which the AAR shows an increase of 10% in intermodal loads. Imported containers contributed most of the additional traffic, but the railroads also claim to be gaining domestic market share, and they are backing their claims with purchase orders for over 5,000 new domestic container cars in 2011.
Best News for the Trucking Industry Has Nothing to Do With Trucking
January 19, 2011
U.S. Factories Buck Decline | online.wsj.com
American manufacturing, long written off as a economic loser, is making a comeback. For the first time since 1997, the number of manufacturing jobs grew last year by 1.2 percent, of 136,000 new jobs. And it's not a one-shot deal. Economists are predicting a 2.5 percent gain, or 330,000 new manufacturing jobs, this year.
Navistar Class 8 Monthly Market Share In The Teens - Way Off Their Highs
January 17, 2011
Navistar Corporation Class 8 market share will most probably stay in the teems for a while. The November Wards Class 8 US share (customer deliveries) came at 16.3% for Navistar - off 10%+ from earlier in the year. Is it the 13 Liter versus 15 Liter question, Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) versus Selective Catalyst Reduction (SCR) or a little of both?
Early gains in Intermodal may be misleading, but traffic is definitely up
January 14, 2011
Intermodal Traffic Rises 8.6% for Week | www.ttnews.com
Compared to the same week last year, railroad intermodal traffic reported by the AAR jumped 8.6%. However, the holiday schedules were different and that could have affected traffic totals a little. A better measure of this year compared to last will not be available for a couple of weeks yet.
Bring on the double dip! Gasoline to rise to $4.00 in 2011
January 3, 2011
Oil's surge in 2010 paves the way for $4 gasoline | finance.yahoo.com
Gasoline prices rose above $3.00 so rapidly in December that many are predicting that they will keep rising to over $4.00 per gallon. These same pundits say that isn’t that bad, since it represents only $750 per year per motorist. Phrased another way however, let’s say as a new energy tax of $1,200 per household, many would warn of an imminent recession.
Redone Revisited HOS Revisions - Time Rules Will Cost Truckers
December 28, 2010
Trucking industry unhappy with proposed drive time rules | www.thecitywire.com
Improved trucking profits come mostly from improved productivity - as in most businesses. Other regulations have direct equipment capital, computer-related and training costs, but the Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules affect utilization - the real driver of trucking profits.
Navistar: Where Are The 2010 MaxxForce-powered Trucks - And How Are They Doin’?
December 16, 2010
2010-compliant Navistar Corporation MaxxForce 13 Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Class 8 trucks are hitting the road in limited quantities. The most anyone seems to have are JB Hunt with 300+ on the ground, Con-way Truckload with a hundred and few others, but many are having to wait for theirs. We are involved with smaller users, some with several dozen - and offer the following...
Truck / Trailer “Requests For Financing” Offers Insights Into Higher Order Rates
December 9, 2010
Strong Class 8 orders bode well for trucking overall | fleetowner.com
The referenced article by Sean Kilcarr in Fleet Owner from earlier this week gives a good overview about the current increase in truck orders from the seasonal standpoint. We wrote a couple weeks ago (link) about financiers temporarily relaxing qualification standards to refill their portfolios with good credits - in order to help make their numbers look better. Here are some other issues to think about.
SWFT IPO Terms Released - With Even Better Potential Today Than Before
December 1, 2010
Swift Announces $942.6 Million IPO | www.truckinginfo.com
Swift Transportation’s IPO registration announced in July had the terms released yesterday. The 67.3MM shares at the expected $13-$15 will result in a $943MM raise - and a market value of $1.8B. Current revenue is estimated to be almost $2.2B with its 12,000+ company-owned trucks and almost 4,000 independent contractors. This looks good in spite of the reported loss last year…
Bigger trucks would cost more than they would save
November 23, 2010
US Trucking Industry Pushes For Heavier Trucks On Roads | news.morningstar.com
By some convoluted reasoning, legislators are being asked to save wear and tear on local roads by letting bigger trucks use the Federal Interstate Highway system. The Obama Administration is even endorsing their reasoning. Who let the big rigs get loaded in the first place? Allowing them on the Interstate System will only shift the maintenance costs from the people who made that mistake to the rest of the country.
Shale gas abundance provides new options for energy companies
February 13, 2012
Chesapeake Energy bites the natural gas bullet
January 25, 2012
Flurry of newbuild drilling rig deliveries in 2012 may dampen rig rates
January 20, 2012
Talisman joins the ranks of cautious E&P companies
January 12, 2012
Early signs of caution begin to cloud frontier exploration and production
January 4, 2012